Can a King be an Enlightened Leader?

Book Review

Overhoff, Jürgen. George Washington and Frederick the Great: Parallel Lives. Translated by Patrick Baker. Princeton University Press, 2026.

The two most famous American and Prussian generals followed each other’s careers with great interest but never met. In a 2026 duo biography, author Jurgen Overhoff asserts that George Washington and Frederick the Great led parallel yet intertwined lives (p. xx). He argues that both leaders shared an Atlantic view that was critical to their success. The comparative biographical account of the eighteenth century’s two most prominent warriors was originally written in German a decade and a half ago. Recently, Patrick Baker translated the German edition, incorporating Overhoff’s updates.

The author argues that although both men were influenced by the Enlightenment, they espoused polar-opposite political philosophies. In the Prussian’s view, he reigned as an enlightened monarch. In contrast, Washington served the public as a democratically elected president. Their political lives juxtaposed autocratic and republican forms of government.

On the other hand, the professor at Universität Münster notes many similarities among the duo’s professional ambitions, private lives, and religious views. Washington and Frederick pursued territorial expansion and strengthened their governments. Both were winning generals who also suffered defeats. The two men were voracious readers and owned substantial libraries. Both also enjoyed landscape architecture. Uncommon in the eighteenth century, Washington and Frederick were religiously open-minded and supported the rights of various faiths to practice their beliefs openly.

Likewise, Overhoff highlights many differences. Frederick traveled internationally; Washington’s only trip outside the United States was to Barbados. Washington loved plays, especially Cato, while Frederick loved opera. Frederick played music while Washington danced. Washington had a long-term, loving marriage, whereas Frederick lived apart from his wife for most of their marriage.

People familiar with American history but not with eighteenth-century Europe will benefit most from Jürgen Overhoff’s well-written account of Frederick’s life. The author recounts Frederick’s troubled upbringing and his transformation into a highly respected military commander. Frederick believed in preemptive war and conquered nearby principalities, thereby enlarging the Prussian state. Readers will learn how Frederick came to be known in his era as Frederick the Great. His story is a myriad of complex political alliances and unfamiliar geographies. Maps would have been helpful for those unfamiliar with the Holy Roman Empire and the European states of the eighteenth century.

Further, contemporary American readers will learn why British Prime Minister William Pitt’s remark that “America was conquered in Germany” during the French and Indian War (the Seven Years’ War in Europe) was perceptive. Colonial Americans recognized the Prussian contributions to victory over the French. For example, Washington ordered a bust of Frederick in 1759. Also, Overhoff explains why Frederick supported the British in the French and Indian War but not in the American War of Independence. Hessians and other hired German troops hailed from principalities other than Prussia.

While offering fascinating insights into Frederick the Great, the German professor’s account of Washington and the American Revolution is marred by slips and misinterpretations. A lack of geographic knowledge may have led to errors. For example, Overhoff writes “…from the window of his house, Washington could watch as his goods were loaded at Alexandria onto larger ships, their sails billowing in the wind, and transported down the Potomac and into the Chesapeake Bay” (p. 178). Mt. Vernon is ten miles from the port of Alexandria and over the horizon. Other mistakes are factual. The author states that most of the 30,000 soldiers attacking New York City in 1776 were mercenaries (p. 202). Only 8,000 of the British-led force were soldiers from the German principalities.[i] Additionally, the French did not agree to an annual subsidy of six million livres to the Americans on January 28, 1778 (p. 206).[ii]

The book also contains misinterpretations of battles and military strategies during the American Revolution. Contrary to the author’s assertions, at the Battle of Trenton, the Hessians were not lulled into a false sense of security by the storm; sentries were posted, and the German soldiers were not hungover from Christmas festivities (p. 203-5). Also, while Washington did use surprise maneuvers during the Trenton-Princeton campaign, he did not employ the “tactic of swift advances followed by hasty retreats” throughout 1777 (p. 204). In 1777, he fought open, pitched battles between the main armies at Brandywine and Germantown. Unfortunately, these errors mar an otherwise fascinating comparison of two great world leaders. It is a case study in why publishers should employ history editors.

In an epilogue, Overhoff argues that Washington’s and Frederick’s differing ideas of statesmanship offer a timely comparison. Frederick contended that his autocratic, enlightened-monarch style of government was clearly superior to democracy in the long run. In his farewell address, Washington warned that democracies are by nature vulnerable to “entrust themselves to the absolute power of an individual.” Washington knew that democracy won the day in Revolutionary America, but governments in the style of Frederick the Great could “become attractive again” (p. 248-49). Overhoff believes that the contrasting views of Washington and Frederick mirror the contemporary contrast between proponents of democracy and autocracy.

From a historical perspective, the parallel lives of Washington and Frederick demonstrate the need for a broader lens to understand American history, as the eighteenth-century Atlantic world was intertwined with ideas, alliances, and conflicts. Although Washington and Frederick never met, each influenced the other and their respective countries. Lastly, American readers will understand why a city in Pennsylvania is named King of Prussia.

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[i] David Hackett Fischer, Washington’s Crossing, Pivotal Moments in American History (Oxford University Press, 2004),383.

[ii] Samuel Flaff Bemis, The Diplomacy of the American Revolution, 7th ed. (Indiana University Press, 1967), 65.