I really enjoyed this glimpse into a famous American's life. It highlighted the depth of his interests and I learned many things that I didn't know about George. It's easy to forget that the founding fathers were also colonial men, who came here because they had an interest in working the land. I enjoyed the deep dive into the discoveries and innovations that George Washington had a passion for. If you're a history buff, this is a good one to add to your TBR list!

Throughout the book you'll find fascinating examples of how Washington was so multifaceted. This book is motivational and inspirational. This book could benefit everyone, not only people in business. A great read!

I found George Washington, Entrepreneur: How Our Founding Father's Private Business Pursuits Changed America and the World to be an interesting read. I give it four stars.

I eat up anything about this person that is a moment in Time in the United States history. I do love fascinating story about real person makes it more personal. This book meant all my exceptions and more. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history.

I am a life long student of early America as a Daughter Of The American Revolution and was pleased to read this fascinating book for review. Thank you to the author and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own. I highly recommend this book for your reading enjoyment for all who enjoy learning about our wonderful history.

Here we are introduced to the man behind the General, behind the President and the Constitution. We are introduced to a brilliant innovator. We learn that Washington was innovative at growing and selling crops , at export overseas and of creating products that would sell . He was self educated in every subject he was interested in and he did not stop at reading books. He put in practice through trial and error a thriving export business of wheat when others would only sell tobacco. He found a market overseas and successful created his export business. He grew various species of trees, fruits and vegetables other had never considered. His business senses of creating a distillery, species of mules, selling his products was unprecedented at his time. Washington never stopped learning throughout his life . He was brilliant at business and built a successful career around his beloved Mt. Vernon with all his pursuits .

I found this fascinating and I learned so much more here after years of studying Washington. I highly recommend this book and consider it a must read . It was fascinating and a wonderful account of our first President and his intelligence.

I was given an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

George Washington is known to the world for his leadership role in the American Revolutionary War, his adeptness during the French and Indian War, and certainly as the first President of the United States. The most intriguing item is George Washington that learned so many skill sets, brought plants from across the work, and was one of the first to use his name to sell alcohol.
This book is a very clear and concise book about how George Washington's entrepreneurial skills set him apart from many of the other U.S. presidents throughout the years. Both he and his wife Martha were very detail-oriented about their handling of Mount Vernon.
The book is definitely a must-read for anyone wanting to learn more about the father of our country and how multi faceted he was in his life.

This is one of the best books I've read all year. Bay focusing on Washington's activities as a farmer and businessman,Beslau gives us an engaging portrait of the Founding Father. I am so impressed with the great man's intelligence, enterprise, and acumen.

Not only is the book full of great information it is written in a well-written and accessible style.

I can't recommend this book enough!

This was an interesting book. I have not read much about George Washington and didn't realize his father died when George was young, which meant George didn't have the advantage of the English education his older brothers had. Nor did he inherit as much. Yet he was very productive from a young age. I mean what teenage boy now starts an apprenticeship and has a business a few years later. I also didn't know he was an inventor and entrepreneur. The writing style is easy-to-read and the has lots of information, but it not bogged down with dry facts. The author makes it more like a story.

This was a very interesting look into the life of our first president. George Washington was much more than just a military leader and president. He was an avid gardener and had his own greenhouse full of fruits that for the time were considered exotic, such as pineapple and citrus. Washington even grew hemp for making rope and other materials from and bred mules for sale. He even started growing wheat and built a mill to sell flour so customers wouldn't have to grind it themselves. Earlier in life he was a land surveyor and all of his life was a lover of inventions. He often would have inventors demonstrate products to him.

What an interesting read and amazing look into the full life of our first president. I was really intrigued to learn so much about a man I knew so little about outside of his military and political life.

