5/28/2023 0 Comments George washington ron chernowIn organically unifying Washington's private and public lives, he accomplishes a feat that eludes many biographers.Īnd he propels readers forward. That speaks to the triumph of Chernow's narrative structure, the depth of his research, and how alive he is to the emotional content of dry material. A reader might agree with my criticisms yet thoroughly enjoy the book. Let's be clear: "Washington" is a true achievement. Like Washington's teeth, his life as told here is less than fully rooted in its surroundings. But the very intimacy of the story hints at this book's limitations. Here we see the strengths of this biography: the interweaving of the inner and outer man a sensitivity to the impact of a seemingly minor matter the juxtaposition of a civic saint with the trade in human flesh (or calcium, in this case). Ron Chernow describes this dental hell in "Washington," and rarely have missing bicuspids been used to such effect. On top of his increasing deafness, it made him seem aloof. Humiliated, he tried to keep his affliction secret. Any pressure pained him a bite of food, even public speaking. Washington had them fashioned into dentures, anchored with gold wire to his last native tooth. He had human teeth, which he bought from slaves, who pulled them from their own mouths. George Washington did not have wooden teeth.
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