(Washington's father died when he was 11.) No military victory, no national acclaim, no financial support merited her praise. Why? One reason: his emotionally withholding mother. Though outwardly methodical, disciplined and taciturn, inside he was feverishly ambitious, prone to anger and ravenous for status, according to Chernow. Though his early biographies added to it, Washington himself crafted this persona in youth to hide his unusually passionate and turbulent nature. Seven years in the making, Washington brims with beautifully crafted sentences that chip away at Washington's impassive facade. In fact, even history buffs who have put a dent in the mountain of books about the Founding Fathers should consider this one because of the quality of the writing and psychological insights. The result is so good in explaining the American Revolution, the founding of this country and the complicated man who served as its first president that it could serve as a textbook for high school students. Now he's put big daddy on the couch George Washington. He's chosen to analyze historical figures in award-winning biographies of Alexander Hamilton and John D. The man has a bone-deep understanding of what motivates human beings. Had Ron Chernow not chosen to write biographies, he would have made a spectacular shrink.
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