Departing from the usual third person narratives of biographies, this account is told in the first person as the reminiscences of a now retired George Washington. Reflecting on his days as a youth, he relates his family history, education, and military life up to the age of about 26 when he was a colonel. Naturally the author takes much liberty in filling in the details of Washington’s life, but largely remains true to history and the spirit of the man. The result is an engaging story that flows naturally, entertaining as it informs. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Physician and author S. Weir Mitchell brings us a short collection of stories of the human condition. Through diverse settings as the mystical Arabian desert to a lonely park bench, from a jocular sea port to a dusty library packed with archaic tomes written in foreign tongues, S. Weir Mitchell shows us what it means to live as others live. Through hauntings both literal and metaphorical, through desperate acts and moral dilemmas, we are shown through these slight sketches that life is as complicated or simple as we choose to make it.