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

“…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 tastes. Sometimes an overview is enough. Occasionally the author, Alexander Rose, is caught up in the mundane. Too often, this text gives detailed family histories, explaining familial connections between key players in the book. That is well and good, if it has a point, but Mr. Rose just talks about them to no narrative purpose. The book also time hops back and forth, often arranged by subject matter, not chronologically- which is irritating and can be confusing if you do not already know some of the history.
However, the book has many positives as well. Mr. Rose has clearly done extensive research, as is demonstrated by the almost 100 pages of notes and sources. The last three chapters of the book (there are nine) are easily the text’s best and chapter 7, “On His Majesty’s Secret Service” is especially well done. It deals with the treachery of Benedict Arnold and the capture/execution of Major John André, a story filled with drama.
Overall, a nice read. A part of the American Revolution I did not know that much about.