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    George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved America
    Unavailable
    George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved America
    Unavailable
    George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved America
    Audiobook5 hours

    George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved America

    Written by Don Yaeger

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From the cohost of Fox & Friends, the true story of the anonymous spies who helped win the Revolutionary War

    Among the pantheon of heroes of the American Revolution, six names are missing. First and foremost, Robert Townsend, an unassuming and respected businessman from Long Island, who spearheaded the spy ring that covertly brought down the British . . . before they, or anyone else, could discover their names.

    Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger finally give Townsend and his fellow spies their proper due, telling the fascinating story of how they passed information to George Washington that turned the tide of the war. Using a network of citizen operatives that included a longshoreman, bartender, newspaper editor, housewife, tailor, and femme fatale, and employing a series of complex codes, the so-called Culper Spy Ring used sophisticated tactics to subvert the British.
     
    Based on previously unpublished research, George Washington's Secret Six is a gripping history of these amazing, anonymous Patriots who risked their lives for our freedom.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateNov 5, 2013
    ISBN9780698136939
    Unavailable
    George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved America
    Author

    Don Yaeger

    Don Yaeger is an 11-time New York Times Best-selling author, longtime Associate Editor at Sports Illustrated and today is one of the most in-demand public speakers on the corporate circuit. He delivers an average of 70 speeches a year to an average annual audience of 100,000. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife and two children. He is the host of the highly-rated Corporate Competitor Podcast, and offers training courses developed from his years of research into high performance habits.  www.donyaeger.com

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    Reviews for George Washington's Secret Six

