George Washington

In this remarkable new portrait, award-winning historian David O. Stewart unveils the political education that made Washington a master politician - and America's most essential leader. From Virginia's House of Burgesses, where Washington mastered the craft and timing of a practicing politician, to his eventual role in the Second Continental Congress and his grueling generalship in the American Revolution, Washington perfected the art of governing and service, earned trust, and built bridges. Washington's rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in history.