George Washington: An Illustrated Biography

by David A. Adler

America's first president has become an icon, but Washington the man has remained something of a mystery, even today. Already a national hero well before his legendary presidency, George Washington revealed himself not only as a strong leader, but also as a pragmatic, skilled, and modest politician. Here is the full story of the life of George Washington, told with quotes from his voluminous correspondence and accounts by his peers, and accompanied by detailed historical illustrations. David A. Adler brings to life the man behind the great soldier and statesman, and unveils the dignity and humility that were the backbone of the public figure, lauded as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow-citizens."

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2004

About the author

David Abraham Adler is an American children's author. He was born in New York City, New York in 1947. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in 1976. Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year.

Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.

Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.

As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Johnny G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always wanted to know more about America’s most famous person, but knew I wouldn’t make it through one of the 600-page books in the local library. Lo and behold, this one was on the shelf with the other Washington biographies. It’s really just over 200 pages with about 50 pages of appendices, and on most pages there are small, illustrated insets that bring faces and facts to the text. I liked this book, and it filled in a lot of gaps for me. Washington wasn’t the most jocular or social guy in the room, but he was indeed a great leader, and, I imagine, one that people listened to when he did decide to speak.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books about George Washington. Found this one by chance while at the library. It's a great addition to the other books I have read.

[Lisa Beth Hutchins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. Recommended for any age that is up to reading it. It covers Washington's entire life with very little commentary and no apparent agenda.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures and experts of documents, letters, etc are great. Occasionally the commentary runs a little too preachy or too graphic for middle grades (the discussion of Washington's interest in women as a lad). Overall pretty good though. It portrays strengths and weaknesses of Washington in his life.

[Theresa]

Excellent book for young adults and also for adults. I liked all the personal stuff about Washington. I was not that interested in the battles. I'm an adult but I learned a lot and it was perfect for me. It wasn't too dense.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book I got from the YA section. Easy read, jumps around a lot...the time line isn't always fixed which sometimes was confusing. Good book to get a general, starting point to learn more about Washington. Has inspired me to find a book about Martha. It was so cool to see pictures and descriptions of Mount Vernon since we've visited there. I think if I had lived during his time, we would have gotten along.

[Mmcmanus7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. This book really throws a tsunami full of paragraphs of factual information about George Washington. Its kind of like the book "Who Was George Washington?" by Roberta Edwards, but this book expands information and provides a lot of information about his actions and words. I would recommend this book for high schoolers because it has so much information with detail about Washington.