First Among Men Audiobook By Maurizio Valsania cover art

First Among Men

George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity

Preview
Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

First Among Men

By: Maurizio Valsania
Narrated by: Christopher Douyard
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

George Washington—hero of the French and Indian War, commander in chief of the Continental Army, and first president of the United States—died on December 14, 1799. But what do we really know about Washington as an upper-class man?

Washington is frequently portrayed by his biographers as America at its unflinching best: tall, shrewd, determined, resilient, stalwart, and tremendously effective in action. But this aggressive and muscular version of Washington is largely a creation of the nineteenth century. Eighteenth-century ideals of upper-class masculinity would have preferred a man with refined aesthetic tastes, graceful and elegant movements, and the ability and willingness to clearly articulate his emotions. In First Among Men, Valsania considers Washington's complexity and apparent contradictions in three main areas: his physical life (often bloody, cold, injured, muddy, or otherwise unpleasant), his emotional world (sentimental, loving, and affectionate), and his social persona (carefully constructed and maintained).

Aided by new research, documents, and objects that have only recently come to light, First Among Men tells the fascinating story of a living and breathing person who loved, suffered, moved, gestured, dressed, ate, drank, and had sex in ways that may be surprising to many Americans.

©2022 Maurizio Valsania (P)2022 Tantor
Americas Gender Studies Politics & Activism Presidents & Heads of State Revolution & Founding Social Sciences United States War
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup
All stars
Most relevant  
The narrator did a great job and the book itself opened up the world of George Washington and who he was without coloring him as a saint or one who never did any wrong. Great book!

Enjoyable book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is very entertaining!! What an adventure! Why don’t we know exactly how tall he was? He’s much less rigid than I thought by all his portraits….

Amazing storytelling!! He’s much more real to me after this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I purchased this audiobook given it was awarded the George Washington book of the year and promised to study his intricacies and physical details in depth. the study was indeed unique, highly enjoyable, and concise. Highly recommend.

Excellent, unique book on George Washington

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.