The man we see on the dollar bill seems so serious, but I’ve found he was terribly reckless,” says Ian Kahn, who, in researching the general he plays on AMC’s “TURN: Washington’s Spies,” says the father of our country was hell-bent on becoming an officer in the British Army; once spurned, he went on to lead the rebels. “John Adams described Washington as ‘too illiterate, unlearned, unread for his station and reputation,’” continues Kahn, a Skidmore grad. “But Washington did read, and usually with a purpose.” Indeed, Washington said in 1771, “I conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which other knowledge is built.”
Here, on the eve of Presidents Day, is what Kahn believes Washington read back then — and what he’d be reading today:
Memoirs of the Year: Two Thousand Five Hundred by Louis-Sebastien Mercier (1770)
This book was one of the few things Washington and Thomas Jefferson had in common. Washington was always looking to the future to get a glimpse of what was to come. Mercier imagined a world in the 25th century — a leisured society, where people weren’t stuck in the mud.
Gentlemen’s Magazine (1731) (Today: GQ)
Washington had style! The GQ of his time was called Gentlemen’s Magazine. It had the clothes of the time and discussed political issues. Washington was a Renaissance man — a great horseman, a great dresser and a great dancer. Women would line up waiting for him to dance with them. But there was no sign of his straying. His love for Martha was solid.
Cato, a Tragedy by Joseph Addison
Washington loved the theater and “Cato” in particular. It’s the most famous play of its time. He even staged it during the war, for the troops, to inspire them to lead. “Cato” was the “Hamilton” of its time!
Inside Jihad: How Radical Islam Works, Why It should Terrify Us, How to Defeat It by Tawfik Hamid
Hamid was recruited into a terror group by the man who replaced bin Laden and realized it’s not the way to go. Washington was a man of discipline and order, and a great warrior. He would have read Hamid’s book to better understand the challenge and enemy ahead of us.
