Washington's Spies
The Story of America's First Spy Ring
-
-
3.9 • 89 Ratings
-
-
- $10.99
-
- $10.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Turn: Washington’s Spies, now an original series on AMC
Based on remarkable new research, acclaimed historian Alexander Rose brings to life the true story of the spy ring that helped America win the Revolutionary War. For the first time, Rose takes us beyond the battlefront and deep into the shadowy underworld of double agents and triple crosses, covert operations and code breaking, and unmasks the courageous, flawed men who inhabited this wilderness of mirrors—including the spymaster at the heart of it all.
In the summer of 1778, with the war poised to turn in his favor, General George Washington desperately needed to know where the British would strike next. To that end, he unleashed his secret weapon: an unlikely ring of spies in New York charged with discovering the enemy’s battle plans and military strategy.
Washington’s small band included a young Quaker torn between political principle and family loyalty, a swashbuckling sailor addicted to the perils of espionage, a hard-drinking barkeep, a Yale-educated cavalryman and friend of the doomed Nathan Hale, and a peaceful, sickly farmer who begged Washington to let him retire but who always came through in the end. Personally guiding these imperfect everyday heroes was Washington himself. In an era when officers were gentlemen, and gentlemen didn’ t spy, he possessed an extraordinary talent for deception—and proved an adept spymaster.
The men he mentored were dubbed the Culper Ring. The British secret service tried to hunt them down, but they escaped by the closest of shaves thanks to their ciphers, dead drops, and invisible ink. Rose’s thrilling narrative tells the unknown story of the Revolution–the murderous intelligence war, gunrunning and kidnapping, defectors and executioners—that has never appeared in the history books. But Washington’s Spies is also a spirited, touching account of friendship and trust, fear and betrayal, amid the dark and silent world of the spy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The unfamiliar terrain of Britain's American colonies made it vital for both sides to gain knowledge of enemy troop movements during the Revolutionary War. But acquiring that information called for a level of espionage that neither side was prepared for, requiring both to make up many of their operational procedures as they went along. Rose (Kings in the North) focuses on a small band of Americans, longtime friends who created an intelligence network known as the Culper Ring to funnel information to George Washington about the British troops in and around New York City. The author quotes extensively from their correspondence, showing how contentious the relationship between the general and his spies could get, especially when Washington thought they were underperforming. Rose also delves into technical aspects of the Culpers' spycraft, like their attempts at cryptography and invisible ink. Although his story is compelling in its descriptions of occupied New York, where patriots and loyalists lived together in an uneasy balance, it is diffused somewhat by lengthy digressions into the more well-known spy tales of Nathan Hale and Benedict Arnold. Be sure to follow along with the footnotes, too Rose works in several more anecdotes among his documentation.
Customer Reviews
Rose has an artful turn of the phrase
Rose really has an artful turn of the phrase. This book has already been turned into a successful AMC historical fiction drama, which should have special interest for colonial America buffs and native New Yorkers, especially a Long Islanders. That said, don’t know how helpful this review is because much bigger fish have already seen value in this book. But I’ll add my$.02 anyway, which is mostly positive.
It is thoroughly sourced but still mostly engagingly written. Rose is usually pretty good. Only problem in my mind is the LONG chapters without sections. Yet the overall book is still relatively short. Would recommend to those whom I mention would have a special interest in this (plus, most importantly, fans of the TV show). Even though it’s not long, it’s a little laborious to get through those long chapters and paragraphs, so I don’t recommend to the general reader.
can’t read
why can’t I read this on my iMac?
I can read it on my phone.