Celebrity and Era of the Washington Era

Author: (American) Washington Irving
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-09-01
Features: "No one else has depicted the American Founding Fathers so vividly; no one else has portrayed Washington in retirement as authentically and dramatically as Irving did." — American historian Bancroft, December 6, 1859
"His comments on figures are fair, his tone moderate and balanced, almost cautious, and he devotes most of his space to narrating events." — American essayist Charles M. Warner, 1881
"As is almost unnecessary to say, Irving was one of our great literary artists, and his works are worth reading again and again." — American writer Charles Neider, February 1975
Reasons to Read This Book: Irving was a world-renowned American writer. He was the forerunner of a series of writers, including Cooper, Hawthorne, Melville, James, Mark Twain, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Hemingway, who were inevitably influenced by the tradition he pioneered. He was an American writer who made a living by writing, an American literary figure who gained fame in Europe, the father of American short stories, and the author of the great work A History of New York from the Beginning with an American spirit. His name, George Washington, further underscores his extraordinary connection to the "Father of America." He wrote The Life of Christopher Columbus, The Life of Goldsmith, and The Life of Muhammad, all about heroic figures. He loved heroes and epics, so he chose The Life of George Washington as the culmination of his life's work. This was his "final masterpiece," his "last, and greatest work."
Recommended for the following audiences: Supporters or critics of American culture, scholars or enthusiasts of biographical literature, scholars or enthusiasts of American literary history, scholars or enthusiasts of Western culture, and students of all ages.
This book is derived from Washington Irving's famous biography The Life of George Washington. Washington Irving was once called the "Father of American Literature" and held an important place in the history of American literature. As a child, he met George Washington by chance, and after admiring and revering him, he was inspired to write a biography of the "Father of America." At the age of 49, he made up his mind to do so, began writing at 57, and finally started the work at 72, completing this monumental masterpiece after four years of effort. This book is imbued with the author's 76 years of life experience. It is not just a biography of the "Father of America," but also a grand and magnificent "History of the American Founding" and "History of American Success," written in the form of a novel. The significance and value of a "Father of American Literature" writing a biography of the "Father of America" are self-evident.
He was a general, a statesman, and the founder of the United States of America. He was less creative and perceptive than leaders like Jefferson, Hamilton, and Franklin, but he was more important than any of them. Without him, no political movement could succeed; without him, there would be no United States of America. In the hearts of Americans, he was the "Man of the War," the "Man of the Peace," and the "Man of the People" in the eyes of his compatriots. Many leaders of that era believed that he held a distinguished position among all heroes in history.