An extensively researched and gracefully written biography, The Man Who Would Not Be Washington follows General Robert E. Lee on his often reluctant but always duty-bound journey through married life, military glory, and misfortune. Far from being the unabashed rebel one might suppose, Lee, the Confederacy’s most famous general, was divided between his desire to preserve a union he cherished and the duty he felt to follow his state of Virginia into rebellion. Leaders from both the North and South sought Lee’s service for high command. The decision Lee made to fight against the Union tore his ties to its founder in agonizing and astonishing ways that changed American history and ultimately left Lee on the wrong side.

Jonathan Horn unlocks the inner turmoil behind Lee’s decision by shedding light on his fascinating and complicated relationship to Washington. Lee’s father had enshrined himself as Washington’s most famous eulogist by penning the phrase “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Lee himself married the daughter of Washington’s adopted son. Among the personal legacies that Lee thus inherited from Washington was the unresolved question of slavery, the cause of the Civil War.

Jonathan Horn is an author and former White House presidential speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush. He has appeared as a commentator on MSNBC and BBC radio. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Disunion series, The Weekly Standard, and other outlets.