TWO HUNDRED YEARS after Henry -Lighthorse Harry- Lee's funeral oration for George Washington, the eloquence of his words -first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen- has caused most Americans to forget the clause that followed in which Lee located Washington's character firmly in his private life. George Washington: The Man behind the Myths redresses this historical imbalance in our image of Washington by examining our conceptions and misconceptions about him through a fascinating collection of documents and images.

Washington's own accounts, observations...