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

Alexander Rose (Goodreads Author)

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

Now a TV series on AMC

Basing his tale on remarkable original research, historian Alexander Rose reveals the unforgettable story of the spy ring that helped America win the Revolutionary War. For the first time, Rose takes us beyond the battlefront and into the shadowy underworld of double agents and triple crosses, covert operations and code breaking, and unmasks the co ...more

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Paperback, 384 pages

Published March 25th 2014 by Bantam (first published May 2006)

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Lists with This Book

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3.79 ·

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· 3,661 ratings · 458 reviews

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Apr 07, 2014 Jeffrey Keeten rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: revolutionary-war, book-to-film

"I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."
Nathan Hale

Statue of Nathan Hale at City Hall in Lower Manhattan.

Courage in the face of imminent demise. There is some speculation as to whether Hale actually said these words or some version of them. At this point it doesn’t really matter, they have become a part of the lexicon of our history. One thing that is not speculated about is that this young man of 21 went to his death displaying fearless gallantry. When the British ha ...more

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Mar 21, 2019 Brian rated it liked it

“…good and faithful men languished unheeded, untrumpeted, and unknown.”

I love history, so when I discovered the book “Washington’s Spies-The Story of America’s First Spy Ring” thru the AMC series “Turn” (the series was inspired by this nonfiction text) I was excited.
Although this is a good book, it is not a great one. There are quite a few reasons why I think thus. First, the writing can be dry at times. A section in the text on ciphers/ciphering letters is dull, and excessively detailed for my ...more

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Apr 11, 2017 rachel rated it liked it

Shelves: 2017, own, true-story

I picked this up because I am in love with Turn: Washington's Spies, the AMC show that you may have guessed is based on this book, and for which author Alexander Rose is also a credited writer.

Given the scant amount of information available about the Culper Ring, I knew the show had to be heavily fictionalized. I did not set out to read Washington's Spies expecting to learn about personal relationships between characters such as you might see in a multi-season TV show. What I did hope for was a I picked this up because I am in love with Turn: Washington's Spies, the AMC show that you may have guessed is based on this book, and for which author Alexander Rose is also a credited writer.

Given the scant amount of information available about the Culper Ring, I knew the show had to be heavily fictionalized. I did not set out to read Washington's Spies expecting to learn about personal relationships between characters such as you might see in a multi-season TV show. What I did hope for was a narrative, of the Ring's espionage efforts and also the workings of the British secret service (particularly, the recruitment of Benedict Arnold) led by universally beloved stud, Maj. John Andre. I also hoped to see some of the evolution of Gen. Washington's leadership and decision-making.

Alexander Rose can be a great writer of historical narrative: he's witty and deft on the subject of the aforementioned Arnold and Andre collusion, for one, which resulted in Andre's capture and execution and a failed kidnapping attempt of Arnold. I was pleased to see that the humane final impression of Washington's intelligence officer, Benjamin Tallmadge, re: Andre was faithfully portrayed in the show (which, in its fictionalized but compelling relationships, is in large part about how the American Revolution was a civil war between neighbors who happened to have opposing loyalties to US Independence and to Britain, but who were for the most part decent people capable of acting honorably toward one another, even if they had to follow orders).

I also, personally, enjoyed learning more about Robert Rogers -- who wasn't (just???) a campy mercenary with a Scottish accent, but was also the man responsible for the capture of America's most famous spy, Nathan Hale -- and Robert Townsend, the reluctant junior member of the Culper Ring who provided Washington with some of his most valuable information from New York. I was pleased at the aside that Maj. Richard Hewlett, the historical basis of my (fictional) favorite character of the show, also seemed to revere horses. The single fact in this book that gave me the most glee was learning that Capt. John Graves Simcoe really DID write a terrible love poem about a Patriot woman,
though we can assume it probably wasn't mocked publicly.

In terms of criticism, I found the focus to be very scattered, with irrelevant histories about minor characters taking up too much of the page and distracting from the narrative action at key moments. I understand that histories of lesser-documented subjects tend to have some padding, but the information given often did not feel necessary.

I also was less interested in the minute cryptographic details that made up a large portion of the chapters on the Culper Ring, and in the philosophies of various religions towards the American Revolution. Other readers may find more of interest in those subjects. This is ultimately why I can't love the book as much as I'd like, even though I enjoyed sections of it very much. ...more

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May 01, 2014 Lauren rated it it was amazing

Easily one of my favorite books I've ever read. It's engrossing, exceptionally well researched, - as well as written - and plunges you so deep into the world of those who worked in the Culper Ring that it feels very personal. Mind you, this is all coming from one who had little to no interest in the Revolutionary War before I came upon the book hiding on the lower shelf at the airport [every other book whose summary I read was a promise of disappointing dreck]. Though I will admit I am a total h ...more

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May 17, 2015 Nicole rated it liked it

Shelves: a-n-book-club, 2015, america-f-yeah, audio, history

I was inspired to read this after enjoying the TV show Turn, and I think I would've found the book frustratingly discursive and disorganized if I hadn't seen the show and been able to use the "main characters" as a sort of anchor. I loved hearing the real life stories behind the characters - and small wonder it got turned into a show, because it's pretty screen-worthy stuff. I also, of course, appreciated all the Yale references - Benjamin Tallmadge and Nathan Hale met there as students - and it I was inspired to read this after enjoying the TV show Turn, and I think I would've found the book frustratingly discursive and disorganized if I hadn't seen the show and been able to use the "main characters" as a sort of anchor. I loved hearing the real life stories behind the characters - and small wonder it got turned into a show, because it's pretty screen-worthy stuff. I also, of course, appreciated all the Yale references - Benjamin Tallmadge and Nathan Hale met there as students - and it sounds like the left-leaning, rebellious spirit that I knew it for goes way back.

It's a really fascinating look at the earliest days of American intelligence, with Sackett as the first sort of American spymaster, inventing and pioneering tradecraft. The Culper ring out-performed their more experienced British opponents, who stuck to the more "gentlemanly" tradition of tactical military intelligence obtained by scouts; spies were regarded with distaste. But the vastness of the American territory and guerrilla nature of the conflict necessitated better intelligence and spies (it wasn't like Europe where units stuck to predictable lines of communication and movement was easily predictable based on the location of supply depots.) The British approach changed with Benedict Arnold (run by Tallmadge's British counterpart, the dilettante John Andre) as they realized the value. Washington truly understood how to play the game and was a sophisticated consumer of intelligence reporting, seeking corroboration and displaying patience with what was always a tedious jigsaw puzzle, where each piece could be interpreted differently. Tallmadge managed the ring personally, because he'd grown up with members Woodhull and Brewster), and knew how best to deal with them; the British system suffered by being more impersonal, although it was more durable, since Tallmadge was indispensable.

Lots of interesting tidbits abound about the dynamics in colonial American that turned people toward Patriotism (or against it), like the role of Thomas Paine's Common Sense in getting people to turn Patriot, or the corruption and abuse by the British troops stationed on Long Island alienating the local Loyalist population and having the same effect. The glimpse of the Whaleboat War (starring the pugnacious and adventurous Caleb Brewster) is also interesting.

It was also really satisfying to hear how life turned out for the members of the Culper ring, since I've grown emotionally attached to them. Woodhull became a county judge, and two of his offspring married Brewster children. Brewster himself, ironically, joined the predecessor of the U.S. Coast Guard. Tallmadge became a wealthy humanitarian and also member of Congress. ...more

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Mar 24, 2015 Jean rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-book, biography, history, military-history, non-fiction, us-history

The key thing I discovered reading this book was that General George Washington was a natural spy master. This book is about the Culper Spy Ring. The spy ring operated during the American War of Independence and provided Washington with information on British Troop movements.

In 1778, General George Washington appointed Major Benjamin Tallmadge as director of Military Intelligence, charged with creating a spy ring in New York City. The ring operated for five years and no member was ever unmasked. ...more

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Dec 02, 2018 Christina DeVane rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-read-in-2018

This was a fascinating book especially after watching the tv show(on VidAngel)😇 based on this book. It was easier to keep up with all the characters because I had a face to put with the names. It was neat reading all the storylines that were in the show finding out the people and plots that actually happened! Highly recommend for any history lover!

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Dec 10, 2016 ~Bellegirl91~ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-books-i-own

"Like the rest of the Ring, Tallmadge cast off the cloak of the secret world for the raiment of a brave new one, but just once, he felt compelled to break his self imposed silence in order to honor the memory of the sacrifices made by his friends. In 1817....Tallmadge was one of the few surviving members (in congress) who had fought in the war....Like Tallmadge, Major John Andre (British officer) had worked out of nothing but a sense of duty to his country...and so too, had the Culper Ring, whos "Like the rest of the Ring, Tallmadge cast off the cloak of the secret world for the raiment of a brave new one, but just once, he felt compelled to break his self imposed silence in order to honor the memory of the sacrifices made by his friends. In 1817....Tallmadge was one of the few surviving members (in congress) who had fought in the war....Like Tallmadge, Major John Andre (British officer) had worked out of nothing but a sense of duty to his country...and so too, had the Culper Ring, whose brave participants had had the decency, modesty, and honor not to keep demanding pensions, medals and recognition for their services....in short, Tallmadge fought to protect his old friends, Woodhull, Townsend, Brewster, Hawkins , Roe, and their assistants. He could not abide to see villains profiting while good and faithful men languished unheeded, untrumpeted, and unknown."

This book has been made into a tv series on AMC called TURN: WASHINGTONS SPIES which is why I had bought the book a few years back and decided to pick it up this year back in January. I already LOVED the series and the acting (Jamie Bell caught my eye and I love anything he does haha and despite the drama) but I also ended up loving this book more than I thought and found it to be WELL WRITTEN! Even though I don't read a ton of these non fictions and get one in a year if I wanted or if I'm lucky. But whether this is your genre or not, at least read it because I seriously learned more of what truly happened behind Washington's army of intelligence and those behind it all even the Benedict Arnold exposure. The show is on Netflix however, someone who doesn't own a ton of shows on DVD, unless I KNOW for a surety I'll watch them again, I'll get it and that's how I felt with this show Turn. The fourth and final season (10 episodes each) is ending next spring :'( which is sad considering the amount of information in this book and could go into the show. It's like one big gigantic soap opera and Alexander Rose did an AMAZING job at writing this and actually made it fun in a way and kept you wanting to know more. One thing I "hated" if I'm being honest here is one particular key player on the British side was their man who too was on the same job as Major (got promoted to that rank at some point early on) Benjamin Tallmadge as army intelligence. The show made him HUGE and his name was Major John Andre played by JJ Feild (who was in austenland) and yet Rose didn't talk of Andre a whole lot which kinda bugged me considering how he's written into the show perfectly and you kinda feel for him. But I DID however love his capture and death scene in this last season, despite the drama parts, was actually in a way PERFECTION up until the end. I was fangirling a bit considering I'd read that part waaaaay before I even saw it in the show. I would skim here and there during the second season last year and January decided to pick it up and now I'm DONE! Now I'm sad but also a tad excited to see how this show will end next spring. But yeah, if you're really not into these kinds of books at least make an exception to read this one since you're not going to find this story anywhere else (I've looked and it's rare!) or in textbooks. This story I'm glad got told and these men and women involved now have this recognition for the risks they put into their hands and to their families, the sacrifice, courage, integrity and heart into this Spy Ring. It was truly successful and had a huge part in winning the war and our freedom.

Reading this had made me feel even more appreciation for this country and know that no MATTER what happens, it's not the governments, or the presidents, or congresses country, no. This is Gods gift to us and His country. I'm truly grateful for the sacrifice and love for those who fought and gave their lives in this war, all the miracles that occurred to help this spy ring and those behind the scenes as well. They too were risking their lives and seriously had too many close calls but miraculously escaped.

