Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

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

Alexander Rose (Goodreads Author)

3.79 · Rating details · 3,661 ratings · 458 reviews

Turn: Washington’s Spies • Now a new 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 an Turn: Washington’s Spies • Now a new 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.

From the Hardcover edition. ...more

Get A Copy

Or buy for

Paperback, 369 pages

Published May 1st 2007 by Bantam (first published May 2006)

More Details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

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

Lists with This Book

Rediscovered history

127 books — 8 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 31-60

3.79 ·

Rating details

· 3,661 ratings · 458 reviews

Filter

Sort order

Sep 19, 2017 Andrew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Read this book for the real story about the 'small band of rebels' (thank you, George Lucas) who carried out numerous spy missions against the British during the War for American Independence. Then, check out AMC's 'Turn: Washington's Spies' for which the author was a historical consultant (even as the show takes numerous dramatic liberties, it's still a very, very good show).

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 03, 2017 Elizabeth Meyette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was one of my main resources as I wrote my latest historical romance/saga set during the American Revolution. Filled with primary documents, quotes from historical figures and detailed explanation of the creation of the spy ring, I found this book to be incredibly helpful. I highly recommend it for history buffs and fans of the AMC series TURN.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 22, 2018 Heather Hess rated it liked it · review of another edition

I really enjoy history, but the writing was very dry and a little boring. Great story but I struggled a bit to get through it.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2018 Dawn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Amazing story. Basis for "Turn"

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 10, 2017 Terry Bain rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great recounting of the Revolutionary War, told from the point of view of the first spy ring, based in Setauket, Long Island, Manhattan and Connecticut. Highly recommend!

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 14, 2016 Machaia rated it liked it · review of another edition

I would not say that this is the most enthralling of books, but I think it is well worth reading. It is a bit dry, but I think that some of the blame of that can be placed on the characters and the fact that they really didn't talk about their spying. Ironically, they are why you read the book - selfless patriots who help the cause out of a sense of duty rather than for the hope of accolades and spoils.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2017 Rio Ippoliti rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017

I was, as many were, inspired to read this book because of Turn: Washington's Spies , the fantastic AMC show based off of Alexander Rose's original research. The book does not let you down and makes you even wish the show stuck more to the facts, rather than a dramatization of what truly happened. Rose does a great job of helping you get into the minds of these early American spies through their actions and reports which establishes a sort of narrative that normally has history on the denser si ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 11, 2017 Alex rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A fun and intriguing read. I could scarcely put it down!

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 01, 2016 Nancy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

We have been watching the AMC series Turn about General Washington's Culper spy ring and so dear hubby bought me the book that inspired it, Washington's Spys: The Story of America's First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose.

As Nathaniel Philbrick notes in Valient Ambition, the Revolutionary War was also a Civil War, dividing families and communities according to allegiences as Loyalists or Patriots.

Then there were those oppotunists who preyed on anyone and allied with whatever side was most profitable, t We have been watching the AMC series Turn about General Washington's Culper spy ring and so dear hubby bought me the book that inspired it, Washington's Spys: The Story of America's First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose.

As Nathaniel Philbrick notes in Valient Ambition, the Revolutionary War was also a Civil War, dividing families and communities according to allegiences as Loyalists or Patriots.

Then there were those oppotunists who preyed on anyone and allied with whatever side was most profitable, the "vultures, vultures everywhere" always found during war time, coyboys and skinners and piratical whaleboatmen.

I like how the series Turn portrays Setauket as under seige from all these angles.

Long Island was a British military base and under matial law. Corruption and looting was rampant. Colonel Simcoe of the Queen's Rangers was brutal. Consquently, the British served to increase citizens' Patriot leanings.

Washington's Setauket based spy Abraham Woodall, AKA Samuel Culper, resorted to setting up citizens to cover his tracks, even burning down the barn of the father of Robert Townsend, AKA Samuel Culper Jr.

Of course there is a lot of fiction in the AMC series and romances and interpersonal conflict to keep things interesting. Rose's book offers the facts, just the facts, which is mighty interesting without embellishment.

