George Washington Written Upon the Land

Nature, Memory, Myth, and Landscape

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book George Washington Written Upon the Land by Philip Levy, West Virginia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Philip Levy ISBN: 9781940425917
Publisher: West Virginia University Press Publication: December 1, 2015
Imprint: West Virginia University Press Language: English
Author: Philip Levy
ISBN: 9781940425917
Publisher: West Virginia University Press
Publication: December 1, 2015
Imprint: West Virginia University Press
Language: English

George Washington’s childhood is famously the most elusive part of his life story. For centuries biographers have struggled with a lack of period documentation and an absence of late-in-life reflection in trying to imagine Washington’s formative years. 

In George Washington Written upon the Land, Philip Levy explores this most famous of American childhoods through its relationship to the Virginia farm where much of it took place. Using approaches from biography, archaeology, folklore, and studies of landscape and material culture, Levy focuses on how different ideas about Washington’s childhood functioned—what sorts of lessons they sought to teach and how different epochs and writers understood the man and the past itself. 

In a suggestive and far-reaching final chapter, Levy argues that Washington was present at the onset of the Anthropocene—the geologic era when human activity began to have a significant impact on world ecosystems. Interpreting Washington’s childhood farm through the lens of “big” history, he encourages scholars to break down boundaries between science and social science and between human and nonhuman.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

George Washington’s childhood is famously the most elusive part of his life story. For centuries biographers have struggled with a lack of period documentation and an absence of late-in-life reflection in trying to imagine Washington’s formative years. 

In George Washington Written upon the Land, Philip Levy explores this most famous of American childhoods through its relationship to the Virginia farm where much of it took place. Using approaches from biography, archaeology, folklore, and studies of landscape and material culture, Levy focuses on how different ideas about Washington’s childhood functioned—what sorts of lessons they sought to teach and how different epochs and writers understood the man and the past itself. 

In a suggestive and far-reaching final chapter, Levy argues that Washington was present at the onset of the Anthropocene—the geologic era when human activity began to have a significant impact on world ecosystems. Interpreting Washington’s childhood farm through the lens of “big” history, he encourages scholars to break down boundaries between science and social science and between human and nonhuman.

More books from West Virginia University Press

Cover of the book The Old English Poem Seasons for Fasting by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Centerville by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Rural America in a Globalizing World by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Believe What You Can by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Songwriting in Contemporary West Virginia by Philip Levy
Cover of the book California Dreaming by Philip Levy
Cover of the book The Argument about Things in the 1980s by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Tolkien Studies by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Isidorean Perceptions of Order by Philip Levy
Cover of the book The Book of Emperors by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Still Life with Plums by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Riding on Comets by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Hollow and Home by Philip Levy
Cover of the book Appalachian Reckoning by Philip Levy
Cover of the book History of the American Negro by Philip Levy
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy