All and all, the book was a pleasant read. Imagine my surprise upon finding a book that actually had historical subsistence and wasn't overly dense. The Flesch-Kincaid level, for the passage I randomly picked, pegged at 12.0, but I find that hard to believe. If I had read this book as a senior, heads would have rolled. Fine read, yes; reflective of grade level, no. The book, I would think, could be easily approachable for middle school, granted that it's not a "throw- me-into-the-deep-end" read, but even then, it may be achievable for some. I have few real complaints about the book. The biggest that I have is the lack of maps. Personally, I come from upstate New York and have resided in Pittsburgh (you'll see what I mean when they start hashing out Pittsburgh's three different rivers during the Fort Duquesne/Fort Pitt skirmish. Even I had to pay attention to remember which river was which), so I was quite familiar with the areas being discussed throughout the book. Someone, especially a middle schooler, from anywhere else would have a hard time keeping geographical track of things, and unless they're a devotee of history, reading about events that are 200+ years old while trying to keep track of then-General Washington's movements is not conducive to gaining someone's interest. Next, while the book tries to not put Washington on a pedestal, like most do, it still has the aura of it. There are a few attempts in the book to show Washington's "human" nature, but even then, these descriptions are quickly followed by "but then he got right up and persevered!"-ims. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, but come now. Other than that, like I said, the book was quite readable and not historically dense. I give the book a 7 because, frankly, I don't think I'd read it again, nor would I recommend it to anyone. If someone came up to me and specifically said: "I need a book that details all of Washington's life briefly, and details major events in an easy-to- read format," only then would I mention this book. This shouldn't deter you from considering it. If you have a budding interest in the Revolutionary War period, this book will give you solid footing in the names, events, treaties, and nuances of the time. If you already know a lot about the Revolutionary War, you could safely pass the book up for something more investigative. In brief: good beginner book, good book to get someone interested in the time period, good book to hack through together as a class, perhaps; but hardly fulfilling for someone that has Revolutionary War knowledge and a decent grasp of the diplomacy of that era.