Washington's End - by Jonathan Horn (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Popular historian and former White House speechwriter Jonathan Horn "provides a captivating and enlightening look at George Washington's post-presidential life and the politically divided country that was part of his legacy" (New York Journal of Books).Beginning where most biographies of George Washington leave off, Washington's End opens with the first president exiting office after eight years and entering what would become the most bewildering stage of his life. Embittered by partisan criticism and eager to return to his farm, Washington assumed a role for which there was no precedent at a time when the kings across the ocean yielded their crowns only upon losing their heads. In a different sense, Washington would lose his head, too. In this riveting read, bestselling author Jonathan Horn reveals that the quest to surrender power proved more difficult than Washington imagined and brought his life to an end he never expected. The statesman who had staked his legacy on withdrawing from public life would feud with his successors and find himself drawn back into military command. The patriarch who had dedicated his life to uniting his country would leave his name to a new capital city destined to become synonymous with political divisions. A "movable feast of a book" (Jay Winik, New York Times bestselling author of 1944), immaculately researched, and powerfully told through the eyes not only of Washington but also of his family members, friends, and foes, Washington's End is "an outstanding biographical work on one of America's most prominent leaders (Library Journal).

Review Quotes

One of Parade Magazine's "Books We Love"

About the Author

Jonathan Horn is an author and former White House presidential speechwriter whose books include Washington's End and the Robert E. Lee biography The Man Who Would Not Be Washington, which was a Washington Post bestseller. He has written for outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times Disunion series, New York Post, The Daily Beast, National Review, and POLITICO, and has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and PBS NewsHour. A graduate of Yale, he lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, two children, and dog. His latest book is The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines.