In the 21st Century, America's first president seems as frozen in time as his marble busts. What was it that made George Washington first in the hearts of his contemporaries. Here in the diaries from the last years of his life, you get a glimpse at Washington, the man. He was a plantation owner, a slave holder, a national hero that everyone wanted to meet, a traveler, a host, and a man always concerned with finances. You see all of that here in his own words, written for himself.