    3.5/5

    209 ratings19 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Interesting read of significant events in our history. A bit too much supposition is used to fill in the blanks though.
    • 4/5
      I had been meaning to read this one for awhile, but there is nothing like necessity for pulling a book up from the middle of your TBR list. I needed to do a little research on spying techniques during the Revolution for my latest work.George Washington's Secret Six is one of the "new style" history books thatcrosses over from non-fiction into fiction. Not that the historical points are fiction, but that sometimes-unknowable dialogue, thoughts and actions are added. As you can tell from the review, I have mixed feelings about that. Would love to hear your thoughts.Here's the review I posted on Amazon and GoodReads this morning:George Washington's Secret Six is an engaging, easy read that tells the story of a little-known spy ring that was arguably essential to the American victory in the war for independence. If you would rather read about historical people and personalities than battle plans and troop movements, this is the book for you.My only argument with the book is whether one could truly consider it non-fiction or whether it is more fictionalized fiction. There are references with descriptions given at the back of the book (although not footnoted within the text itself), and Kilmeade talks of meeting with the CIA' chief historian. All of which leads me to give the benefit of the doubt to the story-like telling of the narrative.However, the amateur historian in me pauses a bit when dialogue and internal thoughts are given as factual. I remember one particular passage where during a meeting between Townsend and Woodhull the latter scratched at a bit of wax on a table and the former banged his fist on the same table making the candles jump. It's a passage as well written as any in a historical novel, but does it belong in non-fiction? I suppose those actions and the dialogue could have been constructed from memoirs of the individuals involved, but given their desire for secrecy, it's not likely that they would have included this level of detail.I do not mean to sound overly critical. I would recommend this book to anyone and if it makes the reading of history more enjoyable, so much the better. If we just left it up to the dry tomes we were required to read in school, these brave men (and one woman) would be lost to us. Therefore, I am giving this one four stars.On a side note: As a writer of historical fiction, I want to give a shout out to Tiffany Yecke Brooks who, given the acknowledgments, I suspect had a hand in the more fanciful parts of the story. You did indeed find a sweet spot, and I enjoyed them immensely. I hate to admit it, but I think Major Andre was my favorite character.
    • 4/5
      Most of this is a reasonably good popular history of a spy ring operating in the New York City area during the revolution. Saving the group "saved the revolution" is oversold --in particular, I do not think the ring contributed significantly to exposing Benedict Arnold's treachery -- but it did provide useful information about British moves based on New York, which was the main British base for much of the war.
    • 3/5
      Spying apparently had a great deal to do with the US winning the revolutionary war. This book gives a brief overview of the men who made up George Washington's secret spy ring. I learned quite a bit of interesting history, as I did not know anything about this espionage before I listened to this book. I did not even know that New York City was occupied by the British for so long during the war, let alone that spies were running around in it, interacting with the British occupiers in hopes of learning useful information to pass onto Washington. It was interesting to learn of the methods that they learned, and while I knew that Benedict Arnold was a traitor I did not know much about why he switched sides, or how his plan was thwarted. That story was hair raising and much better that what I learned in school. I would recommend this book as a good introduction to the story of the spy ring, but it is brief and does not offer much depth or scholarly footnotes. And I would highly suggest the print version over the audio version, as the one I listened to was read by the author. He has a voice suited for bombastic political commentary, but not for narrating a book.
    • 5/5
      Brian Kilmeade's foray into history covers a long term fascination of how spies operated during the American Revolution. In this book, the Culper Six, a spy ring lately created after the Nathan Hale debacle, story is told. Almost virtually unknown, it was their work that uncovered Benedict Arnold's treachery & twice fooled the British command under Clinton stationed in New York City, in not only the French fleet landing off the coast of Rhode Island but also the Cornwallis expedition at Yorktown. This reader learned how this group operated under severe circumstances & close encounters with enemies intent on discovering how the Americans seemed one step ahead of the British. We are introduced to Talmadge who worked as a key operator & who developed a secret code that kept everyone else in the dark except for his 5 other fellow spies. We see the five are ordinary folks remaining unnoticed until the near disaster after the Arnold treachery is discovered resulting in one of their members arrested & confined on a British prison ship. The author relates that it took years to discover the five members but questions remain about Agent 355, who is conjectured to have been a woman of some respect. He includes a chapter of the possible names of who it might have been. In all, an excellent detective work to tell the story of a spy ring that saved America from a treachery that would have wreaked havoc with Washington's path for victory over the British. You will learn much from this story as I did & a good addition to the history of the American Revolution.
    • 4/5
      only real disappointment was in the epilogue, where at this late date Kilmeade says he works at the most patriotic news organization in the country. patriotism, like love, is not graduated.
    • 4/5
      The Culper Spy Ring occupies an interesting place in history not only because they helped America win its revolution, but also because they remained a secret for so long after the fact. Even today, one member's identity is still unknown (though they are almost positive she was a woman), and the others were only figured out in the 20th century. I liked learning about the spycraft but the tales of the spies' activities themselves - and the later historians' methods of finding them out - were the bigger draw. Certainly a book worth picking up if you're interested in intelligence or the American Revolution. (Preferably both.)A note on the audio: This is read by the author. His performance was enthusiastic but pretty uneven in terms of cadence and tempo.
    • 5/5
      Really interesting book; includes information about the recent identification of one of the members of Washington's spy ring; informs the reader about principles that are still used by modern spy organizations
    • 5/5
