Mary Ellen's Reviews > Blood of Tyrants: George Washington & the Forging of the Presidency

NB: I received a copy gratis through the History Book Club here on CR!
The title is a bit more ambitious than the book: it deals almost exclusively with Washington during the Revolution, and so the only aspect of the presidency to which it refers is Commander-in-Chief. The author's thesis is that, to discover the founders' intent in conferring the power of C-i-C on the President, one should look to the power exercised by Washington as C-i-C during the Revolution.

The author states that he wanted to write a readable text, one attractive to those who are not scholars. I'd say he achieved his objective in spades. For me, the writing was a bit too folksy. Also a bit too hagiographical. Even Washington's sketchier actions are excused, generally on the basis that The Congress Made Him Do It (even though, when he wanted to, he ignored Congress's instructions). And anyone who was in any way anti-Washington really gets trashed. Even his mother.

On the other hand, the author has crafted a highly readable book that will bring to many people - myself very much included - views of Washington hitherto unknown. This is not the stiff, brief, portrait we got in history class. He raises many issues - such as treatment of British prisoners and Loyalists - my previous "survey" encounters with the Revolutionary era left in the shadows. I am not as sure as the author that Washington's actions in these areas are instructive for us today, but I am grateful that he helped make a formerly one-dimensional "character" a bit more real for me.