The book begins with failed spy Nathaniel Hal; it ends with war hero General Benedict Arnold's defection and ignomous end, and the hanging of British spy John Andre'--who earned the respect of countrymen and enemy alike for doing his duty. In between we learn the intricacies of how the Culper ring developed, how it worked, and the impact it had on the war.

The main ring was comprised of Setauket friends who trusted each other: Ben Talmadge, Washington's head of intelligence; the Setauket based spy Samual Culper, in real life Abraham Woodall; Quaker Townsend, who had gone to New York to practise business and provided observations on the British; and whaleboatman Caleb Brewster, fearless and bold.

We encounter a new side of General Washington as he forged a new kind of spycraft, utilizing advanced methods and emplying flawed, couraegeous, and colorful civilians.

In a letter from Rose found at the AMC website,
"Instead of remaining faceless names or nameless faces...through their letters the personalities of the spies themselves emerge and we perceive them not as invincible superheros like James Bond or Jason Bourne, but as ordinary individuals coping the best they can in an extraordinary time. These secret agents--because they're frail, because they're flawed, because they're sometimes fearful--come across...as recognizable, symatetic, real people having to make unenviable, hard choices while facing potential lethal challenges.

"What I've found most remarkable about TURN is that eveyone involved is willing to throw out the conventional goodies vs baddies narrative of the War of Independence in order to explore these very human factors lying at the heart of that titanic clah of nations and ideologies." ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 09, 2015 Bjoern rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-reads, biographic-y, military, sachbuch

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A well presented and researched book, that could have one a bit more appeal to the casual reader by losing sligthly of the academic treatise formate and going a little bit more into narrative retelling.

The subject matter is a fascinating part of the revolutionary war and not yet all that well known due to many documents having lain hidden or being part of official secrets for so long and only in the last quarter of a century or so real source work towards the culper-ring has been done. Alexander A well presented and researched book, that could have one a bit more appeal to the casual reader by losing sligthly of the academic treatise formate and going a little bit more into narrative retelling.

The subject matter is a fascinating part of the revolutionary war and not yet all that well known due to many documents having lain hidden or being part of official secrets for so long and only in the last quarter of a century or so real source work towards the culper-ring has been done. Alexander Rose easily manages to spread out a concise timeline and a most convincing summary of the ring's activities, all embedded in the general tale of espionage in and around the camp of General Washington and his various opponents on the royal side of the war (mostly Clinton though).
At the same time he puts the whole affair a bit into perspective when out of all the events during the war only one big incident ever came truly over the ring infrastructure (the attempted assault on Beauchamps recently landed french corps at Rhode Island) and other things like the defection of Benedict Arnold were found out more by happenstance than through the careful and organised spy network so long in preparation.
On the other hand "Culper" shows all the sign of the early childhood of cryptography and organised espionage, so while the ring may not have contributed big to the ultimate results of the war effort it was a necessary and successful first step in the long history of secret services.

The only small downside to the book is that by now it is marketed as the inspiration of the AMC adventure series "TUЯN - Washington's spies". While it is true that the television program makes extensive use of the motives and persons thematised in Rose's book it is in no manner factual representative of the true accounts about these brave patriots and must be categorized as fantasy due to this artistical freedoms taken from the real events. Despite this, the book deserves the highest respect as scientific summary of the period and actions and the fuzzy treatment of reality on the tv screen should and cannot detract from this. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 11, 2017 Jeremiah Lorrig rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The details of history don't only add color, these details reveal heroes and villains, innovation and creativity, and the basic humanity of the stories that prance around the edges of great events.

This book, delves into a time and set of circumstances that is by it's very nature obscure and mysterious.

One gets the feeling that these stories (some only by chance being discovered 100 years later) only scratch the surface of what happened in Washington's spy service.

I was amazed by the selflessn ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 14, 2015 Mary Havens rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: work-book-club

Finally I'm done!! Alright: I knew nothing about this subject prior to picking up this book for Work Book Club. It was like going from 4th grade history class to Advanced American History in college.