      Excellent book on a part of history that isn't widely known.
    • 5/5
      As a proud New Yorker and also having a 7th time great grandfather that fought in the American Revolution, I was enthusiastic to read Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger's book. After losing New York City to the British in August/September 1776 at the Battle of Brooklyn and then to the fall of Manhattan, George Washington eagerly wanted to retain the city due to the great wealth the harbors provided both financially & militarily. To do this Washington knew he would have to out spy the British. The first attempt Washington made was by the volunteer Captain Nathan Hale, unfortunately after the capture and hanging on Captain Hale, a new plan had to be created. This time Washington wouldn't know the names of the spies in New York, and the spies wouldn't know each other, making sure that if anyone was caught they would not be able to provide the names of anyone else in the ring to the enemy. Thus the Culper ring was created and a brave group of Patriots in New York City & Long Island learned all they could for Washington, in the hopes of destroying the British and winning the American Revolution and their independence from England. An unknown history by most Americans, the Culper Ring was made up of average local New York individuals, Robert Townsend (Culper Jr. ), Austin Roe, Caleb Brewster, Abraham Woodhull (Culper Sr), James Rivington, and Agent 355 (believed to me a lady of society). Passing information through newspapers and notes, with invisible ink & a set of numbers representing names & places, they traveled hundred of miles on land/water, finally reaching Washington all the way in Connecticut with key details about troop movements.The rings greatest accomplishment was when they foiled the plan of Benedict Arnold to turn over West Point to the British which would of allowed them to win the war. Washington's Spies is a very informative book, deeply researched by the authors showing a forgotten time in history. This should be a required read in all high school history classes and above that study the American Revolution. The history around the Boston tea party is a very important start to the fight for independence, but so many need to know the importance New York City had on the goal of the Patriots becoming Americans. As the first American president George Washington was inaugurated at Federal Hall in New York City, also showing the love Washington had for this city and its importance. The fact that the CIA still to this day teach new agents about the Culper Ring at Langley shows just how great these spies were to America and for that reason should be read by all.
    • 5/5
      I loved George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution by Brian Kilmeade. The history of the Culper Ring, the spies who helped win the war, was very interesting since I wasn't familiar with this area of history. I thought the writing style made the book even better. For those who don't like to read dry non-fiction, this one reads like a great mystery! Excellent choice for book discussion groups, too.
    • 3/5
      This book is about the Culper spy ring, set up by George Washington during the Revolution. "Spying" on one's enemy was not very gentlemanly during that period, but both sides did it. The book explains some of the people and some of the trade craft. It must have been a good spy ring because not much is known or has been written about the participants. As the book was running out of material they explored Benedict Arnold and John Andre. The audio reader sounded pretty geeky and unbelievable.
    • 4/5
      This book was an interesting and unusual look at American history. I enjoyed the way the book reveals what was happening on both sides of the American Revolution. I also enjoyed the research and intelligent way the reader is lead through the complex times and situations that happened during this time.
    • 5/5
      This is an outstanding, concise, well-written look at George Washington's spy ring that he wisely set up and put into motion in his quest to re-take Manhattan from the British around the time of the signing of the Declaration Of Independence. The six brave souls who undertook this task really come alive in this heavily researched book, and the reader can really get a sense of how difficult it had to be to blend in as a Loyalist sympathizer secretly running info to Washington on British troop activities. Kilmeade does an excellent job compartmentalizing this espionage ring into the Revolutionary War, as well as portraying just how critical and brilliant Washington's schemes were. Of special interest is how the FBI and CIA today employ many of the methods created by these brave and pioneering individuals. Recommended for history buffs and all undergraduates...
    • 5/5
      This is a fascinating look into spy craft in the late 18th century, specifically as it relates to Washington's need to know the goings on of the British while they were headquartered in New York City. The AMC show "Turn: Washington's Spies" is based on the story told in "George Washington's Secret Six" and is excellent (save the first season as it's a bit too melodramatic for me).The book is a light read for general audiences and covers a subject all Americans need to know.
    • 4/5
      This is a popular history – no footnotes but a brief bibliography and index – and it’s tightly focused on the Culper Spy Ring operating in British occupied New York City. It covers much the same territory as Chapter Nine, “American Intelligence Activities Reach Maturity” of Kenneth A. Daigler’s Spies, Patriots, and Traitors. It even relies on the same histories of the Culper Spy Ring as Daigler: John Edwin Bakeless’s Turncoats, Traitors, and Heroes (1998), John A. Nagy’s Invisible Ink: Spycraft in the American Revolution (2010), and Morton Pennypacker’s General Washington’s Spies (1939).That focus allows a couple of things missing from Daigler’s account: an in-depth profile of the six spies (well, five actually because the identity of No. 355, as she was known to Washington, is not definitively known), a greater sense of what it was like to live in occupied New York, and quotes from the correspondence of the spy ring.Kilmeade and Yaeger, to make the story more vivid, provide dialogue at certain points based on written documents.The remarkable thing about most of the members of the spy ring is that they sought – with one exception, no recognition after the war. Indeed, the identity of one, Robert Townsend, was not known until 1929 when some of his papers came in the possession of Pennypacker, and he matched Townsend’s handwriting to the agent Samuel Culper Jr correspondence in an archive of George Washington’s papers. Another remarkable thing about the Culper Spy Ring is that George Washington and the case officer who ran the ring, Benjamin Tallmadge, never knew the identity of most of the ring’s members. Out of justifiable fear and a firm sense of operational security, most of the ring insisted on concealing their identities from those further up in the intelligence chain.As Daigler shows, the Culper Spy Ring were not Washington’s only assets in the city, but they were the most important and the sole