God Save Benedict Arnold
The True Story of America's Most Hated Man
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5.0 • 4 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
"Vivid." —The Wall Street Journal
"A dazzling addition to the history of the American Revolution." ―Kirkus Review (starred)
"Finally... a full and fascinating portrait of a true hero of the American Revolution, until he was visited by villainy. A riveting read." ―Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author of Follow Me to Hell
Benedict Arnold committed treason— for more than two centuries, that’s all that most Americans have known about him.
Yet Arnold was much more than a turncoat—his achievements during the early years of the Revolutionary War defined him as the most successful soldier of the era. GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD tells the gripping story of Arnold’s rush of audacious feats—his capture of Fort Ticonderoga, his Maine mountain expedition to attack Quebec, the famous artillery brawl at Valcour Island, the turning-point battle at Saratoga—that laid the groundwork for our independence.
Arnold was a superb leader, a brilliant tactician, a supremely courageous military officer. He was also imperfect, disloyal, villainous. One of the most paradoxical characters in American history, and one of the most interesting. GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD does not exonerate him for his treason—the stain on his character is permanent. But Kelly’s insightful exploration of Arnold’s career as a warrior shines a new light on this gutsy, fearless, and enigmatic figure. In the process, the book offers a fresh perspective on the reasons for Arnold’s momentous change of heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historian Kelly (Band of Giants) endeavors in this novelistic biography to present a fuller picture of Benedict Arnold, the Continental Army officer who betrayed the American Revolution. A brash and moody military strategist, Arnold came under the admiring eye of George Washington after a victory over the British at Fort Ticonderoga in New York and an unsuccessful expedition to capture Quebec. But, lacking a "gentleman's" background, Arnold never found the wealth or military honors he desperately sought. Wounded at the battle of Saratoga, he spent a painful convalescence as the military governor of Philadelphia that ended in a court martial for financial corruption. Disillusioned with the revolution, Arnold began funneling information to the British. Assigned a command at West Point, he planned to surrender it without a fight, but missives detailing the plot were intercepted. After serving out the rest of the war on the British side, he spent his postwar exile in England and Canada. The narrative is at its best when detailing the grim realities of 18th-century warfare; the account of the Quebec winter expedition is particularly riveting. Yet Kelly's analysis of Arnold's treachery, which casts him as "an enigma, his motives lost in the impenetrable alchemy of the human heart," doesn't come to grips with his complexities. Revolutionary War buffs will enjoy the skillful narration, but there are few new insights here.
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