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

In June 1776, as Nathaniel Philbrick's enthralling new book opens, the vulnerable Continental army under an unsure George Washington (who had never commanded a large force in battle) evacuates New York after a devastating defeat by the largest naval fleet in the history of the world. In September, near the Canadian border, his favorite general, Benedict Arnold, accomplishes a miracle victory on Lake Champlain. Four years later, as the book ends, Washington has vanquished his demons but Arnold is on trial for treason, and America is forced to realize that the real threat to their liberties might not come from without but from within. As always, Philbrick is fabulous in his set pieces-the Battle of Brooklyn and the routing of Washington's troops, the victory at Saratoga that ironically almost ruined the Continental army, the nightmare of Valley Forge. But his real focus is on loyalty and personal integrity, evoking a Shakespearean tragedy that unfolds in the key relationship of Washingt