In the words of Benjamin Tallmadge at the beginning of the war to his friend Nathan Hale, "I consider our country a land flowing as it were with milk and honey, holding open her arms, and demanding assistance from all who insist her in her sore distress...we all should be ready to step forth in the common cause....Our holy religion, the honor of God, a glorious country, and a happy constitution is what we have to defend."

So overall, this book now is one of my new favorites and actually wish I knew more of these men and women who were a part of this operation. DEFINITELY a high recommendation that's for sure! And same with the tv series. Even if you don't end up reading this, at least watch the first two seasons of Turn on Netflix. It'll be worth it I can promise you that and sooooo much fun! Oh and the guy who played Benjamin Tallmadge, Seth Numrich....... Holy MOTHER SNICKERDOODLE he is WOW!! ;) haha ...more

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Jan 19, 2019 Shanna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: english-history, physical-books, us-history

I do not know why it took me so long to read this book — I’ve had it for at least two years, and I’ve watched (and loved) all four seasons of the show that is based upon this book (“Turn: Washington’s Spies”).
This was a quick 280 page read for me, and it really helped to deepen my understanding of the Culper Spy Ring. I definitely recommend it as a read for anyone interested in US history, espionage, or any other related topics; in actuality, I just highly recommend this book as a read for every ...more

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Dec 28, 2015 Ron rated it liked it

Shelves: drama, history

“The event we leave to heaven.”

A competent history of espionage during the American Revolutionary War. Not to be confused with the romanticized fiction of the television series TURN, purportedly based on it. (See below) Well research and well-written. Explores the motives, means and outcomes for the spies and spy masters on both sides. In 1776, following a series of victories in August and September, the British commanded New York City and Long Island and were chasing the defeated colonial army “The event we leave to heaven.”

A competent history of espionage during the American Revolutionary War. Not to be confused with the romanticized fiction of the television series TURN, purportedly based on it. (See below) Well research and well-written. Explores the motives, means and outcomes for the spies and spy masters on both sides. In 1776, following a series of victories in August and September, the British commanded New York City and Long Island and were chasing the defeated colonial army toward Philadelphia. Then came Christmas and the miracle at Trenton. But Washington had only survived to fight another day. To engage a larger, better equipped, more professional army, Washington needed to cheat. He did.

“Everything in the matter depends on intelligence of the enemy’s motions.” G. Washington

This book unearths facts about those people who put themselves at great risk, starting with the martyred Nathan Hale, to provide Washington (and Clinton) information about the whereabouts, strengths (and weaknesses) and intentions of the British (and Americans) in New York City and Long Island. In addition to history and biography, you get the development of cipher codes, invisible ink and counterfeiting. (Continental dollars were so worthless because the British printed them, too.) The Culper ring, starting from nothing, became a vital, though occasionally unappreciated, asset in winning the war. Their exploits and tribulations would make a fine movie or TV series.

“The business will be quickly over now.” British General Clinton (in New York City) to Burgoyne, August, 1777, not knowing the latter had already surrendered near Saratoga, NY

Unfortunately, for reasons known best to themselves, AMC turned the real story of bravery, ingenuity and self-sacrifice into a soap opera where passion competes with patriotism. The production values of TURN are high, but don’t watch it expecting to learn anything about what really happened.

“We planted irrevocable hatred wherever we went, which neither time nor measures will be able to eradicate.” Charles Stewart, loyalist

Modern applications suggest themselves. The British returned to the rebelling colonies (after fleeing Boston in March 1776) with what should have been overwhelming force and were welcomed by many of the colonials themselves. Despite defeating Washington’s ragtag Continentals almost every time they could bring him to battle, they gradually lost their grip on both the land and the hearts of America. Excursions to Philadelphia and Charleston only made matters worse. Cornwallis’ defeat at Yorktown shouldn’t have been any more fatal than Burgoyne’s at Saratoga, but by then even the British thought they’d lost.

