One was a teenager but already a major-general because he was born French, noble, impetuous and incredibly rich. The other was already middle-aged, ice-cold, calculating and at first anxious to keep the French boy as far away from the field of battle as possible. Senior journalist Gaines tracks the complex personal and political relations between Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, newly arrived Virginia planter George Washington, and their respective France and America. Gaines goes beyond the myths to locate the political and personal reasons they were able to work effectively and dissects the complexities behind the relations between France and America from one revolution to the next. For example, we find what Washington probably felt about the beheading of the king who supported the American cause, whatever the motives, and the reasons why revolutionary France rejected Lafayette's attempts at leadership. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less