George Washington: James Thomas Flexner Interview: The Forging of a Nation - author-biographer

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• published: 03 Apr 2011
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Flexner's four volume biography of George Washington was the first biography to expose Washington for what he really was, a real person with exceptional qualities. In my opinion he is a man to model yourself after. He was not perfect for sure, but he was what we needed at the time to form this great Union that we have. He was the, indispensable man. When I was 16 or so I read this four volume biography of George Washington, and I found it fascinating. I never knew what kind of a man Washington was until I read this biography. One thing I will always remember is how when he was a young man out in the wilderness, he pulled a man out of the icy river that he had fallen into. He did it effortlessly with only one arm, saving the man from the freezing water. Some don't know it, but Washington was a very tall and powerful man. Some say he stood as tall as 6'4". He was a very big man and he ate a lot of food. Sometimes his dinners with his guests would last as long as 2 or 3 hours. Not sure if it was in this book, but I read how Washington during a big battle in the French and Indian War survived massive gunfire from Indians. He had two horses shot out from underneath him. He later found multiple bullet holes in his clothing. Later it was recounted by the Chief in charge of the attacking Indians that they had purposefully tried to kill him, but upon their failure the Chief had ordered his men to not fire on the young officer anymore because he was protected by the great spirit in the sky. The Indian Chief concluded that the young officer was not meant to be killed; that he had a greater purpose in life. Then there was the "Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation" that the young Washington modeled his life after. The first two rules are: 1. Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present. 2. When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usually discovered. It was not in the rules, but I would add: Do not let your trousers (pants) hang down your butt thereby revealing your butt crack to others. There are 110 rules in all. You can read them here: http://www.foundationsmag.com/civility.html I still have the last volume of the biography in my bookshelf. Yes, I stole it from the library and I still feel bad about it. Think of all those young kids who never found out how it all turned out, that Washington was the indispensable man. I guess I should take it back, but it's been so long that I'm afraid they'll put me in jail. jbranstetter04 Thomas Flexner's greatest impact was in demystifying Washington -- revealing his weaknesses as well as his strengths and, in Mr. Flexner's own words, moving beyond ''the marble image.'' A result was to make the first president even more appealing. Mr. Flexner's Washington, scrupulously researched from original sources, never chopped down a cherry tree but did have intriguingly flirtatious relationships outside his marriage that stopped just short of the bedroom. Most important, he refused the absolute power that was offered to him, which, as Mr. Flexner pointed out, other revolutionary leaders, from Napoleon to Lenin, did not. He portrayed a president not afraid to be a little unbuttoned, who enjoyed sipping Madeira, riding after hounds and relishing the latest gossip. Mr. Flexner related that Washington was perplexed by a French sculptor's decision to depict him in a toga. Writing in The New York Times in 1968, Thomas Lask said that Mr. Flexner ''brought the hero down from Olympus, if not to eye level, at least to where we can see him whole and see him plain.'' Mr. Flexner was born in Manhattan on Jan. 13, 1908. His father, Simon Flexner, was director of research at Rockefeller University. Members of his mother's family, which had deep roots in Maryland, were among the founders of Bryn Mawr College. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/nyregion/james-thomas-flexner-washington-biographer-95-dies.html