“We lost the war because we lost the hearts which already supported us. The rebels did not win.” British General James Robertson

Read the book.

...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Brian rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: american-history-revolution

Alexander Rose delivers a well researched and well thought out book on the history of American (and some of the British) spy rings that influenced the battle plans of the American revolutions. From the famous story of Nathan Hale to the operations around New York the first real intelligence organ of the United States is revealed. The book is not only an overview of the lives of the spies who fed intelligence to the Continental Army but goes into the methods in which they used. There is an entire ...more

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Apr 24, 2014 Bookworm rated it liked it

Shelves: united-states, american-revolution, history, war, spy

Eh. I had heard such great things about this book and decided to pick up the paperback after seeing it was in paperback and was now serving as the basis for a cable series. I just couldn't get into it.

The book follows the tales and adventures and missions of the spy ring that worked for George Washington during the Revolution. It follow various historical figures from their methods to their travels to some of their ends, sadly or not. However it is not a history on the American Revolution. Battl ...more

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Oct 04, 2015 Kris rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: politics, recommended-to-me, history-biography

Dry, dreary, and tedious.

Just a report of facts, names, and dates, all jumbled together. Not enough of a narrative to be entertaining for me. I rushed through the entire thing just to be done with it. Skip the book and just go watch the show instead.

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Feb 21, 2015 Stephanie G rated it it was amazing

absolutely a fantastic read! I highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys Revolutionary history.

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Jun 04, 2017 A.L. Sowards rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017, history-1500-to-1900, nonfiction

Prior to reading this, most of my knowledge about spies during the American Revolution was that Nathan Hale was caught and hanged. It turned out that even my knowledge of that was shady. His famous final words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,” weren’t what he actually said. A British officer present at the hanging recorded this about Hale’s final moments: “He behaved with great composure and resolution, saying he thought it the duty of every good officer, to obey Prior to reading this, most of my knowledge about spies during the American Revolution was that Nathan Hale was caught and hanged. It turned out that even my knowledge of that was shady. His famous final words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,” weren’t what he actually said. A British officer present at the hanging recorded this about Hale’s final moments: “He behaved with great composure and resolution, saying he thought it the duty of every good officer, to obey any orders given him by his commander in chief; and desired the spectators to be at all times prepared to meet death in whatever shape it may appear.”

The more famous line came from a play, Cato by Joseph Addison. It was put into Hale’s mouth by a friend who remembered discussing the brilliance of the play with Hale while they were at Yale together.

Learning the truth behind Hale’s last line shattered a few happy illusions for me. (Next thing I know, someone will tell me Henry V’s St. Crispin’s Day speech was made up by Shakespeare—which is maybe why I keep putting off reading a real history book about Agincourt. I’m happy with Shakespeare’s version.) Another illusion was shattered when I read Hale was caught by Robert Rogers, the colonial who founded the Rangers during the French and Indian War. Yes, the founder of the Rangers lured in poor, inexperienced Hale and turned him over to the British, who executed him.

The majority of the book isn’t about Nathan Hale. It’s mostly about the Culper Spy Ring that operated in the Long Island, New York area for most of the war. They had some big successes, like warning the French that the British knew they were coming to Rhode Island and had set a trap for them (the British knew because Benedict Arnold told them—he also makes his way through the chapters of this book). Benjamin Tallmadge was the central figure in running Culper, and I’m adding his memoir to my to-read list.

The book included interesting stuff about whale-boat raiders, early cryptographic techniques, and the attitudes and motivations of those who lived through the revolution. The information was fascinating, but it was sometimes hard to follow, so I’ll rate this one four stars. Worth reading, but probably only once.
...more

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May 27, 2018 Joe Santoro rated it liked it

Shelves: real_history

I picked this up to 'fact check' the TV show (which is excellent, though heavily dramatized). It did serve that purpose.. it confirmed most of what I expected was created for the show, and a couple things that were surprising. As a book, I found it didn't really hold together as a narrative.. it was more of a string of facts... which was fine for my purpose, but doesn't really make for a compelling read.

