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Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy by [Nathaniel Philbrick]

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Nathaniel Philbrick

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy Kindle Edition

by Nathaniel Philbrick (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Travels with George . . . is quintessential Philbrick—a lively, courageous, and masterful achievement.” —TheBoston Globe

Does George Washington still matter? Bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick argues for Washington’s unique contribution to the forging of America by retracing his journey as a new president through all thirteen former colonies, which were now an unsure nation. Travels with George marks a new first-person voice for Philbrick, weaving history and personal reflection into a single narrative.

When George Washington became president in 1789, the United States of America was still a loose and quarrelsome confederation and a tentative political experiment. Washington undertook a tour of the ex-colonies to talk to ordinary citizens about his new government, and to imbue in them the idea of being one thing—Americans.

In the fall of 2018, Nathaniel Philbrick embarked on his own journey into what Washington called “the infant woody country” to see for himself what America had become in the 229 years since. Writing in a thoughtful first person about his own adventures with his wife, Melissa, and their dog, Dora, Philbrick follows Washington’s presidential excursions: from Mount Vernon to the new capital in New York; a monthlong tour of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island; a venture onto Long Island and eventually across Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The narrative moves smoothly between the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries as we see the country through both Washington’s and Philbrick’s eyes.

Written at a moment when America’s founding figures are under increasing scrutiny, Travels with George grapples bluntly and honestly with Washington’s legacy as a man of the people, a reluctant president, and a plantation owner who held people in slavery. At historic houses and landmarks, Philbrick reports on the reinterpretations at work as he meets reenactors, tour guides, and other keepers of history’s flame. He paints a picture of eighteenth-century America as divided and fraught as it is today, and he comes to understand how Washington compelled, enticed, stood up to, and listened to the many different people he met along the way—and how his all-consuming belief in the union helped to forge a nation.

Print length

395 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Viking
Publication date

September 14, 2021
File size

59587 KB
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From the Publisher

Large text: Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Hurricane's Eye

Cover of the book: Travels with George. With text: Does George Washington still matter?

Review

“Both a lighthearted travelogue and a timely exploration of Washington’s historical legacy.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Philbrick’s book addresses weighty matters but is nevertheless an enjoyable read, a fitting if unusual capstone to a trilogy on the revolution. At times, the book seems like a valedictory. The author’s many readers hope not.” —The Guardian (London)

“In Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, his thirteenth book, Nathaniel Philbrick brings his proven gift as a narrator to this on-the-road part of Washington’s life.” —The Washington Post

“Drawing unnerving parallels to the nation’s current political landscape, the writer shows how the lessons taught by the ‘father of our country’ are still relevant today.” —Smithsonian

“This delightful book retraces the journey of George Washington across the former colonies shortly after his inauguration. It’s a meditation on our first president’s continued relevance to the American identity.” —TheChristian Science Monitor

“Part history, part travelogue . . . Philbrick wrestles with [America’s] problems, some of Washington’s vintage, that continue to afflict us.” —The New York Times

“Philbrick retraces three trips that George Washington took during his presidency. . . . Through the pieces, a valuable view of Washington emerges . . . a man of physical grace and character who grasped the personal effect he had on people.” —AirMail.com

“Regardless of the readers’ preconceived notions about our first president, enough new facts are revealed and old myths dispelled to keep the pages turning rapidly.” —Lincoln Journal Star

“An enjoyable volume that is one-third history, one-third travelogue, and one-third meditation on what Washington means in the twenty-first century.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Washington emerges as the complicated, flawed but no less heroic leader that his newborn country desperately needed. . . . The quantity and quality of the details Philbrick gathers as he straddles past and present make this an extraordinary read.” —BookPage

“Nat Philbrick brings three key attributes to this brilliant book: a deep grounding in colonial history; amusing personal anecdotes observed with a shrewd traveler’s eye; and an abiding love of this quirky, unique nation. Travels with George is all the more crucial in this time of national division, when a look back to a unifying figure like our first President matters all the more.” —Admiral James Stavridis, US Navy, 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO

“Philbrick moves from one century’s point of view to another’s, perceptively observing what has changed and what has not. He particularly notes the past and current legacy of slaveholding, whether in North or South. This provides highly personal reflection and unique perspective on both the history and the often-contradictory lives of present-day Americans.” —Booklist (starred review)

“[An] entertaining mix of history, travelogue, and memoir . . . This poignant account strikes a hopeful chord.” —Publishers Weekly

“Washington, as portrayed by Philbrick, is an impressive figure who knew that he was a national icon, but this did not go to his head. . . . Though some histories of the era treat slavery as an unfortunate footnote, Philbrick does not shy away from pointing out its evils. When he cuts back to the present, roads and accommodations improve, and he encounters monuments, museums, and local historians who describe details of Washington’s visit and, more often than not, disprove a popular myth.” —Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Nathaniel Philbrick grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and earned a BA in English from Brown University and an MA in America Literature from Duke University, where he was a James B. Duke Fellow. He was Brown University’s first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978, the same year he won the Sunfish North Americans in Barrington, Rhode Island. After working as an editor at Sailing World magazine, he wrote and edited several books about sailing, including The Passionate Sailor, Second Wind, and Yaahting: A Parody. In 2000, Philbrick published the New York Times bestseller In the Heart of the Sea, which won the National Book Award for nonfiction. The book is the basis of the Warner Bros. motion picture Heart of the Sea, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Benjamin Walker, Ben Wishaw, and Tom Holland. The book also inspired a 2001 Dateline special on NBC as well as the 2010 two-hour PBS American Experience film Into the Deep by Ric Burns. Philbrick’s writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, TheNew York Times Book Review, TheWall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe. He has appeared on the Today show, The Morning Show, Dateline, PBS’s American Experience, C-SPAN, and NPR. He and his wife live on Nantucket. --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08WK318Q3
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking (September 14, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 14, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 59587 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 395 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0525562176
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #73,608 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #28 in US Revolution & Founding History (Kindle Store)
- #45 in U.S. Regional Travel
- #94 in Federal Government

Customer Reviews:
658 ratings

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Nathaniel Philbrick

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Nathaniel Philbrick

Life at a Glance

Born

1956 in Boston, Mass.

Educated

Linden Elementary School and Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pa.; BA in English from Brown University in Providence, RI, and an MA in America Literature from Duke University in Durham, NC

Sailing

Philbrick was Brown's first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978; that year he won the Sunfish North Americans in Barrington, RI; today he and his wife Melissa sail their Beetle Cat Clio and their Tiffany Jane 34 Marie-J in the waters surrounding Nantucket Island.

Married

Melissa Douthart Philbrick, who is an attorney on Nantucket. They have two children: Jennie, 23, and Ethan 20.

Career

After grad school, Philbrick worked for four years at Sailing World magazine; was a freelancer for a number of years, during which time he wrote/edited several sailing books, including Yaahting: A Parody (1984), for which he was the editor-in-chief; during this time he was also the primary caregiver for his two children. After moving to Nantucket in 1986, he became interested in the history of the island and wrote Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People. He was offered the opportunity to start the Egan Maritime Foundation in 1995, and in 2000 he published In the Heart of the Sea, followed by Sea of Glory, in 2003, and Mayflower, due in May 2006.

Awards and Honors

In the Heart of the Sea won the National Book Award for nonfiction; Revenge of the Whale won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; Sea of Glory won the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize and the Albion-Monroe Award from the National Maritime Historical Society. Philbrick has also received the Byrne Waterman Award from the Kendall Whaling Museum, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for distinguished service from the USS Constitution Museum, the Nathaniel Bowditch Award from the American Merchant Marine Museum, and the William Bradford Award from the Pilgrim Society.

Customer reviews

5 star		64%
4 star		20%
3 star		7%
2 star		5%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Kindle Customer

Wokeness Unlimited

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2021

Verified Purchase

I have read many of his previous books, which were moderately decent. In this book, he, his wife and his dog followed Washington's travels around the country. Some interesting information. Unfortunately, he felt compelled to insert his woke.political opinions into the text at several locations. Totally unnecessary. I will not buy any of his future books. I recommend that you don't buy them, either.

179 people found this helpful

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mark steber

When history is sidelined for politics

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2021

Verified Purchase

I was looking forward to a new book from this author, I've enjoyed so many of his past works, so i was very disappointed at his latest. Though it contains some interesting information on Washington it is intertwined with Philbricks sudden need to virtue signal, making it a slogging read. I tried to bypass his droning about present politics and skip to the actual history of the book, But every time i picked the book up it was like picking a hair out of your food. He's clearly gone in a direction that is not worth following, from now on i'll just re-read his older material.

136 people found this helpful

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Dr. Doug

His Worst Book Ever!!!!

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2021

Verified Purchase

I have enjoyed many of Philbrick's books to date but his attempt at a first person narrative is a major disappointment. The information about Washington is interesting & informative but when he interjects the stories of his travel along Washington's route with his wife & dog, the narrative breaks down. I found these asides so disjointed & distracting that I gave up after 50 pages & returned the book. If this is his last book, he is leaving on a bad note.

81 people found this helpful

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Brian Lewis

Traveling with the Philbricks

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2021

Verified Purchase

I am very disappointed in the latest offering from one of my favorite authors. Philbrick is one of our best historians, but here he attempts an intimate book, retracing the steps of George Washington's travels as President, and he is not the sort of writer to pull it off.

The book is at its best when it is recounting Washington's experience. When the book is in the present, the Philbricks barely get out of the car, meeting sometimes with relatives and friends who run local historical sites.

The book invites comparison with Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie but the book falls far short of what I understood was Steinbeck's objective with the book, which was to get to know his country. (Full Disclosure - I haven't read Travels with Charlie.)

This is a serious, talented historian, who is slumming here. I see some other reviewers are swearing not to read anything else by him, which truthfully, I think is shortsighted. I am more inclined to give him a mulligan on this one, and hope he gets back to business with his next book.

30 people found this helpful

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Gary Beaver

Primarily a commentary on slavery in early America

Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

Despite being a long time admirer of the author's works, this book disappoints. It spends, in my opinion, a disproportionate amount of time commenting on the slavery issue. Notwithstanding the importance of the subject, I did not appreciate having it being thrown in every other page along with some currently woke - PC opinions such as scorn for Confederate memorials and glee over their removal. For all effective purposes, the title is a misnomer. The title should be more descriptive of the true contents such as "Slavery Bad, Shame on Us". It has a scolding tone to the narrative which I can do without.

22 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Everyone should read this!

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2021

Verified Purchase

I read 50-60 books each year and,admittedly, most of them are fiction; but this- this is important. Don't worry if you aren't a big non-fiction fan. Nathaniel Philbrick's style makes it very accessible. He and his wife and dog follow the path of Washington's travels early in his presidency, hence the title. I have gained so much respect for Washington (he is so often reduced to a mere caricature). Often we see the current division in our nation as a new affliction, but we see its nature and roots already in place as we journey with our author and first president. Five stars! Read it!

16 people found this helpful

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Don

A bit disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

Travels with George of course has to compare with Steinbeck’s masterpiece of travel writing. But I think the comparison hurts it. There are excellent moments, for example, his harrowing sailing adventure in a storm and his commentary on Brown. However, instead of a search for Washington, Philbrick seems in search of a story. He finds this mostly in telling us over and over that Washington owned slaves. Yup, we know. Oh, and by the way, Washington was the Father of our country and he owned slaves. Yup, we know again. Jefferson gets bashed. By the way, Jefferson owned slaves too. Yup, we know. I guess I would rather have heard more about the dog.

12 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Shlomo Rabinowitz

A breezy and interesting read

Reviewed in Canada on September 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

I’ve been a Philbrick fan for coming on twenty years, and this book does not disappoint. It is a quick read, and flows well. It isn’t supposed to be a heavy history. It was great to see a personal side to a very fine author. Highly recommended.

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