Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American RevolutionFrom the "New York Times" bestselling author of "In The Heart of the Sea"--soon to be a major motion picture starring Chris Hemsworth and directed by Ron Howard--comes a surprising account of the middle years of the American Revolution, and the tragic relationship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold. In September 1776, the vulnerable Continental Army under an unsure George Washington (who had never commanded a large force in battle) evacuates New York after a devastating defeat by the British Army. Three weeks later, near the Canadian border, one of his favorite generals, Benedict Arnold, miraculously succeeds in postponing the British naval advance down Lake Champlain that might have ended the war. Four years later, as the book ends, Washington has vanquished his demons and Arnold has fled to the enemy after a foiled attempt to surrender the American fortress at West Point to the British. After four years of war, America is forced to realize that the real threat to its liberties might not come from without but from within. "Valiant Ambition" is a complex, controversial, and dramatic portrait of a people in crisis and the war that gave birth to a nation. The focus is on loyalty and personal integrity, evoking a Shakespearean tragedy that unfolds in the key relationship of Washington and Arnold, who is an impulsive but sympathetic hero whose misfortunes at the hands of self-serving politicians fatally destroy his faith in the legitimacy of the rebellion. As a country wary of tyrants suddenly must figure out how it should be led, Washington s unmatched ability to rise above the petty politics of his time enables him to win the war that really matters." |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - la2bkk - LibraryThingThe best written of the author’s series on the Revolutionary War. The author’s style is always popular as it is user-friendly, and never forgets the importance of telling a good story while at the ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Castlelass - LibraryThingNon-fiction about two ambitious men during the American Revolution covering the period 1776 – 1780, highlighting the similarities and differences between George Washington and Benedict Arnold. The ... Read full review
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution Wheeler Hardcover Wheeler publishing hardcover |
| Author | Nathaniel Philbrick |
| Edition | illustrated, large print |
| Publisher | Wheeler Publishing, A part of Gale, Cengage Learning, 2016 |
| ISBN | 1410489507, 9781410489500 |
| Length | 860 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |