Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution

Starred review from February 15, 2016
By recounting inconvenient truths, including “how patriotic zeal had lapsed into cynicism and self-interest,” Philbrick (Mayflower) once again casts new light on a period of American history with which many readers may assume familiarity. He relates the four years of the Revolutionary War (1776–1780) in a compulsively readable and fascinating narrative, prefacing his account with a provocative description of what really happened during the American Revolution, which was “so troubling and strange that once the struggle was over, a generation did its best to remove all traces of the truth.” Philbrick makes vivid and memorable the details of numerous military engagements and reliably punctures any preconceptions that the rebels’ victory was inevitable. Eye-openers abound, such as how British general John Burgoyne’s use of Native American warriors backfired, as “even more than their love of liberty, the New Englanders’ multigenerational fear of native peoples was what finally moved them to rise up and extirpate” the British. Balancing his portrayals of the protagonists, Philbrick presents Washington’s weaknesses as a military commander without apology and contextualizes Arnold’s eventual betrayal of his country in the context of a long list of slights against him. Philbrick’s deep scholarship, nuanced analysis, and novelistic storytelling add up to another triumph. Maps.

February 15, 2016
A history of the American Revolution, focused on George Washington (1732-1799) and Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), in which the author acknowledges Arnold's good points but does not fully rehabilitate him. National Book Award winner Philbrick (Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution, 2013, etc.) devotes almost equal time to Washington, in his eyes an incompetent general and a slow--although eventually successful--learner but a superb judge of talent; he knew Arnold possessed plenty. As a militia captain at the 1775 siege of Boston, Arnold impressed Washington with his energy in capturing the fortress of Ticonderoga. His expedition to Quebec ended in disaster but burnished his reputation. In 1777, fearless leadership played a major role in defeating Gen. John Burgoyne at Saratoga. Arnold's self-regard ensured that success produced more enemies than admirers. Appointed military governor of Philadelphia in 1778, he was a controversial figure and began to profit from a variety of business deals related to his post. In 1779, he offered his services to the British and began sending useful intelligence. Only bad luck derailed his 1780 plot to surrender West Point to the British. In Philbrick's opinion, Arnold was a psychopath. Oblivious to the consequences of his actions, he was incredibly brave under fire. Peculation was common even among loyal Revolutionary officers, but Arnold's stood out. He exhausted his fortune to support his campaigns, lived beyond his means, and used his official position, especially in Philadelphia, to enrich himself. Payment dominated his negotiations with the British. After brilliantly chronicling two obscure voyages (In the Heart of the Sea, Sea of Glory), Philbrick turned to familiar subjects (Mayflower, Bunker Hill) with admirable, if slightly less, brilliance but better sales. Like the latter, Valiant Ambition is solid popular history. A lively account of our Revolution's most reviled figure.

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Starred review from March 15, 2016
Philbrick (Bunker Hill, 2013) long ago established his narrative-nonfiction bona fides with such books as In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex (2000), winner of the National Book Award and which was recently made into a movie. His formidable storytelling skills are displayed anew in this riveting, perceptive account of the American Revolution as seen through a very defined lens: the growing strength of General Washington's leadership qualities as he suppresses his propensity for anger and sharpens his ability to rise above the bickering of his staff and Congress to keep a focus on the bigger picture of securing independence, and on the growing frustration of one of his best generals, Benedict Arnold, over the slow pace of the war effort and Congress' intrusive oversight. Granted, many pages of this unforgettable book are given over to troop activities in the field. But the beauty and wisdom of the narrative as a whole lie in its indelible picture of the troubles Washington went through to lead a successful revolution, and in isolating the personality traits and exterior forces that would lead to the name of Benedict Arnold becoming synonymous with treason. Bound to draw a good readership to libraries' American-history stacks.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2016

Best-selling author Philbrick (Bunker Hill; The Mayflower) recounts details of Revolutionary War battles in the context of Gen. Benedict Arnold's character traits as well as his relationships with George Washington and others that affected his successes and downfalls and ultimately led to his defection from the Continental to the British Army. Philbrick sympathetically explains but doesn't excuse the complicated factors resulting in Arnold's treason. He observes that initially the general was patriotic, loyal, trustworthy, and valued by Washington. His battlefield valor was impressive, but his impertinence engendered animosity from scornful, opportunistic officials. By 1779, starvation, mutiny, Washington's indecisiveness, and the combination of Congress's meddling and lack of support made America's outlook appear dismal. Philbrick argues, nonetheless, that his subject's impetuosity, arrogance, self-interest, and insolence, coupled with his financial distress and growing bitterness impelled him (with his wife's support) to sell secrets to the British. The general didn't consider himself a traitor but claimed that his defection supported the United States by hastening the return to normalcy. Philbrick believes that Arnold's actions vitalized the revolutionary spirit and helped create a mythical history of the period. VERDICT Philbrick weaves exciting accounts of Arnold's impulsive battlefield exploits with the activities of self-interested military and civil associates into the demythified story of the circumstances of a tragic betrayal. This page-turner will be valued by both casual readers and historians. [See Prepub Alert, 11/2/15]--Margaret Kappanadze, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2015

In fall 1776, not long after George Washington was compelled to evacuate New York, his favorite general, Benedict Arnold, managed a key victory at the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain. By war's end, his faith in revolution destroyed by the underhanded dealings of politicians and fellow soldiers, Arnold had switched sides. Philbrick, a National Book Award winner and New York Times best-selling author, details the fraught relationship between Washington and Arnold (not the devil we thought we knew) while revealing that for many rebelling colonists, the war was an opportunistic time for settling scores. With a whopping 18-city tour.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.