That said, it seems to be really well researched, and it did provide the infomation I was loo ...more

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Jan 01, 2019 Amber rated it it was amazing

I usually find it difficult to get into non-fiction books. However, after watching (and loving) AMC's Turn I bought the book. I absolutely loved it. Rose has written the story of the Culper Spy Ring in great detail without dragging on. I found myself carrying a pen with me to underline things I found interesting. Definitely a must read!

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Aug 28, 2017 Sara rated it liked it

All I really knew about New York during the Revolutionary War was that it was occupied by the British. This book showed me there was certainly a lot more going on! I enjoyed learning about the undercover spies- the tactics they used, their motivations, and how they helped Washington.

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Apr 29, 2014 Jays rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: history, scoundrels

This is a bit of a fun conundrum - it's the story of the American spy ring put into place by George Washington written by an Englishman who (from what I can tell) lives in America. As such, it's one of my favorite ways to read history; that is, it's history told (sort of) from the losing side. I'm always more interested in how the losers tell the story of big historical events and, as an American, there isn't a much bigger event in my cultural mainstay than the American Revolution. Add to the in This is a bit of a fun conundrum - it's the story of the American spy ring put into place by George Washington written by an Englishman who (from what I can tell) lives in America. As such, it's one of my favorite ways to read history; that is, it's history told (sort of) from the losing side. I'm always more interested in how the losers tell the story of big historical events and, as an American, there isn't a much bigger event in my cultural mainstay than the American Revolution. Add to the interesting perspective the fact that the book is extremely well-researched and that the author frequently lets his obviously wry sense of humor slip into the prose and you've got a book with a good turn of phrase about an interesting topic.

That said, there's a reason for the two stars. Remember how I said well-researched? That's almost to the book's detriment. One other reviewer put it best when he/she said this was a book for which if the author had a purchase receipt as documentation to prove that a payment was made, the book was going to include the entire list of what was bought. Well I like a thorough historical accounting as much as the next guy, constantly running into long lists of letters, purchases, bills, and accounts killed the momentum of the read many times.

If you can get past that barrier, however, this is a really interesting part of early American history. Even knowing about the Culper Ring before reading this, I got such a better appreciation of what it actually looked like and how it functioned as well as an understanding of exactly how relatively amateur spies were in the western world during this period of history. The author does a very good job of putting spying into the context of a truly underhanded industry that "proper gentlemen" would think it uncivilized to engage in. He also very clearly uses that context to help the reader understand the actions, heroic and sometimes frankly kind of smarmy, of the early American and British spies. I only wish that there was more discussion of some of the other characters that other books on the subject touch on (355 for example), however given that most of those other sources are not as well researched as this, I assume the author chose not to go down that path for the sake of avoiding speculation.

Short version: Great micro-history of a relatively unknown chapter of early Americana, if a bit of a dense one. But seriously, the author's sense of humor and turn of phrase make for some great passages. ...more

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Dec 21, 2016 Sarah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, military-history, history, american-history

I feel a little bad giving it 2 stars, because this book isn't that bad, but it also wasn't quite good enough to be 3.

Biggest problems with this book:

1) Lack of narrative focus
2) Way too much time spent on unimportant details (way too many numbers and figures on things I cared nothing about)
3) Too little focus on the people involved, what they were like, and their motivations

Certainly, the author put a lot of research in, but it felt like a high school history report (look at all these facts an ...more

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Feb 02, 2015 Megan rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-non-fiction, biography, has-a-movie-or-tv-show

I was excited about reading this book, especially since there is a TV show "loosely" based on it. I am going to watch the show (TURN) now that I have read the book. I am hoping that it is better than the book. This is the first book I have ever read by Mr. Rose, and I can say that I probably won't be reading any more of his books. I found it very dry and heavy-handed. Also, in many instances Rose didn't put a year with his date if it was mentioned a few pages ago.... well, I'm sorry, I'm not goi ...more

