George Washington, Spymaster: How The Americans Outspied The British And Won The Revolutionary War Read Free Books and Download eBooks
Now in paperback—the award-winning National Geographic book that presents the untold story of the invisible war behind the American Revolution. A riveting tale of intrigue, spies, counterspies and secret agents, George Washington, Spymasteris a unique and entertaining account of one of the most important chapters in our nation's history. The compelling narrative reveals the surprising role played by the first commander-in-chief, General George Washington in the War of Independence. Follow the action as 1775 dawns, and Washington finds himself in serious trouble. At war with Britain, the world's most powerful empire, his ragtag army possesses only a few muskets, some cannons, and no money. The Americans' only hope is to wage an invisible war—a war of spies, intelligence networks, and deception. Enter the shadowy world of double agents, covert operations, codes and ciphers—a world so secret that America's spymaster himself doesn't know the identities of some of his agents. Meet members of the elusive Culper Ring, uncover a "mole" in the Sons of Liberty, and see how invisible ink and even a clothesline are used to send secret messages. You can even use Washington's own secret codebook, published here for the first time. Experience at close quarters the successes and failures of the Americans as they strive to outwit the British. Meet the chief of covert operations, one Benjamin Franklin, and several other surprising players in America's secret war. Author Thomas B. Allen has sifted through dozens of historical documents and coded letters to uncover the facts about a time shrouded in secrets. Archival art, coupled with lively pen-and-ink sketches by children's illustrator Cheryl Harness, detail all the action and adventure of this momentous tale. Like the highly acclaimed hardback, this little paperback is sure to have a big impact on the imagination of readers everywhere.National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.
Lexile Measure: 1100 (What's this?)
Paperback: 184 pages
Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books; Reprint edition (January 9, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426300417
ISBN-13: 978-1426300417
Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 6.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #51,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #27 in Books > Children's Books > Biographies > Political #37 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > History > Military & Wars #48 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > History > United States > Colonial & Revolutionary
Age Range: 10 and up
Grade Level: 5 and up
George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War is a National Geographic book written by Thomas B. Allen. This young adult book is as informative as it is entertaining. In the books that I have read about the Revolution, the Patriot spy network isn't given much coverage.Allen starts during the French and Indian War when Washington was a young major. He was sent out by Virginia Royal Governor Robert Dimwiddie. Washington realized early on that he had to rely on intelligence gathered from civilians and the Indians to learn about French forces. Washington wrote "There is nothing more necessary than good Intelligence to frustrate a designing enemy & nothing that requires greater pains to obtain."When the Revolutionary War began, Washington built on those information-gathering techniques that he used during the French and Indian War. Washington became a "spymaster," handling large numbers of individual spies. At first, Washington wanted an intelligence network of military men. The first such group was the Knowlton Rangers, which eventually evolved into the modern Army Rangers and Special Forces. The Rangers got off to a disastrous start, and Washington realized that "Instead of relying on officers to gather military intelligence, he would do what the Sons of Liberty had done in Boston. He would use civilians--sharp-witted Patriots who could spy while making believe they were Tories."Thomas gives the reader a tutorial on spying and spies. He tells us the difference between an agent, a double agent, an intelligence officer and a snitch. He provides the code created by Benjamin Tallmadge for Patriot correspondence. He also hides messages throughout the book using this code.
On the coolness scale, kids rank George Washington just above Chester B. Arthur and just below... oh, I dunno... pickled yams. Which is to say, GW's PR department needs some help. Enter the National Geographic publishing company. Continually churning out fine fine non-fiction titles for kiddies everywhere, the good folks at the National, with the help of author Thomas B. Allen, have done their darndest to make Mr. Washington less the kind of guy you're supposed to remove your hat in memory of, and more the kind of guy who'd give James Bond a run for his money when it comes to espionage. Sporting a cover on which George smirks slyly from beneath a dark and shadowy cape collar, the book makes the claim that the only reason we really won the Revolutionary War was because our first president was a whiz at spying. It's an intriguing premise and an amusing little book.Let's say you're an up-and-coming young republic. You've been ruled by a distant country over the sea for quite some time but recently that rule's been chafing you. What is the answer then? Well, if you happen to be America the answer is open rebellion (if you happen to be Northern Ireland, good luck to you). As George Washington came of age in America, he learned how important a good intelligence network was in a time of war. Having served in the French and Indian War, George saw good spying done firsthand. When America next attempted to pull away from the British, Mr. Washington was able to put this theory into practice. Chronicling the course of the war and the significant changes wrought due to both American and British intelligence, Allen gives fresh insights into everything from Paul Revere's Ride to the heroism of Lafayette.
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