5 Stars!

Berlau's book offers readers a quick and informative introduction into the various ways George Washington engaged in entrepreneurship. While there is a lot one can gain from the book, there are problematic areas such as referring to the enslaved men and women on his property as "Washington's crew" or "Mount Vernon's workers" rather than actually addressing them as what they were negating the hardships and harshness faced by those people. The issue of slavery is addressed briefly later in the book, but I feel that fails to correct the misuse of terms throughout other areas of the book. Another problematic section of the book is the final chapter where Berlau pushes the political agenda of his company, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and essentially turns the entire book into propaganda for the company's ideology thus rendering the historical value of the work moot. IMO, as a writer or scholar of history, one should strive to limit personal bias that can cloud the focus of the historical information and render it less intellectual pursuit and more personal manifesto.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the DARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

I have read so many biographies of George Washington, all focusing on his role as first president. When I saw this book offered from NetGalley I wanted to read it for its different approach to his life. There was so much more t0 him than politics,. He was a great intellectual and creative man. I had visited Mount Vernon and wanted to know more about his business methods in agriculture. His attitude towards slavery is touched upon and his ability to adapt to the times was interesting.
There were just two things that kept this from being a five star review. First, I would have liked to have more historical details of agricultural methods worldwide for comparison. Second, I would have dropped the final chapter. The author, in my opinion, spoiled it by mounting his soapbox in the final chapter. But even with that quibble, I enjoyed it overall.
My thanks to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the advanced look at this wonderful, informative book about a part of George Washington's life that I was not very familiar with. We mostly think of Jefferson and Franklin when it comes to inventions and new ideas and completely overlook Washington. I always felt that he was a humble man and may not have been quite the self promoter that some of the other Founding Fathers were. They may have been better at the public relations and celebrity, Washington wanted to find peace and solitude in his retirement from public life, which may account for the fact that much of his later life was not more mainstream knowledge.
Washington was always curious and on a ceaseless quest for knowledge on how to improve his estate. Researching and applying new methods of agriculture practices, changing up the standard growing of tobacco to wheat with a mill and flour production, plans for greenhouses, a distillery, and so many other contributions.
A complex individual with flaws but so much of what he gave to America has made it the unique place that it is today.

George Washington has proven that he had the ability to become the enterprising individual described in the title of this book: George Washington, Entrepreneur. He possessed adaptability, persistence, and exhibited a work ethic that eventually turned Mount Vernon into an industrialized village even throughout his long absences during the Revolutionary War and his presidency.

By phasing out tobacco and introducing several types of wheat, he rebuilt the gristmill with imported French buhrstones to produce branded “G. Washington flour” which was shipped throughout the colonies, England, and the West Indies. Experimenting with fertilizer, plowing, and crop rotation, he practiced soil conservation.

Berlau presents Great Britain’s policies dating back to the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries when the Industrial Revolution began. The colonists were not allowed a role in this manufacturing opportunity. We are also presented with the new policies enacted by Great Britain effecting the industries of Mount Vernon and its neighbors that moved him to coordinate with other colonists to begin the road that would lead to the revolution.

His experimental endeavors resulted in many successful enterprises producing the personal skills necessary to conduct the successful war and later manage his presidency. Berlau’s narrative has presented a more detailed account of the many talents Washington mastered to eventually command an army that would take on the British Empire. George Washington became not just an extraordinary entrepreneur, but an entrepreneur extraordinaire.

We all too often think of George Washington as a founding father and a brave soldier. But John Berlau offers a fresh glimpse of our first president as being someone who was a savvy, creative businessman who sought to innovate in farming. There were a lot of things here I didn't know, and I definitely appreciated this fresh look at a man who has had many, many books written about him...just not on this particular subject. I loved the book and thought it was really well-written. George Washington fans are in for a treat. Many thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for this honest review..

"George Washington, Entrepreneur" looks not at Washington's role as president or general, but as farmer and landowner, His curiosity with the world and keen powers of observation helped him see things that could be improved instead of just done the way everyone else did them. This led to gristmills, fisheries, and distilleries- among other things- allowing Mount Vernon to remain a viable estate. While much of the information was interesting, I wish that Berlau had gone into more detail, perhaps comparing Washington's work or developments with other farmers in America at the time, or those in Europe, so the reader could get a better sense of the importance or uniqueness of Washington's decisions. Much of the book read to me more like "Washington did this" without necessarily putting it into a larger context to help the reader understand its importance- like building a greenhouse. The writing was choppy, with lots of short sentences that made the flow uneven, and there was more repetition than I thought the book needed. I do give Berlau full credit for saving his own views on regulations and his arguments for why Washington would or would not like how things stand today until the last chapter, instead of pushing his personal agenda throughout the entire book, as some authors would. Overall, I found "George Washington, Entrepreneur" somewhat interesting, but I would have wished for more in-depth analysis context than was given.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

4 stars!

An intriguing look at the business side of George Washington instead of his presidential side. He was a brilliant man who accomplished much in his lifetime.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Washington's impact on American life is not disputed. What is more little known about him was his life outside of the Presidency and his generalship. This books has some aspects of a general biography but it focuses primarily on his inventiveness concerning agriculture and entrepeneurship. The author unfortunately is a compiler of information and quotes from other historians rather than making a contribution of his own thoughts. Still good information but it gets quite annoying with constant naming of other writers. When Berlau does get biographical he fails to be honest with Washington's involvement in the French and Indian War as the beginning of the greater Seven Years War. The author twice had the opportunity to show that Washington can rightly be the direct cause of the war because of his massacre of French soldiers. I understand that the point of the book was to show the positive contributions of Washington were but all authors need to historically accurate.

This book is a different type of biography on our first president. It focuses on his agriculturals pursuits throughout his life and how he influenced the development of the early food industry in our country. The book is a quick read. I would recommend skipping the last chapter as the author gets on his soap box and diverges from the theme of the book. I would have rated the book higher except for the last chapter.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook  page.

I really liked this book. I even learned a few things that I didnt know previously, which is amazing considering the fact that I'm a huge history buff. Excellent job by the author.

This is also posted on Goodreads

Often authors of histories need to decide on the perspectives they will be providing and prioritize the slices of the history they will tell, be it the politics, wars, society, or economics. In this book, the author gives us a glimpse of Washington, the innovating business man. In the author’s own words (from his Introduction):

“This is a story—told through the careful examination of primary documents—of an innovative entrepreneur who forged a nation through the leadership and management skills he developed in the burgeoning American business world.”

“For them (George and Martha Washington), as for entrepreneurs today, their business pursuits were personal. They poured their passions, creativity, and ingenuity into growing Mount Vernon and its enterprises. And when George saw what they had built coming under threat from increasingly oppressive British taxes and regulations, it motivated him to lead the fight both for his own liberties and those of his countrymen.”

Through an extensive review of diaries (starting from when he was 14 years old), business correspondence, sometimes receipts, as well reading many other biographers of Washington, the authors tells the unique story of Washington’s experience as a surveyor, investor, farmer, and ultimately of a business man that has created multiple industries around his beloved Mt Vernon.
[Note: Collectively Washington’s document, now part of the Library of Congress, “occupy 163 linear feet of shelving and 124 reels of microfilm.”]

The author writes enthusiastically and offers many examples of Washington’s experience which provide insight into Washington’s character, leadership abilities, and thoughts about the future of Mt Vernon and the country. One such example from the Introduction tells of Washington’s interest in learning how to build a green house, and how he goes about asking for input from other people, even as a retired general of the continental army.

The author stresses repeatedly, and with some evidence, that Washington was a life-long learner, reading many books, and asking questions of experts around the country and the world.

