This week's stash of books was six. My favorite by far was Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution by Joel Richard Paul.
This non-fiction account of the very first diplomat of the United States, who undertook an impossible mission to garner material support from the kingdom of France in the war against England before the United States had even declared independence, is one of the remarkable and (until now) untold stories of our nation's history.
It should be read by every student of American history to gain, if nothing else, a grasp of how perilous our beginnings truly were. Plus, as the old folks say, it's a ripping good yarn. Where else in history can you find a cross-dressing spy, a playwright-turned arms dealer and a shopkeeper turned foreign minister?
No comments:
Post a Comment