The positives: extremely well-researched (90 pages of endnotnes, bibliography, and index) and there are glimmers of very interesting information a la Erik Larson-style. Chapters 8-Epilogue were more interesting but still dry.

The negatives: extremely dry, too many names of people, and, I felt, disorg ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 26, 2018 Dave E rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is a well-researched book that showed a side of the of the Revolutionary War not depicted in most other books on the period. The author digs into the darker side of the war, most notably the development of spying from the American perspective, but also some of the uglier sides of life particularly in New York and on Long Island. The characters brought up in the AMC show "TURN" are all there, but a lack of much source information doesn't allow for as much development of their characters as I ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 10, 2016 Anna rated it liked it · review of another edition

It's hard to judge non-fiction books, especially books on history. But this was a well-written account of a time period I am newly interested in and, in particular, the espionage activities taking place during the revolution. While a little dry at times, this is a hazard common to books of the type and I thought that it kept my interest well for the most part. If I was to truly criticize any aspect of the book, it was the occasional bouncing of time periods where the author's narrative reached a ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 25, 2015 Nicki Markus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-non-fiction

Washington's Spies was an excellent read that combined clean and easy prose with a wealth of historical research. I've read many books lately on John André and the Revolution in general, but this was the first that focused on Continental Intelligence and, as such, provided some wonderful new information and perspectives I'd not come across before. Although full of detail, it did not read like a stale history lesson, but rather a story, and that makes this a book that will appeal to both the seri ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 15, 2014 Cassidy Lowe rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I can't believe I finally finished this book. I read a review about it taking about 3 months because every 3-8 pages it served as a great before bed book to put him to sleep. It went on to say that although interesting in facts there was nothing driving him to not put down the book. My sentiments exactly; I don't regret putting in the time to read it, however I would not recommend it to anyone except maybe a history buff.

I think that if there had been some organizational page or paragraph breaks ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 12, 2014 Mark C rated it really liked it · review of another edition

An interesting addition to the stories of the American Revolution. I was inspired to read by the new TV series TURN. While I found very little resemblance between the series and the book, the book is far superior in many ways (while not wanting for drama). The evolution of spy craft in the New World tells us much about the creativity of the Founding Fathers and the bravery of unsung men and women.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2017 Alan Cook rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is the first book I've read regarding spying during the American Revolution. Although the author jumps around from year to year, and it is sometimes difficult to know what year he's talking about, the story is interesting and entertaining, and shows a lot of research. During the course of the war Washington received an education on the techniques of using spies, and he probably ended up with better spy networks than the British side.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2012 Kathleen rated it it was amazing

Amazing. I've studied the war for sometime but the story always had holes. Things that made no sense or seemed to good to be true. This book, and the insight into the men and women who worked behind the scenes and helped Washington stay that two steps ahead of the British, filled in those holes. A must read for anyone who really wants to understand how the war was fought.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 29, 2014 Gretchen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a fascinating story. I loved the book.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 09, 2015 Butch rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Fascinating look at the work of our first spies during the Revolution!

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 23, 2018 Amory Ross rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: american-history

When AMC's "Turn" hit the network, I was happily surprised to find that it was based on this book. Living near the place where Washington camped, set up headquarters, hid from spies, and crossed the Delaware River, the Revolutionary War holds a commanding presence. Oftentimes when writers chronicle history in novel form it's either heavy with facts (dull) or dramatic (historical fiction).

Alexander Rose's research starts with the sad outcome of Nathan Hale, a man who was hanged after being found When AMC's "Turn" hit the network, I was happily surprised to find that it was based on this book. Living near the place where Washington camped, set up headquarters, hid from spies, and crossed the Delaware River, the Revolutionary War holds a commanding presence. Oftentimes when writers chronicle history in novel form it's either heavy with facts (dull) or dramatic (historical fiction).

Alexander Rose's research starts with the sad outcome of Nathan Hale, a man who was hanged after being found guilty of spying. This conviction laid the groundwork for much of the vengeance sought by the Culper Ring, specifically Benjamin Tallmadge

The book follows some of the most selfless Rebels for the American cause. Much like the television show "Turn," the book narrates with Abraham Woodhull as the focus for many of the pages. The Setauket native refused to be paid for his services because of the label as "spy" was a terrible insult. Alexander Rose documents his - and other less-known spies' - struggles with the fear of capture, the stress of accurate information, and the concern of Tories always on the lookout.

The book also beautifully records accounts from General Washington who was constantly nagged by Woodhull's paranoia. General Washington had to deal with (among other things) Woodhull's constant resignation because he felt he was about to be discovered, Woodhull's constant request for reimbursement, and extreme delays in reporting. Washington relied heavily on his spy ring to level the playing field against the strongest military force in the world. Rose provides a third dimension to the man who is labeled as the Father of the United States. Rose further impresses the reader with his capturing of the personalities of each man and woman associated with the Culper Spy Ring.

One can literally imagine the Continental Army changing the formalities of war: guerilla warfare, militias, spies. These three principles allowed an undertrained, undernourished, under-moraled group of rebels to defeat the intimidating British Army.

The book finally comes to a head when Benedict Arnold is discussed and the ripple of Major Andre's capture. Major Andre was not really captured per se as he was robbed, and had Benjamin Tallmadge arrived a mere few minutes earlier, the same men may have robbed him, too. If one is well-versed in this case, one would recognize the inspiration for Washington Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" involving the tree under which Major Andre was taken into custody.

This book is beautifully researched and written. At no point does the book become drab or heavily weighed-down with facts or footnotes. It would behoove American history classes to read this book and, if possible, retrace the steps that many of the men (and women) mentioned in this book walked. After its completion, it is a hope that the reader will ask himself, "Is anyone in this country capable of doing what these people did?" The response is, probably not. What was asked of these people came with fatalistic consequences, and once the war was over, these people returned to their lives as if nothing happened. This is a highly recommended book, and hopefully with the introduction of the television series "Turn" more potential readers will learn about the what little was asked by a select few to start this nation. ...more

flag Like · see review

May 28, 2017 Diane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

Alexander Rose has written a well-researched scholarly book and an engaging narrative with vivid characters and suspenseful plot. Almost every sentence in the book is documented from original source material. Rose explains how Nathan Hale almost assuredly did not say, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" immediately before his execution as a spy. Hale's death (and that of other Americans) for spying led Washington to see the need for a stable, civilian group to gather Alexander Rose has written a well-researched scholarly book and an engaging narrative with vivid characters and suspenseful plot. Almost every sentence in the book is documented from original source material. Rose explains how Nathan Hale almost assuredly did not say, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" immediately before his execution as a spy. Hale's death (and that of other Americans) for spying led Washington to see the need for a stable, civilian group to gather intelligence about the British military and share it with him and his army. Trusting to military reconnaissance alone simply wasn't effective. The book develops the characters of famous, infamous, and obscure people whose lives were affected by the war making it clear that the revolution was a true civil war and that the civilians were most severely impacted by the war. New York City was burned during the retreat of the American army and the British military took over many of the remaining habitable houses leaving the citizens to live amid burned out ruins. Inflation was rampant. In 1775 in New York a pound of beef cost 3 and a fourth British pounds; by 1781 it cost 8 British pounds. The story moves from Washington's headquarters to isolated military encounters, from the farms and small towns of Long Island to New York City and Philadelphia. Rose includes many stories of people and events to provide a fuller picture of the war and the dangers and risks taken by those involved in spying for both the Americans and the British. Washington and his aide Benjamin Tallmadge often had to encourage and cajole the members of the Culper ring as they faced real risks for their lives. The book presents much information about spy craft, some ideas of which are still important today. Sometimes Rose loses the thread of the main story as he tells about events and people that at first reading seem tangential, but ultimately contribute to provide a more nuanced picture of the war. Rose continues the story through the end of the war and the departure of the Loyalist and British troops from New York. The British commander, Sir Guy Carleton, faced an ethical quandary and devised a clever solution for the safety of the African-Americans who had fought with the British in return for the promise of their freedom. The terms of the peace treaty forbade the British from taking American property with them, but Carleton wrote of the men who fought, "I had no right to deprive them of the liberty I found them possessed of." He shipped them out, but left a record so their owners could claim compensation from the British government. Almost all members of the Culper ring lived until their 80s; many never sharing with friends or families the heroic role they played in the fight for American independence.
As a fan of the TV show TURN, I was a bit disappointed to learn how fictionalized that story is. For example, Abraham Woodhull didn't marry until almost the very end of the war. However, Simcoe did write a very bad poem and was a genuinely bad person and officer. ...more

flag Like · see review

May 05, 2017 John rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: main-2

Having been a fan of AMC's remarkable series TURN: Washington's Spies almost since its beginning, I thought I would check out the book that inspired it. A fan of military history myself, both the show and book appealed to me greatly. It's the perfect format for a dramatic series-
Abraham Woodhull, a common farmer, is recruited by George Washington's intelligence service to infiltrate British-occupied New York and report on their troop movements and general mood, among other important elements. A Having been a fan of AMC's remarkable series TURN: Washington's Spies almost since its beginning, I thought I would check out the book that inspired it. A fan of military history myself, both the show and book appealed to me greatly. It's the perfect format for a dramatic series-
Abraham Woodhull, a common farmer, is recruited by George Washington's intelligence service to infiltrate British-occupied New York and report on their troop movements and general mood, among other important elements. Admittedly, I expected the true story of the great Culper Ring to be not quite as exciting and suspenseful as the television drama it inspired, but I was very wrong in that regard. I found the story to be very gripping, and it could not have been told much better than Alexander Rose presents it here.
The research, first and foremost, is excellent. Rose's use of primary source material is unmatched. For the most seemingly obscure things, he gives at least one quotation from someone who was there. Throughout the book, you will hear directly from the major figures themselves, including Abraham Woodhull, Caleb Brewster, Benjamin Tallmadge, Robert Townsend, George Washington, and others, in their own words. I loved this element of the book. Wherever possible, Rose allows the people themselves to tell their story.
Where Rose's own words are concerned, there is a lot to love. He writes with a flowing narrative voice that keeps you engaged. My only complaints are that he sometimes uses run-on sentences and blocky prose that leaves you confused. Also, he tends to go off on tangents. This is the only real drawback to the book. In some places, obscure characters who are largely inconsequential to the overall story get multiple pages devoted to their background. He also obsesses over minutiae way too much, reporting many numbers and figures, often regarding things like hay for British horses, that do not contribute much to the story. This makes the reading a bit of a slog in some places. I was almost convinced to take down a star due to this, but the fact that I absolutely ate up the rest of the book convinced me otherwise.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the operation of Washington's Culper Ring. Where books on Revolutionary War intelligence are concerned, few if any volumes surpass this one. ...more

flag Like · see review

Aug 17, 2018 Dylan I. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Not bad, THe history was good and accurate. My favorite parts of the book were the in depth looks at the workings of the secret spy rings used in the American Revolution. More specifically, I became fascinated by the way that General Washington utilized evolving technology and tactics to win a war while still losing most of the physical battles. Additionally the historical accuracy made the experience of reading the book all the more interesting because the vision conjured by the writer actually ...more

flag Like · see review

Nov 25, 2017 Scott rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, general-non-fiction

The basis of the AMC TV series, Turn (about which more later), Washington's Spies is an interesting account of espionage in its infancy. Alexander Rose tells an occasionally thrilling story of the role that covert intelligence operations played in the American Revolution, from Nathan Hale to the Culper Ring to Benedict Arnold's treason, and so on.

Rose's prose is occasionally stilted, with an annoying tendency to introduce characters with the word one, such as "one Abraham Woodhull", or "one Ch ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 08, 2019 Carole Rae rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was inspired to check this one out because of the show ‘TURN’ which is loosely based off this. I love spies, so why not see the real spies at work.

