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Washington, D.C., is home to the most influential power brokers in the world. But how did we come to call D.C.—a place one contemporary observer called a mere swamp "producing nothing except myriads of toads and frogs (of enormous size)," a district that was strategically indefensible, captive to the politics of slavery, and a target of unbridled land speculation—our nation's capital? In Washington, acclaimed and award-winning author Fergus M. Bordewich turns his eye to the backroom deal making and shifting alliances between our Founding Fathers and in doing so pulls back the curtain on the lives of slaves who actually built the city. The answers revealed in this eye-opening book are not only surprising and exciting but also illuminate a story of unexpected triumph over a multitude of political and financial obstacles, including fraudulent real estate speculation, overextended financiers, and management more apt for a "banana republic" than an emerging world power.

In this page-turning work that reveals the hidden and somewhat unsavory side of the nation's beginnings, Bordewich, once again, brings his novelist's sensibility to a little-known chapter in American history.

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As one of the nation's most recognizable faces, he appears in every American history textbook and graces the dollar bill. Yet although he acts as the iconic figurehead of America, little is known about the man behind the myth. Before George Washington became America's first president and an enduring national symbol, he was a soldier. In this landmark release, THE HISTORY CHANNEL® presents an intimate chronicle of Washington's little-known military life. Follow him from his first officer's commission in the Virginia militia through the difficult lessons of his youth and his 17-year retirement. Witness his reemergence as the soul of the American Revolution and see how he transformed a ragtag band of men into an army that could battle--and beat--the greatest military in the world. Featuring stunning location footage, gripping re-enactments, and candid interviews with historical and military experts, WASHINGTON THE WARRIOR narrates one man's epic journey to greatness--and the birth of a nation. DVD Features: Behind-the-Scenes "History in the Making"; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

He was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," and Washington the Warrior puts the emphasis on the beginning of that equation. The military career of George Washington is the well-chosen focus of this History Channel documentary, which will probably surprise the casual history buff. It gives the fascinating story of Washington's youthful ride into the Ohio territory to deliver a message to the French, a defining moment (and one that made Washington a celebrity after his diary of the journey was published). The film strongly suggests that the young Washington was in over his head in the early battles that followed, and that his career might well have ended after he led a British debacle at Fort Necessity, a stumble at the start of the French and Indian War. Glossing lightly over GW's years as a gentleman farmer, the doc picks up again with Washington's takeover of the Revolutionary army (he showed up at the Second Continental Congress dressed in his military uniform, leaving little question about his intentions) and the tenacious years that followed. The approach here is basically an illustrated lecture, with Stacy Keach intoning the story of Washington, and experts (mostly sounding enthralled with Washington's life) providing context. Meanwhile, armies of reenactors march through their paces in pretend battles. Jackson Bolt plays the mature Washington, with Shea Patrick as the younger version--and how refreshing to see the carved-in-marble George Washington as a guy in his twenties. CGI effects are a big boost here, and the location work is often flavorful. The re-creations have the flat, unconvincing quality of many such things--nobody ever gets their uniforms dirty--but the life being described is an important one, and the approach is foursquare. --Robert Horton

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To this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the exacting scholarship, shrewd analysis, and lyric prose that have made him one of the premier historians of the Revolutionary era. Training his lens on a figure who sometimes seems as remote as his effigy on Mount Rushmore, Ellis assesses George Washington as a military and political leader and a man whose “statue-like solidity” concealed volcanic energies and emotions.

Here is the impetuous young officer whose miraculous survival in combat half-convinced him that he could not be killed. Here is the free-spending landowner whose debts to English merchants instilled him with a prickly resentment of imperial power. We see the general who lost more battles than he won and the reluctant president who tried to float above the partisan feuding of his cabinet. His Excellency is a magnificent work, indispensable to an understanding not only of its subject but also of the nation he brought into being.

As commander of the Continental army, George Washington united the American colonies, defeated the British army, and became the world's most famous man. But how much do Americans really know about their first president? Today, as Pulitzer Prize-winner Joseph J. Ellis says in this crackling biography, Americans see their first president on dollar bills, quarters, and Mount Rushmore, but only as "an icon--distant, cold, intimidating." In truth, Washington was a deeply emotional man, but one who prized and practiced self-control (an attribute reinforced during his years on the battlefield).

Washington first gained recognition as a 21-year-old emissary for the governor of Virginia, braving savage conditions to confront encroaching French forces. As the de facto leader of the American Revolution, he not only won the country's independence, but helped shape its political personality and "topple the monarchical and aristocratic dynasties of the Old World." When the Congress unanimously elected him president, Washington accepted reluctantly, driven by his belief that the union's very viability depended on a powerful central government. In fact, keeping the country together in the face of regional allegiances and the rise of political parties may be his greatest presidential achievement.

Based on Washington's personal letters and papers, His Excellency is smart and accessible--not to mention relatively brief, in comparison to other encyclopedic presidential tomes. Ellis's short, succinct sentences speak volumes, allowing readers to glimpse the man behind the myth. --Andy Boynton

Amazon.com Exclusive Content
Curious about George?
Amazon.com reveals a few facts about the legendary first president of the United States.

Washington bust by Jean Antoine Houdon. Courtesy of the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Assoc.

1. The famous tale about Washington chopping down the cherry tree ("Father, I cannot tell a lie") is a complete fabrication.

2. George Washington never threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River--in fact, to do so from the shore of his Mount Vernon home would have been physically impossible.

3. George Washington did not wear wooden teeth. His poorly fitting false teeth were in fact made of cow's teeth, human teeth, and elephant ivory set in a lead base.

4. Early in his life, Washington was himself a slave owner. His opinions changed after he commanded a multiracial army in the Revolutionary War. He eventually came to recognize slavery as "a massive American anomaly."

5. In 1759, having resigned as Virginia's military commander to become a planter, Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis. Washington’s marriage to the colony's wealthiest widow dramatically changed his life, catapulting him into Virginia aristocracy.

6. Scholars have discredited suggestions that Washington's marriage to Martha lacked passion, as well as the provocative implications of the well-worn phrase "George Washington slept here."

7. Washington held his first public office when he was 17 years old, as surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia.

8. At age 20, despite no prior military experience, Washington was appointed an adjutant in the Virginia militia, in which he oversaw several militia companies, and was assigned the rank of major.

9. As a Virginia aristocrat, Washington ordered all his coats, shirts, pants, and shoes from London. However, most likely due to the misleading instructions he gave his tailor, the suits almost never fit. Perhaps this is why he appears in an old military uniform in his 1772 portrait.

10. In 1751, during a trip to Barbados with his half-brother Lawrence, Washington was stricken with smallpox and permanently scarred. Fortunately, this early exposure made him immune to the disease that would wipe out colonial troops during the Revolutionary War.

Timeline
Important dates in George Washington's life.

Engraving of Mount Vernon, 1804. Courtesy of the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Assoc.

1732: George Washington is born at his father's estate in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

1743: George’s father, Augustine Washington, dies.

1752: At age 20, despite the fact that he has never served in the military, Washington is appointed adjutant in the Virginia militia, with the rank of major.

1753: As an emissary to Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, he travels to the Ohio River Valley to confront French forces--the first of a series of encounters that would lead to the French and Indian War.

1755: Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of Virginia's militia.

1759: He marries wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis.

1774: Washington is elected to the First Continental Congress.

1775: He is unanimously elected by the Continental Congress as its army's commander-in-chief. Start of the American Revolution.

1776: On Christmas Day, Washington leads his army across the Delaware River and launches a successful attack against Hessian troops in Trenton, New Jersey.

1781: With the French, he defeats British troops in Yorktown, Virginia, precipitating the end of the war.

1783: The Revolutionary War officially ends.

1788: The Constitution is ratified.

1789: Washington is elected president.

1797: He fulfills his last term as president.

1799: Washington dies on December 14, sparking a period of national mourning.

Discover the splendor of the Evergreen State captured in intense, awe-inspiring detail in Washington the Beautiful. Take flight on an aerial tour of Washington s diverse landscape from the Olympic coast-line to the majestic Cascade Mountains and the abundant farmlands of the eastern side of the state. Continue the journey by foot with cultural events, recreational activities, and the very celebrations that make Washington a Pacific Northwest treasure.

The Washington Post National Weekly edition is a digest of news, politics, and commentary. Each week is filled with incisive reporting, in-depth political analysis, and facts and figures from the most skilled, most seasoned news and editorial pros in Washington. Published weekly