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May 14, 2014 Robert Greenberger rated it really liked it

Alexander Rose shines an overdue spotlight on the burgeoning world of American espionage. He brings us little known but vital characters in our history, explaining how General Washington built and benefited from the spy ring. Rose's prose is a little dry now and then but the stories are compelling and the background provided puts things nicely into perspective. I am also biased in favor of this book since so many of the locales on Long Island and Connecticut are where I spent my childhood and ad ...more

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Dec 02, 2018 Jenny Stevens rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

I think I would have been able to give this a higher rating had I read the print book rather than listening to the audiobook. The narrator's voice gets a bit monotone at times and there are large sections which I believe would just be easier the follow if reading in print.

However, that being said, this is a fascinating story of the first "American" spy ring led by General Washington, among others. I downloaded this as part of a special sale Audible was having many, many months ago and finally go ...more

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Oct 12, 2018 Penny rated it really liked it

(Audible)

As much a history of espionage as it is the story of specific spies like Nathan Hale, this book covers how Washington used different techniques, learned how quickly some codes could be broken and then moved on to more effective techniques.

Rose informs us about how the blackmarket trade between occupied New York and Connecticut assisted in the movement of spies and information, along with this tip--if you come from a well known Connecticut family, have identifying scar and birthmark on y ...more

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Jan 28, 2018 Ben Zajdel added it

Centered around a group of friends who become spies for George Washington during the Revolutionary War, Washington's Spies gives an in-depth history of espionage in the early days of the United States. Alexander Rose does a tremendous job of painting a portrait of America at the time of the Revolution, building the world in which the spies he writes about inhabit. The result is a book which educates you on not only military and espionage history, but the culture of the colonies which rebelled ag ...more

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Feb 22, 2018 Bob Schnell rated it really liked it

Shelves: history

I was a fan of the AMC show "Turn" that was based on the book "Washington's Spies" by Alexander Rose so when I saw it on the library shelf I grabbed it. The TV show, it seems, added some characters and situations not present in the book. However, the book is just as interesting without the romantic intrigue and other dramatic garnishes.

It is the tale of spies during the Revolutionary War, a new concept used by both sides. The focus is on the rebel spies from Long Island known as the Culper Ring. ...more

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Sep 02, 2018 Elsa K rated it really liked it

I heard about this book after watching the show "Turn Washington's Spies" (I will make the disclaimer we almost stopped watching the show with the inappropriate scenes we had to skip, but it seemed to lessen as the seasons went on). This is the nonfiction book the series is loosely based on.

I found it so interesting that George Washington had this secret unknown spy ring he depended on. After watching the show I wanted to know what was real and what was dramatized for television. I found the ch ...more

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Feb 11, 2019 Ashley rated it liked it

I didn’t know very much about the American Revolution before reading this book, but, thanks to the author’s great pains to provide detail and back story, I feel much more informed. I never realized just how complicated this conflict really was. It was neat to read of the sacrifice and honor of those who sought to do what they believed was right, especially in the face of many others who abused the war time climate for their own personal gain. War is always a place to see the best and worst of hu ...more

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Jan 16, 2019 Maren rated it liked it

I didn't finish it, so I have no credibility here, but I'll share my opinion anyway.

What this book had going for it, new research, Culper ring, George Washington father of our country after all, secret codes, invisible ink, SPIES!!! I also thought it was interesting that the author was born in but did not grow up in the US, I wonder if that helped him be objective. It was a fun look at this slice of history.

Why I didn't finish, it was mostly because I have other books I'm trying to get to and th ...more

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Nov 05, 2017 Chad Geese rated it it was amazing

I have to be honest I watched the first 3 seasons of turn on Netflix and decided to read the book because the 4the season wasn't provided yet. You hear how the book is better than the movie all the time which I agree but the tv series provided a face I could take with me while reading the book which helped out a lot considering the amount of characters. If you're into this time period/history you will absolutely love this book. An easy read with short chapters of 30 pages on average I would gues ...more

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About Alexander Rose

Alexander Rose

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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