His Excellency George Washington By Joseph J. Ellis - 1100 Words

His Excellency George Washington By: Joseph J. Ellis (Book Review Sample) Content: Name:Instructor:Course:Date:BiographiesOver the years, there have been a lot of literature materials that have surfaced in relation to the American history. More so, there have been quite a number of books written bibliographies of some of the founding fathers of the American nation. Each of the material captures the struggle of the entire nations and also brings out the various aspects of the founding fathers and the major roles they played in the liberation of the nation, civilization and industry. The character of the founding father also takes the central stage in the bibliographies along with their strengths and weaknesses that shaped their personalities and the nations as well. These are books that give the American history the heritage it deserves. Joseph J. Ellis is one of the authors that have taken to task his ability and experience in the historical recounts of the American history and that of the various founding fathers. A professor in history, Ellis brin gs to light one of the most intriguing pieces about the first president of the American nation, George Washington. In his book, His Excellency George Washington, which launched in 2004, gives the full account of George Washington as the president who shaped the nation at the roots (Ellis, 266).Born in the year 1943 in Washington DC, Joseph Ellis grew up to become one of the professors of history in the nation. Much of his work and study revolved around the founding fathers of the nation, and published books about them, some of which ended up being the best selling at the time. His historical accounts as elaborated in the books have been profound and have even won him a Pulitzer Prize. Some of the most famous accounts were in his recounts of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and George Washington as discussed in the paper. In his personal quest with this book, Ellis did not want to create another epic, but wanted to bring out another fresh and focused recount of Washington and his influen ce on the nation. Suffice to say that Ellis succeeded in creating a better account of Washington with a better focus that other material that have come before it. He seeks to bring out the man behind the stature and all the facts that exists in literally history (Isaacson, 93). Previously, Washington has been painted as a man that was strict and practiced strict self control at all times; however, Ellis brings a different face of the man that he shows was also passionate. He brings back the experiences that Washington had as a young soldier. The horrors and the experiences of war, with men dying at war, screaming as they are scalped and the element of learning that Washington put to his experiences with reference to guerilla warfare. There is a close relation between what Ellis writes in his book and what Walter Isaacson wrote in Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. They both draw from the young life of the president in discussion and build on their experiences that shaped the natio n and person. At the same time, there is some crucial similarity in the fact that the two authors also point out on the weaknesses that the presidents had as well as their strengths. For example, Ellis states in his book that Washington was overly concerned with his property and issues related to self control. At the same time, the book by  HYPERLINK "/c/walter-isaacson/997150" Walter Isaacson also sites the fact that Franklin had issues with his friendships with women as most of them seemed to take a mistress-like form. As such, the two books give quality recounts of the social and political lives that the president lived. However, in  HYPERLINK "/c/walter-isaacson/997150" Walter Isaacsons book, he chides Franklin citing that if he had attended Harvard much like his father had originally planned; his life would not have taken quite a beating.In another account of George Washington, Brian Kilmeada and Don Yaeger bring out some crucial pointers in George Washingtons secret six: the spy ring that saved the American Revolution. Unlike the account by Ellis, this book concentrates on the elements of the American Revolution (Kilmeade , 100). The book brings out details of the American Revolution with reference to the formation and operations of a ring of six spies that shaped the war as Washington worked to have control of Manhattan and the boroughs neighboring. Other than those characteristics exhibited by Washington, the characters of the six persons are also discussed in depth. This creates an elevated status of the ring members as part of the American Revolution and the legacy by George Washington. The account by Mr. Beck in Being George Washington: The Indispensable Man, As You've Never Seen Him. The book builds on the characteristics of George Washington and tries to put the readers in the shoes of the first president. According to this account, much like Ellis, the author also brings to the attention of the readers the fact that Washington was strugglin g with the self control. At one point, the book relates to the fact that Washington had a problem with anger management. Most of his staffs were weary of the temper issues that the president faced and the level of control that he tried to exercise (Beck, 88). According to Ellis, Washington was weary of the fact that he may loose his property. Ellis reckons that this is a common problem among the rich as they fear that their staffs are either too careless or they a...