Book Profile - Washington's Spies

AT the beginning of 2015 I started a reading challenge at which I failed miserably. The goal was to read books from a number of different categories as a well rounded reading list. There were books like a classic romance, a trilogy, a Pulitzer Prize winner and a memoir that were relatively easy to pick and then there were ones that were more difficult to find such as a book based in your home town, a book with antonyms in the title and a book with bad reviews.

I only successfully read about fifteen books over the last year which I am ashamed to say but I have decided to try again for the coming year and each week I will do a promotion for the book I am currently reading that week. I will also post reviews on Goodreads for them and will be adding the entire collection of books to my To Be Read list. I am still in the process of picking all of them out though I have a very good start.

Right now even though it will not count toward the list for next year I am reading Washington's Spies - The Story Of America's First Spy Ring. It is somewhat like a text book in that it is packed with information during the revolutionary war and entails not just the spies and their duties but also discusses the war and politics of the country back when America was first asserting its independence. Because it is non-fiction and reads somewhat like a text book it is somewhat slow to read but since I have always been interested in history I find the information intriguing.

Alexander Rose eloquently paints a picture of the harsh winters and epic battles that plagued not only the military but also the colonists of the time. He writes about family ties and faith based politics while also capturing the fear instilled by the enemy. The American military had to fight now only the British but also many of their own that stood by the mother country. There were significantly fewer colonists that demanded freedom from British rule than I had known. I had always believed it was mostly a universal desire because my history classes focused solely on the battles and not the inner working of the country at the time.

I am closing in on half way through the book and looking forward to seeing what other facts I am able to pick up as I continue to read and then starting on Friday I will be starting on my list beginning with a book set in a place I have always wanted to visit, Paris. I am planning on reading the Count of Monte Cristo next.