#alexander rose

[krissiedeathyart]

When all four of your kids want to play dress up but you have to remind them no is around to fix any tears in their clothes if they damage them.

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[fartfacethefirst]

[pollywiltse]

I'm really sure there was a quote somewhere from a letter Robert Townsend sent to Benjamin Tallmadge where he said that he had never been as sad at the death of someone who was really just an acquaintance as he was at John André's death but I thought it was in the Welch bio of Tallmadge and I can't find it. Maybe it was in the Alexander Rose book? Which I would have to get out from the library to check.

I'm still not over Alexander Rose claiming that André was engaged to Anna Seward. Like you could have read any bio of him ever instead of the source you ended up using and you would have known that was wrong, dude. At least he doesn't claim she dumped him because he wasn't rich/upper class enough, I guess?

[dreamys-mess]

silly!!

Alexander belongs 2 @jeezymcjeezerson

[tallmadgeandtea]

ALEXANDER ROSE IS BRITISH??!??!)!?!

[mercurygray]

The re-emergence of an old post of mine re: Simcoe Kidnapping Shenanigans in Turn has lead me back to Alexander Rose’s twitter account, which has alerted me to the fact that I MISSED HIS BOOK ON ZEPPELINS, which came out in April! 

Brb, gotta go call my local bookseller.

[trekkiehood]

I just compulsively order the Washington Spies book......

[the-vamp-library]

Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring

Author: Alexander Rose

Status: Read

Rating: 9.8/10

Summary:

“Basing his tale on remarkable original research, historian Alexander Rose reveals the unforgettable story of the spy ring that helped America win the Revolutionary War.  For the first time, Rose takes us beyond the battlefront and into the shadowy underworld of double agents and triple crosses, covert operations and codebreaking, and unmasks the courageous, flawed individuals who inhabited this wilderness of mirrors -- including the spymaster at the heart of it all, George Washington.”

Review: 

Incredibly fascinating and well researched!  I watched the show first (which I loved!), and always appreciated that Alexander Rose would live tweet where they took creative liberties for the show and what actually happened -- or didn’t happen.  So, when I finally finished college and was able to research on my own, this was the first book I picked up. And I absolutely adored it!  As you can see, my copy is a little damaged because I took it with me everywhere and would read and take notes on it during any free second I had.

One of my favourite things about Washington’s Spies is Rose’s writing style.  He manages to bring enjoyable reading without compromising the integrity of the facts and research.  There’s no annoying attempt at faking dialogue of a conversation we would have no way of knowing happened, or otherwise insert personal beliefs or weird perspectives for the sake of doing so.  However, it doesn’t read stiff like most academic books.

An important note, that speaks volumes to the integrity of the presented research, is that Rose writes of the members of the Culper Ring as the heroes they were, but does not put them on a pedestal.  He tells of their flaws (as the summary states) and shortcomings, such as Robert Townsend’s immense fears and anxiety in working for the Ring.  This is one good way to tell that a historical book is not bullshitting you!

Another thing to take note of is how in-depth the research is, as well as the moments Rose points out blank spots we are still in the dark on.

The show opened up my curiosities to the subject of the Culper Spy Ring.  The book solidified my fascination.

Citation:  Rose, Alexander.  Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring.  New York: Bantam Books, 2006.