You Never Forget Your First

A Biography of George Washington

By: Alexis Coe

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Alexis Coe

Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

An instant New York Times best seller

An NPR Concierge Best Book of the Year

“In her form-shattering and myth-crushing book…Coe examines myths with mirth, and writes history with humor…. [You Never Forget Your First] is an accessible look at a president who always finishes in the first ranks of our leaders.” (Boston Globe)

Alexis Coe takes a closer look at our first - and finds he is not quite the man we remember.

Young George Washington was raised by a struggling single mother, demanded military promotions, caused an international incident, and never backed down - even when his dysentery got so bad he had to ride with a cushion on his saddle. But after he married Martha, everything changed. Washington became the kind of man who named his dog Sweetlips and hated to leave home. He took up arms against the British only when there was no other way, though he lost more battles than he won.

After an unlikely victory in the Revolutionary War cast him as the nation's hero, he was desperate to retire, but the founders pressured him into the presidency - twice. When he retired years later, no one talked him out of it. He left the highest office heartbroken over the partisan nightmare his backstabbing cabinet had created.

Back on his plantation, the man who fought for liberty must confront his greatest hypocrisy - what to do with the men, women, and children he owns - before he succumbs to death.

With irresistible style and warm humor, You Never Forget Your First combines rigorous research and lively storytelling that will have listeners - including those who thought presidential biographies were just for dads - inhaling every word.

©2020 Alexis Coe (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"An important achievement. [Coe] has cleverly disguised a historiographical intervention in the form of a sometimes cheeky presidential biography." (The New York Times Book Review)

“In this breezy yet fact-filled revisionist biography, historian and podcast host Coe (Alice + Freda Forever) takes George Washington’s previous - predominantly male - biographers to task...Readers who like their history with a dose of wry humor will savor this accessible account.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Evenhanded and engaging, this biography brings fresh insight to one of America's most written-about leaders.” (Kirkus Reviews)

EXCELLENT BOOK FOR PRESIDENTS' DAY

Interesting and entertaining. An accurate and thorough insight into a wide range of attributes of a notable life.

Good Information

Overall, this was a good book, but I found it to be a little slow. I struggled to get through it.

Great perspective

I read Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, before listening to this. Together with this book, it creates a complicated picture of George Washington.
As Alexis Coe spells it out, this was a man who saw no inconsistency in fighting for principles of freedom and owning people.
While enjoyed the book, I was disappointed by the performance, particularly with the reading of the lists at the start of some chapters. I found the cadence of the reading didn’t really illuminate the writing.

An overdue perspective on an American icon.

A refreshing, thorough and modern interpretation of the first president, told in a lively, engaging voice.

George Washington!

This is by far the best biography on George Washington! It put many many things in the timeline in a most accurate light. Very enjoyable!

Great Realistic Biography!

A funny, well told, realistic biography. The performance and stories are fascinating and many haven’t been heard before. Unlike the bald faced myths espoused in schools to this day. you’re looking for an American propagandist fluff bio there’s a bunch written by many a self-aggrandizing white guy and you’ll enjoy them. These historical figures are complex flawed individuals back then as now and it’s good to have a well rounded view of them to better understand the hot mess we currently find ourselves in.

So realistic!

This book made me feel George Washington was a very real person with his foibles but also his strategic intelligence.

Engaging and honest

Such an engaging and honest account of our first president. Revealing auditory that captures the personality behind the general and president.

Concise and Entertaining

Very well read and it held my interest all the way through. Great details. try it.

Not what I expected

Interesting perspective on GW. The focus wasn't what I thought it was going to be. A sure product of our current situation.