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Rating: 
Summary: Searching for a good book on Washington - don't buy this one
Review: I am under the belief that the people that wrote favorable reviews for this book were related to Harrison Clark (the author). Although the book contains a lot of great information, the format, the grammar, and the lack of good maps limits the readers understanding. format - there were times when the text was so disjointed that I had to reread sections several times and sit down with pen an paper to map out his ideas. grammar - the author, for example, will tell a story about several men. When continuing the story about one man specifically Harrison will refer to the person as "him" without letting the reader know which of the men to whom he is making the reference. maps - The author refers to a lot of places, but doesn't map them out so it is hard to gain an understanding of what is happening in the book. If you haven't purchased this book - don't. Given Harrison's creditials this book is a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Searching for a good book on Washington - don't buy this one
Review: I am under the belief that the people that wrote favorable reviews for this book were related to Harrison Clark (the author). Although the book contains a lot of great information, the format, the grammar, and the lack of good maps limits the readers understanding. format - there were times when the text was so disjointed that I had to reread sections several times and sit down with pen an paper to map out his ideas. grammar - the author, for example, will tell a story about several men. When continuing the story about one man specifically Harrison will refer to the person as "him" without letting the reader know which of the men to whom he is making the reference. maps - The author refers to a lot of places, but doesn't map them out so it is hard to gain an understanding of what is happening in the book. If you haven't purchased this book - don't. Given Harrison's creditials this book is a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: woman seeking a better book on George Washington!
Review: I found this author to be a very cumbersome writer. He delivers a lot of great information, but often in a scattered, non grammatically correct format. This has caused me to reread sections of the book and make assessments about what the author is attempting to convey. For example, the author could be telling a story about 3 men and then continue talking only about one of them - but never tells the reader about which man he is speaking....he only refers to the man as "him". For a man of his credentials, I am really disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: woman seeking a better book on George Washington!
Review: I found this author to be a very cumbersome writer. He delivers a lot of great information, but often in a scattered, non grammatically correct format. This has caused me to reread sections of the book and make assessments about what the author is attempting to convey. For example, the author could be telling a story about 3 men and then continue talking only about one of them - but never tells the reader about which man he is speaking....he only refers to the man as "him". For a man of his credentials, I am really disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Straight facts, verbatim words from the man, himself.
Review: Not only did I read this book, Vol 1 of 2, but I read Vol 2, as well. The first is "From youth to Yorktown" the second is "Making a Nation." This is not just a read, but a study of Washington with a vast quantity of verbatim correspondence from and to the man himself. Great insight into the inner man, how he thought, the deeds, the challenges he and his peers faced. Read these two volumes, cross-reference with other works, and you'll have a much enriched appreciation for the father of our country. Great Read/Study. If you like factual history, Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Straight facts, verbatim words from the man, himself.
Review: Not only did I read this book, Vol 1 of 2, but I read Vol 2, as well. The first is "From youth to Yorktown" the second is "Making a Nation." This is not just a read, but a study of Washington with a vast quantity of verbatim correspondence from and to the man himself. Great insight into the inner man, how he thought, the deeds, the challenges he and his peers faced. Read these two volumes, cross-reference with other works, and you'll have a much enriched appreciation for the father of our country. Great Read/Study. If you like factual history, Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Information, But A Clumsy Format
Review: The first of Harrison Clark's two-parter on George Washington focuses on Washington's life and career up through 1781, and this volume closes with the victory at Yorktown that effectively ended the American Revolution. I would take issue with the Book Description (above) which describes the main character in this book as the "youthful Washingon, one not transformed into the dignified figure we associate with our first president." While Washington does not become president at any point in these pages, all the traits that we look for in Washington -- the dignified figure, master politician and diplomat, and inspirational leader -- are already in well in place by the final third of this book. One factor that practically leaps off the pages is the all-out adoration that men and women alike, regardless of their place in society, felt for the man. Clark lets those who saw and interacted with Washington do the talking through their letters or diaries, and Washington's charisma shines brightly from these pages. Clark has chosen to let Washington and his contemporaries tell the story of Washington's life and career through their own writings, and it would be a welcome choice but for one thing -- the book is organized so clumsily as to become disjointed. Rather than edit and organize the various writings into a narrative, Clark instead divides each chapter up into what I can only think to describe as a series of short vignettes. For example, chapter 19, "Cambridge and Boston," is broken up into 11 smaller parts, some of them only half a page long. It makes progress rather like reading a college textbook, with each section broken into smaller subsections, separated by its own little bold-faced headline ("The Vanishing Army"). Clark does tend to group events into short pieces that make sense on their own, but lack the context of the larger story. Clark wisely spends most of his time in this book outlining Washington's career in the Continental Army, but it is sometimes difficult to get an appreciation for the battles and skirmishes Washington fought because the maps of the battle sites are almost completely useless. The map of the 1776 New York Campaign, for example, is difficult to align with almost anything in the text. It's a shame that Clark has chosen such a floppy format in which to present his information, because there's some really first-rate stuff in here (the chapter on Benedict Arnold's treason is a highlight of the book, although it, too, gets bogged down in some disjointed narration). If you've not had the opportunity to read Washington's own letters from this period, Clark provides you with lots of samples of Washington's writings which, by themselves, make this volume worth owning. But if you're looking for an easily accessible, readable biography, this one probably isn't for you. Five stars for wealth of information presented, but only one star for the format, bringing this one down to a three.
Rating:
Summary: A great book making me want to learn more.
Review: This is a great book. It is (obviously) centered around Gearge Washington rather than the events of his time. I learned alot about the person and the early history of America. George comes as alive as much as one can from strictly written sources. The two heros of the book are Washington and LaFayette, everyone else does something that is not favorable to the eyes of Washington or the author. John Adams, John Hancock, Gates and others are seen as obstacles to Washington's success. I would like to learn more about these individuals . This book opened my eyes to The American Revolution and how truly great a struggle it was.
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