You Never Forget Your First (Coe) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
An important achievement. [Coe] has cleverly disguised a historiographical intervention in the form of a sometimes cheeky presidential biography.
Tatiana Schlossberg - New York Times Book Review


In her form-shattering and myth-crushing book… Coe examines myths with mirth, and writes history with humor…. [You Never Forget Your First] is an accessible look at a president who always finishes in the first ranks of our leaders.
Boston Globe


You've never quite read a biography like this. Chock full of remarkable facts about George Washington—and surprisingly easy to read—this one feels more like reading your favorite fiction.
Newsweek


Alexis Coe jolts readers with a fresh retelling of the first president. It’s Washington without the pomp—the United States’ first president like you’ve never seen him before.
Reader’s Digest


[B]reezy yet fact-filled revisionist biograph…. The book’s brisk pace and contrarian perspective leave significant gaps…, but it succeeds in humanizing the Founding Father. Readers who like their history with a dose of wry humor will savor this accessible account.
Publishers Weekly


[This] accessible, humorous work casts Washington in a personal light.… An adept, highly approachable read that will appeal to history buffs and anyone seeking a compact overview of the man and the myth. —Stacy Shaw, Denver
Library Journal


(Starred review) In the insightful and entertaining You Never Forget Your First, historian Alexis Coe moves past the well-worn tropes we’ve come to associate with George Washington… with style and humor…. Coe makes colonial history not just fascinating but relevant.
BookPage


A biography of George Washington that debunks many of the tall tales surrounding his legacy.… The author has clearly done her homework…. Evenhanded and engaging, this biography brings fresh insight to one of America's most written-about leaders.
Kirkus Reviews