George Washington: The Making Of An American Symbol

“…a study of the Washington cult–of how and why a particular set of national sentiments came to cluster around the image of Washington, and what they reveal both about the man and about the political culture in which he rose to pre-eminence. Crisply written, and packed with graphic detail and telling quotation.”
— John Gross, New York Times

“A sociologist strays into history to find out why our first President was venerated from the moment of his debut on the national scene, in 1775; why public adulation increased throughout his career; and why his memory was garlanded with love and awe. Schwartz begins with what seems an exaggerated emphasis on negatives to make his point that Washington was not obviously exceptional, but as his account unfolds it becomes clear that Washington fitted, to an exceptional degree, Americans’ ideal of leadership and their sense of who they were.”
— New Yorker