240 pages, hardcover

$22.95

by Barry Schwartz

George Washington was a modest man who did not seek power and preferred to avoid the limelight. Yet a "Washington cult" sprang up during his presidency, ballooned after his death, and continues today. (For example, our national capital, a state, and many towns, counties, schools, streets, bridges, etc., all bear his name.) How did a man who would have disdained such tributes manage to attract so many? The answer, according to Schwartz, was because Washington distinguished himself not by the feats he performed to attract power, but instead by the lengths he went to avoid power and the enthusiasm with which he relinquished power once he felt it was no longer needed. Schwartz shows how this approach actually permitted Washington to greatly increase his power for the ends he desired: victory in the Revolutionary War and establishment of a stable, free American nation. Schwartz contrasts Washington's character and behavior with those of contemporary politicians, and concludes that "George Washington remains a prominent object of commemoration because the values he stood for in the late eighteenth century remain central to the political culture of the late twentieth century. Few contemporary leaders actually live up to these values." Any student of American political history or culture needs this insightful, entertaining volume in their library!