A Powerful Mind: The Self-Education of George Washington

I had just placed an order with Amazon and among other reading suggestions was this book. West Point professor Adrienne Harrison has chosen to focus on the reading habits of George Washington and as I had read a similar work about Abraham Lincoln, I thought this was something worth buying so I placed a second order. Harrison does make a number of interesting points. Unlike John Adams or Thomas Jefferson, Washington did not enjoy much in the way of formal education. She does a fine compare and contrast between Washington and that other self-made founding father Benjamin Franklin. She argues that Washington "is the quintessential American success story. He eschewed the fashionable classical education that was the foundation of a European style of mind in favor of a more practical approach to learning that included only those subjects that had an immediate application." As a young man trying to rise in Virginia society, he studied etiquette and learned surveying, two needed skills to attract powerful patrons. He received an officer's commission, and in both the Seven Years War and the Revolution, he read to develop his military knowledge. As a landowner and a member of Virginia's legislature, he had to teach himself agriculture. As a church vestryman, he needed to learn about religious law. In the early years of the nation, he came to appreciate the power of the press, but he also collected recently printed sermons as a supplement to newspapers in gauging public opinion, an idea I had found intriguing (the thought occurred to me that Washington would have been both fascinated by and horrified with the Internet). Harrison notes how much of Mount Vernon was designed to impress, but Washington's study was an austere, very private area and even family members needed permission to enter. She also writes of how Washington was concerned about his future reputation and planned a building to house his papers; had he lived longer, it would have been the first presidential library. Harrison has written a very good history of a man determined to surmount his limited education and how he not only succeeded, but did so in a number of fields.

Great book

I caught Dr. Harrison's wonderful Ford Foundation book talk at the Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens. Her grasp of her material was impressive, and her descriptions of George's own reading quandaries were lively and entertaining. I bought this book months ago online and recommend it highly. There are many ways to get to know our somewhat aloof First President, and his private reading and letter writing is one of the best, as Harrison makes clear. Since George wasn't a regular margin scribbler, it is hard to know how much time he spent immersed in each individual book, but it is fair to say -- as Harrison does -- that he read voraciously to improve both is his manners and his mind.

"If you mean to measure a man's mind, look at his library!" This the author does in a wonderful work I've found to be one of the best in my large collection of books on George Washington. Brings to life the penetrating mind of our preeminent Founding Father. Well researched and well written, with plenty of "Wow, I didn't know thats!" Highly recommended for interesting insights into our "ultimate American" you'll not find elsewhere!Check out one of William J. Bahr’s books:  George Washington's Liberty Key: Mount Vernon's Bastille Key – the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul , a best seller at Mount Vernon.

This book is a wonderful addition to the library of anyone interested in the personalities of our founding fathers. George Washington was definitely what we now call a "life-long learner." When he needed to tackle a new challenge, he educated himself by reading to learn what he needed to learn. He seems to have been a very practical person. His choice of reading material served practical purposes of a particular moment in both his public and private lives.

Well I enjoyed the material found in this book I did find it a bit tedious at times. From a personal perspective I wish I had read this book when I was in my 20s instead of in my seventies!

The author follows Washington's evolution as a citizen, military leader and politician through the lens of what he read. Self-educated and driven to pull himself up by his bootstraps, Washington was a life-long learner, providing a good model for us today.

George Washington is an example of a rising phoenix from nobody to the first POTUS. The book was very well written and the journey to the end of the book was a bittersweet moment. I would read it again over and over.

An interesting idea, and the author makes many interesting points about Washington. He was a pragmatic reader who read when he needed to know something. He did not read for pleasure. My issues with the book were twofold:1. Many sections were not about Washington’s reading habits. Instead they were slightly superficial biographical sections - they felt like padding that moved the focus of the book away from its stated purpose.2. So much about Washington’s reading habits was deeply contrived. The author notes early on that there are numerous barriers to fully knowing what Washington read (let alone why he read particular works), however this didn’t stop mass conjecture. It all felt a little forced and wanting to meet a certain archetype that Washington fulfils in the American psyche (again, a problem noted near the start of the book).