Let me relate several insights I gained (although many more exist).
• Surveying helped him start a career, and his meticulous approach and care with that enterprise made him some wealth and built trust with his customers. However, he gave up this career because of regulations. However, surveying lead to his appreciation of maps, and of land. He was able to acquire good land, and the use of maps helped him in the Revolutionary war.
• His activities around Mt. Vernon evolved over time. Before many of his contemporaries, he realized that tobacco was not a crop he could depend on, so, he first migrated to wheat, after consulting others. That lead naturally to building a mill, and making a business from the flour. He evidently also was concerned about positive name-recognition so he ensured a type of copyright to his brand. He designed an 18-sided storage bin. Later he also used the grain to make whiskey; he added a forge for tools; he kept animals, and used the wool from the sheep in on site weaving. Thus, he made around Mt Vernon a small industrial village.
• The match with Marsha Washington was a critical one for Washington, since he relied on her to help manage these small and growing enterprises. Interestingly, after her first marriage, she had two offers to marry. She chose the one with a bit less money and land, but with ambition and plans.
• When he feared that the English could continue to restrict ventures (e.g., industry) in the colonies he with George Mason (likely the primary writer) drafted what would be called the Fairfax Resolve (1774) – a declaration of economic independence from England, to prevent England from taking away the wealth and industries (businesses) he created. They also outlined constitutional rights of the colonists.
• Statement 17 of the Fairfax Resolve is about slavery. In particular it states “Resolved that it is the Opinion of this Meeting, that during our present Difficulties and Distress, no Slaves ought to be imported into any of the British Colonies on this Continent; and we take this Opportunity of declaring our most earnest Wishes to see an entire Stop for ever put to such a wicked cruel and unnatural Trade.”
• Washington also had misgiving about slavery, and in a three-page Emancipation Clause, to his will – written about 6 months before his unexpected death – he described his plan about freeing slaves, educating them, caring for them if they could not find work.

So why is the author telling this story. There seem to be (at least) two reasons.

First, Washington’s interest in creating and supporting new ideas is normally not associated with him, and not to the extent it is associated with Franklin and Jefferson. The author wishes to set the record straight(er) that Washington had a practical and inquisitive nature, keen to learn, ambitious to improve himself throughout his life, willing to learn from others. These skills are demonstrated by how he created or applied ideas to create new activities and improved processes around Mt Vernon, his ability to talk with many people, his ability to lead an army, and his interest in this issue as the first President.

The second motivation of the author is to use the basic and unencumbered entrepreneurial spirit of Washington to advocate for a rethinking of regulation in today’s United States (this in the last few pages of the book). In several places in the book the author distinguishes regulations for protection and safety from those regulations to keep people out of a profession to ensure wealth of those already there, understanding the need for the former and objection to the latter. He finishes with the comment that while taxation is based on representation (Congress) there is often a disconnect between laws and the administrative rules on regulations, for which there is no representation or in fact perhaps no link to Congress. [I am just relating the view of the author, to indicate the shift in tone he takes in the last chapter.]

Overall, the book provides insights and examples of a George Washington many of us do not associate with the first president of the United States. This is a contribution.

Let me close with some additional quotes from the book.

Leading to the revolutionary war
“But the specific reasons Washington gives for turning against Britain have been largely overlooked. This is likely because these reasons can’t really be grasped without an understanding of Washington’s entrepreneurial activities up to this point.

“In his letter, Washington expressed the fear that Britain would not just tax the goods he purchased but shut down his new enterprises through regulation.

“The response (to a law) of Washington and many others was to double down on the type of manufacturing that had been banned or discouraged by the British. With Martha’s help, Washington ramped up Mount Vernon’s textile production.”

Post war
“In his first address to Congress on January 8, 1790, Washington called for the “introductions of new and useful inventions from abroad” and “encouragement . . . of skill and genius in producing them at home.”7 Congress passed the Patent Act later that year for the purpose (in the Constitution’s words) of “securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.”8”

“So how did America break from history and show the world how to love inventors? It had a lot to do with both the policies and example set by George Washington, who championed inventors both as president and in his dealings with them as a private citizen.”

“Understanding people from all walks of life is also one of the keys to successful entrepreneurship. To create a market for a good or service, an aspiring entrepreneur has to be familiar with the wants and needs of those he wants as customers.”

Finally, as a disclaimer, I was invited to review a pre-publication version of this book by St Martin’s Press. I wish to express my thanks for this opportunity.