George Washington has stood as the pivotal figure of American history, the ethos of an entire nation distilled into one man, however it is sometimes difficult to remember he was just that: a flesh and blood figure who experienced the same passions and emotions as all humans do.

“Washington: A Life” by Ron Chernow reminds us that Washington did not become the first among equals of the generation of the Founding Fathers through serendipity. Rather, Washington rose to greatness by dedication to self-improvement and reflection that all great leaders possess.

Chernow gives us the same vibrant treatment of the first president’s life that readers found in his other works on the lives of great Americans. The author began his career by describing the rise of the great financial houses such as the Warburgs, Rockefellers and Morgans.

After transitioning to talking about the financial genius of the generation of the Founders in “Alexander Hamilton,” the author continues on the same track with a survey of the life of the president who did more than any other in defining the strong presidency which defines the American form of government.

Washington’s ambitions to become a fully fledged member of the colonial gentry are given full voice as is his slow transformation from possessing the political biases of a southern plantation owner to those of an anti-slavery nationalist.

Surrounding this main narrative are selections on the life and times the president lived in. Washington’s life thus becomes a microcosm of 18th century America and uses Washington’s family life, romances, service in the army and later role as a national politician to shed light on the everyday life of elites, common folk and slaves.

Many multivolume accounts have been published about Washington’s life and times. Most have either focused on Washington’s role as “General and Commander-in-Chief” or Washington’s experience as the first President of the United States. Chernow’s account manages to cover Washington’s entire life without being too tedious.

In an age where we are taught to distrust authority, the role of Washington as the “Father of His Country” has become slowly degraded to the realm of mere myth. Yet Washington did earn the respect and adoration of his countrymen in his lifetime by creating the substance of what became the United States of America in the fires of the Revolutionary War.

While contemporary Americans, living in a post-Watergate society, have been bred to distrust our leaders and those of us who strive for leadership roles, Washington’s example reminds us that there was a time when Americans did not view political polarization as a fact of life.

The generation of the Founders was a time when Americans looked not towards finding blame for the past but towards how to secure their futures. Washington’s calls for unity which may be dismissed as rhetoric by our age were clarion calls for action in his.

Chernow’s account of Washington’s life makes our conceptualization of his achievements more accessible to a contemporary generation of readers in way that updates the old yarn spun in grade school.