I certainly learned a lot! There were so many things I didn’t know. I feel like with all aspects of history we will never know the full extent. Millions of stories to be told. But this was even more interesting because the spies in this ring never wanted glory. They never really told their spy stories. They got through the war and went back to thei ...more

flag Like · see review

Nov 19, 2017 Chris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biographical, non-fiction, politics, war

I've recently become interested in the formation of the United States, partly because of the current state of American politics, partly because of Hamilton: The Musical and because of the TV series Turn: Washington's Spies.

At the start of each episode there was a moment in the awesome opening credits that said based on the book Washington's Spies by Alexander Rose, and about halfway through the series I realised I wanted to know what actually happened, not just the highly enjoyable Hollywood ver ...more

flag Like · see review

May 09, 2017 Suzanne rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, us-revolutionary-war, 2017-theme-of-the-month

What makes a good movie or book even better? Knowing that it actually happened. The AMC series TURN is a fantastic bingeworthy show about the Culper Ring - a spy ring out of Setauket, NY that helped turn the tide of the American Revolutionary war in Washington's favor. The book, Washington's Spies is the book that launched this great television series.

As is typical with books, you often find out much more history than is included in it's filmed counterpart. Such is the case with Washington's Spi ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2018 Megan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history

This was a fascinating book about the shift from short military-recon style spying to the deeper, undercover espionage that Washington's staff developed during the Revolutionary War and that helped them win the war. So sensational, though AMC's adaptation of this book is even more dramatic.

Entertainment 4/5 - How could you not want to know more about secret spy rings, safe houses, double agents, triple agents, secret messages, sabotage, and treason? Also so many interesting tidbits about everyda ...more

flag Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Goodreads Librari...: Please add details	3	13	Oct 05, 2018 03:01PM
Spy Thrillers: Espionage Non-fiction	4	23	Mar 20, 2014 04:48AM

Readers Also Enjoyed

Videos About This Book

1 comment

Turn: America's First Spy Ring (AMC Official Trailer)

Add a comment

Genres

History

382 users

Nonfiction

202 users

North American Hi... > American History

66 users

Military History > American Revolution

52 users

Historical

31 users

Spy Thriller > Espionage

27 users

See top shelves…

About Alexander Rose

Alexander Rose

79 followers

A little about myself. I was born in the United States, grew up in Australia, and educated (to the best of my abilities) in Britain. After that, I moved to Canada, became what was known in the pre-Internet era as a “newspaperman,” and eventually transferred to Washington, D.C. Now based in New York, I am what is currently known as an “historian.”

My writing has appeared in, among other places, the A little about myself. I was born in the United States, grew up in Australia, and educated (to the best of my abilities) in Britain. After that, I moved to Canada, became what was known in the pre-Internet era as a “newspaperman,” and eventually transferred to Washington, D.C. Now based in New York, I am what is currently known as an “historian.”

My writing has appeared in, among other places, the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Washington Post, the New York Observer, the CIA journal Studies in Intelligence, MHQ: The Quarterly of Military History, Invention & Technology, Intelligence & National Security, The National Interest, the Daily Telegraph, and the English Historical Review. I’m a member of the United States Commission on Military History, the Society for Military History, and the Royal Historical Society, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts.

Hmm, what else? I've worked as a consultant on several television series (including America: The History of Us, Gun Stories, and Discovery Channel's How We Invented The World) and magazine projects (U.S. News & World Report's special issues on the American Revolution and Espionage, for instance), and serve as a contributor to the Encyclopedia of U.S. Intelligence. I also have a doctorate from Cambridge University in history (on the evolution of early radar and British defense policy in the 1930s).

At the moment, I'm a Writer-in-Residence at the Allen Room of the New York Public Library, where I am finishing a book about soldiers' experiences of battle since the War of Independence. It will be published in the fall of 2014, or so I keep telling myself. In the meantime, AMC is making a series—"Turn"—based on my book, Washington's Spies.

I have a particular interest in military and intelligence history, but I write also on technology and, occasionally, firearms (a mix of military and technology, I guess). I also review the odd book for the newspapers and write the occasional article for various magazines. ...more