focus of this book.The story begins with Tallmadge, the man who proposed his friend Nathan Hale for his fatal mission, approaching another acquaintance of his, Abraham Woodhull, to recruit him as a spy. Woodhull was a farmer and smuggler with rebel sympathies. Living in Setauket, Long Island, frequent visits to his sister and her husband in New York City provided a cover for his trips. Sometime in 1778, Tallmadge met, probably in Connecticut, Woodhull, soon to be Samuel Culper in correspondence. Woodhull agreed to spy if his identity was known only to Tallmadge, and he was given the discretion to vet and recruit more agents to assist him – and their identities would not be revealed even to Tallmadge.Woodhull’s first recruit was Caleb Brewster, an early sympathizer with the rebels and a smuggler as well. He was to serve as a courier of information from Long Island to Connecticut as well as provide his own observations. Samuel Roe, an innkeeper and friend of Brewster and neighbor of Woodhull, was recruited next. Townsend was recruited in 1779 by Woodhull. His motivations were not only anger at the thuggish behavior of British soldiers when quartering in his father’s home but also an early sympathy for the rebels. However, unlike his adventurous and boisterous brothers, Townsend’s physique and personality did not suit a conventional military life. But his position as a store owner near the harbor of New York and a clientele that included many British officers gave him desirable cover and access to information.Seemingly sometime in 1779, Woodhull recruited No. 355, a female socialite who moved in circles that included many members of the British military. The final recruit, James Rivington, seems to have been recruited by Townsend in 1779. Rivington was a noted Loyalist who ran a coffee house frequented by British officers and was also a newspaper publisher and bookstore owner. Townsend even wrote mildly pro-Crown pieces for the paper.One of the people Rivington knew, and probably No. 355 as well, was Major André, the British intelligence officer who went on a fatal mission to arrange Benedict Arnold’s defection. The book covers the Arnold-André affair in detail including the many screw ups on both sides. However, the book is a bit lacking on the Culper Spy Ring’s contributions to the detection of the plot other than that André was planning a trip west of the city, information given to Tallmadge.A major success of the spy ring was foiling a major British attempt to flood the colonies with counterfeit money.The book has a few asides on the unpleasant life of occupied New York City: crowded and unsanitary and full of plots. There is also a revealing letter from a British officer boasting of he and his comrades’ sexual assaults and predations on the local women.The book seems to take the conventional position that Washington sincerely intended to attack New York City though Daigler’s history makes clear that was a closely held deception operation.The book not only talks about the intricacies of the invisible ink used by the ring and their development of a book code but puts us in the heads of the spies. Their justifiable fear, at times, caused them to become inactive.The book has a nice coda. Tallmadge made sure, when Washington’s forces went into the city after the British evacuation, that the safety of his agents was insured. Washington is said to have made a quite public visit to Rivington’s book store to save him from reprisals though he did not reveal his espionage activities. One report mentions the sound of money changing hands.Washington did visit Roe’s inn. It is not known if any other members of the ring were there. Washington never said, and Roe was the only member of the ring that publicly talked about his spying. The identity of most of the rest was only discovered in the 20th century.Actually, the identity of No. 355 was never discovered. The book speculates her espionage was discovered at some point – perhaps causing Townsend to temporarily withdraw from spying out of grief or fear – and that she was imprisoned on the prison hulk HMS Jersey where she and thousands of others died. However, they concede she may have survived the war undetected and was never jailed. Alexander Rose’s General Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring, referenced in the bibliography, identified her as Anna Strong, but this book offers no name for No. 355.The book also has photos, portraits, and a map. Recommended as an effective, personal, and up close account of the Culper Spy Ring.
    • 2/5
      Really not sure how this ended in my libray. I love to read on american history, especially revolutioinary history. But as I was listening to this one and then looked at the reviews. If I would have looked at the reviews beforehand I probably wouldve left this alone. And after listening to Brian Kilmeade read through this I would wish I had can have a refund on my time and money.
    • 5/5
      This book focuses on an aspect of the Revolutionary War often overlooked or under-appreciated: espionage. We may be generally aware of Nathan Hale who was hung by the British as a spy and the intrigues of Benedict Arnold and his cohort, John Andre but the subject of this book, the Culper Spy Ring operating in New York City during the British occupation has received scant notice.The authors have done a masterful work uncovering the identity and roles of five of the six members. The identity of the sixth, a woman, remains unknown but she is believed to have died in a prison ship in the harbor. In the best tradition of spies down through the ages, most of the members of the ring chose to remain anonymous even after the war. It is apparent that Kilmeade enjoyed piecing together the story from an assortment of leads to give credit to the members even though they sought no recognition at the time. The “spy craft” employed by the ring is, according to the author, studied and taught today by the CIA.The actions of Benedict Arnold described may have been better addressed in a separate book because it was only tangential to the Culper work but that does not significantly affect the worth of this book. It is enjoyable read.
    • 1/5
      I only made it through Chapter Four of this book. It was so full of hyperbole, misrepresentations, and downright inaccuracies that I was too infuriated to continue.In my opinion, those who purport to convey “history” have a sacred trust, and I cannot understand why publishers let this kind of humbug see print.Thus, this book became a “DNF” (did not finish) for me. (I started to keep a list of the passages in which the truth was distorted, misinterpreted, or just omitted, but after five pages of notes, I had had enough.) I listened to the audio version of this book, read by Brian Kilmeade, who sounded as if he were enthusiastically reading fairy tales to kids. And maybe that was appropriate….Evaluation: Maybe if you don’t know much early American history, you won’t even know that the information presented as fact is so inaccurate and objectionable. (It should be noted that the contortion of facts is all in the service of glorifying the American revolutionaries.) But I respect history, and I feel strongly about abusing it. I was outraged over this book.