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The first conspiracy : the secret plot to kill George Washington
2019
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Library Journal Review
History Channel personality Meltzer and television producer Mensch collaborate on an account of a little-known assassination plot against George Washington, then leader of the Continental Army. This conspiracy occurred when Washington headquartered the army in New York during the spring and summer of 1776. The fast-paced narrative explores the rivalry between Washington and New York's colonial governor, William Tryon. Tryon, with British assistance, financed irregular operations against American patriots. Meltzer and Mensch reveal how Washington deciphered the plot against him by relying on the first documented instance of American counterespionage. What makes the story more intriguing is the portrayal of the divisions between loyalists and patriots in New York, as loyalty to the Crown is often underrepresented in Revolution histories. VERDICT Highly recommended for popular history fans, this work adds to the knowledge presented in David McCullough's 1776 and makes a great companion volume to John A. Nagy's Invisible Ink: Spycraft of the American Revolution.-Jacob Sherman, John Peace Lib., Univ. of Texas at San Antonio © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
This protracted history of a conspiracy against the Continental Army before the American colonies had even declared their independence doesn't showcase thriller author Meltzer (The Escape Artist) at his best. Meltzer and television veteran Mensch set the scene of the conspiracy in the prologue-a moonlit night in 1776 in a clearing in Manhattan, as George Washington emerges from a coach into a planned trap. Then the narrative moves back to 1752; after several chapters, Washington and the Continental Army arrive in New York City in early 1776, where the British governor, William Tryon, is already gathering intelligence against them and pays a New York gunsmith, Gilbert Forbes, to recruit Washington's soldiers into a plot on his life. The authors recount the plot's thwarting by a nascent counterintelligence group led by John Jay, later the first Supreme Court Justice. The authors draw out the story a great deal, breaking it into brief chapters ending in often melodramatic statements like "One thing is clear: nothing in this war will be easy." Some readers may find that the choppy structure heightens the work's drama, while others may find it and the simplistic prose off-putting, but the topic is one that will draw interest. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, William Morris Agency. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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