Rating: 
Summary: Enjoy the book but relish the audio version
Review: "Citizen Washington" by William Martin is a great read to help us get in "touch with the man". This is a side seldom ever explored in our history lessons about the venerated George Washington.We learned of his human side but the author was able to maintain the "larger than life" aspects of a man that had such a profound influence on our early history.The audio version was a delight as we listened to the entire book during our travels over the 4th of July weekend. It is narrated by Barry Bostwick who brings a unique voice to each of the characters who are reminiscing about Washington. This helps the listener because the author does jump between characters often.The use of adult language and sexual references would make it inappropriate for use in junior or high schools curriculum, which is a shame. I think the story of "Citizen Washington" would be very helpful in bringing the story of the "Father of Our Country" alive and real. This is a story for everyone..not just those of us that seek out the historical stories of our country.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Historic Fiction Author!
Review: "Citizen Washington" is one of the most thought provocing historic fiction novels about GW. Martin's novels are educational and extremley entertaining. After reading "Citizen Washington" I read all of Martin's works and everyone of them is incredible. Do yourself a favor and read "Rising of the Moon". If you enjoyed "Gangs of New York" you will see that "Rising of the Moon" is the Boston version of Bostons Tammany Hall and the Irish immigrants stuggle in a new land strife with predudice and corruption. I've been waiting for a couple of years for Martin's new book "Harvard Yard" and finally its here! It's going to be a great November thanks to William Martin when "Harvard Yard" is finally released. I really wish Time Warner would do more to promote Martin's work. "Rising of the Moon" is still out of print and it was one of the best historic fiction novels I've ever read. Very few authors consistently put out great books and ALL of Martin's work is not only incredibly well researched, but well written and entertaining. Many historic fiction authors go wrong by over empasizing historic fact and making a novel feel like a text book. Martin writes so well that each chapter pulls you deeper and deeper and you can't stop until your done.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Historic Fiction Author!
Review: "Citizen Washington" is one of the most thought provocing historic fiction novels about GW. Martin's novels are educational and extremley entertaining. After reading "Citizen Washington" I read all of Martin's works and everyone of them is incredible. Do yourself a favor and read "Rising of the Moon". If you enjoyed "Gangs of New York" you will see that "Rising of the Moon" is the Boston version of Bostons Tammany Hall and the Irish immigrants stuggle in a new land strife with predudice and corruption. I've been waiting for a couple of years for Martin's new book "Harvard Yard" and finally its here! It's going to be a great November thanks to William Martin when "Harvard Yard" is finally released. I really wish Time Warner would do more to promote Martin's work. "Rising of the Moon" is still out of print and it was one of the best historic fiction novels I've ever read. Very few authors consistently put out great books and ALL of Martin's work is not only incredibly well researched, but well written and entertaining. Many historic fiction authors go wrong by over empasizing historic fact and making a novel feel like a text book. Martin writes so well that each chapter pulls you deeper and deeper and you can't stop until your done.
Rating:
Summary: An audio worth listening to
Review: Citizen Washington is a wonderful story about the father of our country. Although the largest percentage of America holds Washington up as a hero and historical character to remember, a man who had known him all his life and was consider one of his critiques in his day didn't. After Washington's death, Hesperus Draper's only goal was to prove Washington was a man and not the demigod that the American people thought him to be. After paying a servant to spy, Hesperus learns that Mrs. Washington has burned some letters immediately after her husbands' death. This feeds his desire to expose Washington, so he sends his nephew, Charles on an assignment to talk to everyone who ever knew Washington in his lifetime. This leads Christopher on a fascinating, memorable trip to meet many people we now consider famous in history. Through these interviews, he follows Washington's life, from the time he is born, to his first job and being a new landowner, to his marriage, his military services, and his political life, all the way to his death. Christopher's outcome of the interviews and his relationship with his uncle add to the story. Barry Bostwick's reading impressed me! When one listens to an audio the reader does make a difference. He was able to keep the characters separate by speaking differently for each one. An expert reading, Mr. Bostwick! I was amazed that so much could happen to one man in a lifetime. The political and military details are fascinating. Historians and fiction readers will love this. I thought the ending was unique.
Rating:
Summary: The longer I read, the more compelled I was to read on.
Review: Citizen Washington is not your typical historical novel. While it is held together by a single voice, it is broken up into many short perspectives that lend the story of George Washington a varied examination. At first I found this inconvenient, but once I got to know the people speaking, I welcomed them again and again as they returned to add their view of an event. The story is told without sentimentality or heroics. In fact, the battles fought (or retreated from) are described very simply and directly. It's been a long time since I studied American history, so it was refeshing to read how the Revolution was fought and won from a "novel" point of view. Citizen Washington is definitely worth a read. I found the Federalist vs. Republican debate especially helful, told, as it is, from characters near the debate.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I bought this book on the recommendation of my friend Jeff Clark(who also posted a review) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This one holds your interest from cover to cover. I really loved this book and recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the revolutionary war or the birth of our nation.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I got hooked on historical fiction after reading the Gore Vidal series. Citizen Washington wasn't quite as good in my opinion, but it was still engaging and very enjoyable. I liked the short narratives that still made us involved with every character. Could have used a little less battle scenes in the latter half of the book, but then I've never been a fan of them no matter where. Overall I highly enjoyed the book.
Rating:
Summary: AUDIOBOOK: FABULOUS!
Review: I love listening to books on tape, so I like to look for reviews by people who have LISTENED to the book on tape because it's a fundamentally different review than just the book itself. As far as the content of the book, you can review the other readers' reviews. This audiobook was top notch! Well written and read with great skill on tape. The reader has an excellent range of voices, accents, and dialects to use for each of the different characters in the book. It didn't matter if a couple of days passed in between listening to parts of the book. As soon as I pushed [play], I could tell which character was speaking based on the voice. I also liked that they played a short segment of music at the beginning and ending of each side of each tape so you could tell when the side was over - not a BIG deal, but a detail that shows how much effort the producers put into making this a good book on tape to listen to. It's a fascinating story of a very critical time in American history, and I would highly recommend the AUDIOBOOK (and I'm sure the non-abridged print version is of equally high standards).
Rating:
Summary: my review
Review: I want to congratulate William Martin on this work. His use of narratives to tell us the way Washington evolved from a third son to one of this nation's founders is extremely well done. By using characters from all aspects of Washington's life makes it all more real. We read about the man, the "massa", the general and the husband. Great Work.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!
Review: In my opinion this has been a mixed year for historical fiction. I was extremely disappointed with The Tides of War a book I looked very forward too. I had mixed feeling about James Brady's look at the Korean War. However, I was lucky enough to read the historical gems The Peking Letter and the Emperors General. The Peking Letter was a fictional look at the Chinese Civil War and the Emperors General was a fantastic look at MacArthur and the occupation of Japan after WWII. William Martin's Citizen Washington is a great example of a awesome work of historical fiction. I picked this book up after being inspired by the movie the Patriot to learn more about the Revolutionary War Period. And this book was a great find. The author tells the story of George Washington through the eyes of several fictional and real figures. However the author is really telling the story of the colonial period, slavery, the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the growth of American Political Parties. The author did a great job and this book, even though ultimately fiction really draws the reader into the time period. Ultimately the most accurate histories are going to be non-fiction secondary sources and the actual primary sources. However, anyone reading this book will really learn alot about George Washington and his times. I also enjoyed the end parts of the book where Jefferson and Hamilton tell much of the story and in doing so illustrate the differences between the Democractic-Republicans and the Federalists. However, the biggest and most important part of this book is what a great man George Washington was. From this book you see what this man really did for our country as both a military leader and President. George Washington was not a saint, the book deals with his flaws, but he is a genuine 100% hero worthy of all the praise our history shows him. If you want to learn about Washington and the Revolution READ THIS BOOK. If you just want to read a good book GET THIS BOOK. This book is time well spent. I look forward to reading more of the authors works. Also, I recommend educators who teach American history on either the high school or college level use this book. Students can learn alot from it while not being bored.
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