Realistic Visionary: A Portrait Of George Washington,Used

Product Description In Realistic Visionary the renowned George Washington scholar Peter Henriques seeks to humanize the first president without diminishing him. Henriques's Washington makes mistakes, is sensitive to criticism, and is slow to accept blame, but he is also the greatest man of his age, a relentless pragmatist who could nonetheless envision what a free and united America could be for 'millions unborn.'Rather than revisiting Washington's life in its entirety, Henriques constructs a biographical portrait by addressing the vital themes and events through which Washington the man is revealed. What emerge most clearly in Realistic Visionary are Washington's successful struggle to channel his monumental personal ambition into public service and his unrivaled ability to turn his ambitious visions for the fledgling nation into reality. Review 'Peter Henriques [tackles] the toughest questions about Washington's life and career.' From AudioFile The author states that he intends to reveal the man behind the marble statue we know as George Washington. Writing concisely and plainly, he presents surmises and facts about the first president, giving equal weight to his public and private affairs while paying little heed to the social, moral, and intellectual contexts of the times. The text benefits from a narrator who has a suitably Cronkiteish quality and a wide range of expression. He sounds at once downtoearth and authoritative. However, he perhaps errs in too strongly voicing the quotes from primary sources, an approach that teeters on the brink of caricature. Y.R. AudioFile 2006, Portland, MaineCopyright AudioFile, Portland, Maine