Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring

Questions About Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring

by Alexander Rose (Goodreads Author)

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Washington's Spies, please sign up.

Answered Questions (2)

- I have been watching Turn, the TV series on AMC, adapted from this book and I am now dying to immerse myself into he source material. The author supposedly collated all of George Washington's letters to all of his spies from the period and built his book around the chronology of the events leading to the winning of America's freedom from King George. Does anyone know more?
Nikolas Larum Perhaps by now you have already read the book. If not, you will discover that Turn, though highly entertaining, is a fictional dramatization of the ac…morePerhaps by now you have already read the book. If not, you will discover that Turn, though highly entertaining, is a fictional dramatization of the actual characters Mr. Rose wrote about in Washington's Spies. In a paraphrase of his words, he had encountered parts of the story in various places but no one work that focused on Washington's role as spymaster. This, and fascination with the subject, decided him on writing the book.

The book is well worth reading, particularly for Turn fans. It provides a view of Washington seldom discussed and his role in developing what became standard intelligence practices in the modern era. It also gives a good sense of the psychological toll of being an information asset in occupied territory.(less)
flag
Has anyone else been really confused while reading this book? I love the show and wanted to give the book a go, but even within the first chapter I kept getting lost on who was doing what and where, but I had difficulty figuring out what was going on. I hope to return to it in the future, but wanted to see if it became easier to understand as the book goes on.
Dot The TV show was fiction, the book non-fiction. The times were confusing because people couldn't declare which side they were on without consequences. …moreThe TV show was fiction, the book non-fiction. The times were confusing because people couldn't declare which side they were on without consequences. There was no instant communications and the generals (on both sides) all seemed egotistical and critical of each other. It's a miracle we won. (less)
flag

Unanswered Questions (3)

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more