George Washington is the human story of a man who turned an impoverished childhood and the frequent humiliations at the hands of a mother he feared and the British generals he admired into a career of rebellion and creation. When he had worn out and nearly bankrupted his allies, George Washington disbanded the victorious army he had forged and resigned to Congress, giving life to democratic government. George III once said that if Washington could give up power, he would be the greatest man of the eighteenth century. And Washington did. Twice. As the bicentennial of Washington's death approaches on December 14, 1999, a large American public is keen to know the human story of our founding father.