*Now with a new afterword containing never-before-seen research on the identity of the spy ring’s most secret member, Agent 355“This is my kind of history book. Get ready. Here’s the action.” —BRAD MELTZER, bestselling author of The Fifth Assassin and host of DecodedWhen George Washington beat a hasty retreat from New York City in August 1776, many thought the American Revolution might soon be … the American Revolution might soon be over. Instead, Washington rallied—thanks in large part to a little-known, top-secret group called the Culper Spy Ring. He realized that he couldn’t defeat the British with military might, so he recruited a sophisticated and deeply secretive intelligence network to infiltrate New York.
Drawing on extensive research, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger have offered fascinating portraits of these spies: a reserved Quaker merchant, a tavern keeper, a brash young longshoreman, a curmudgeonly Long Island bachelor, a coffeehouse owner, and a mysterious woman. Long unrecognized, the secret six are finally receiving their due among the pantheon of American heroes.
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If school textbooks were written like this, students would never put their books down! Captivated from the preface on, GEORGE WASHINGTON’S SECRET SIX: THE SPY RING THAT SAVED THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION is as eye-bulging, jaw-dropping, and engaging as any modern day spy-thriller, yet it’s absolutely true! Of the six, my favorite spy is Agent 355—the code name of the only female in the Culper Ring. To this day her true identity is still unknown, yet she played a vital role in exposing Benedict Arnold’s traitorous acts, helping to save the American Revolution.
I don’t usually enjoy a non-fiction read this much. It is very well written. Interesting details of history I don’t recall learning in school. Highly recommend.
This is a great way to re-live American History and see in the insides of the mind of George Washington.
This would make a great movie! It’s the untold (until the 1920s anyway) story of six spies during the Revolutionary War who fed critical information to George Washington at great personal risk, very possibly (as the subtitle says) influencing the war’s outcome. They were so secret that even Washington himself did not know some of their identities, and after the war was over, several of them were potentially regarded by their fellow Americans as traitors, so effective was their cover. This makes me so sad for them… it’s like (Harry Potter spoiler alert) Snape seeming like a villain to the entire wizarding community for the entire series, only to be vindicated after his death.
A series of letters were discovered in the 1920s just after WWI and before WWII, and because of this they went largely ignored at the time, to be unearthed yet again decades later. These letters revealed the identities of five of the six in the spy ring in great detail, showing how Washington decided upon the nature of the ring after learning what not to do through the tragic execution of Nathan Hale. It also described the critical information they fed to him which led to the downfall of not only Major Andre, one of the British spies, but also foiled Benedict Arnold’s plot to take over West Point. Had this succeeded, it almost certainly would have turned the war.
Only one of the Culper Ring was ever caught: Agent 355, the only female of the bunch and the only one whose identity has not yet been revealed. She may have died aboard the British prison ship, or she may have escaped and gone on to live a long life post-war. After the epilogue, the book includes the list of the top seven candidates for Agent 355, including the evidence both for and against each candidate.
How sad that people who risked so much never got any of the glory for it. But, that’s not why they did it.
My rating: ****
Language: none
Sexual content: none
Violence: present (it was war) but nothing too gratuitous
Political content: historical only
Very good telling of an part of US history seldom told.
A very good read for history buffs.
This historical book did a great job of outlining America’s first informal spy service. The civilians noted in the book risked their lives gathering intelligence for General Washington allowing him to move his troops both preventing capture of his limited supplies and causing harm to the much greater British forces. It can be factually argued that without these brave individuals, we may still be under British rule.
Good to learn historical known facts of characters we learned about in “Turn”
Should be required reading in highschool, great history lesson.
Lucky that we had 6 or more that would help Washington know what was going on. If not we might be British America still.
The book was quite good well written. Some descriptions were a bit flat and lacking but the book as a whole was well worth buying and reading.
The book held my interest.
Excellent book. Very informative. Well written
Enjoy history? Spy stories?
Then read this masterful book. Enthralling story of ordinary citizens whose patriotic fervor inspired extraordinary service during the Revolutionary War. This should be in every American’s library!
Loved learning the history The author did a great job with research. Our history needs to all be documented. What is taught in school is often either wrong or exaggerated greatly. The good and bad needs to be told.
Very informative about how the revolutionary war was won.
It was very interesting, historical, well written. I am going to recommend it to my grandchildren. It’s a very interesting piece of history.
A side of history not readily known.
If you like American history and information on the revolutionary war you will really enjoy this boo, Lot of information about a spy ring not so different from today but very clever and this is a true story. So take a little time and learn something about our history.
Did not prove a major thesis, namely the “ring” saved the America Revolution by foiling the Arnold plan to surrender West Point to the British. They played no role in exposing the plot and little role in it after. The thesis was a device to sell the book.