Thomas Jefferson And The Tripoli Pirates
Pages: 256
Edition: Hardcover
List Price: $27.95
Publisher: Sentinel
ISBN: 9781591848066
First entered: 7th, Nov 2015
Number of weeks: 18
Book Summary
“Another blockbuster! Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates reads like an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning thriller. You will love this book and also wonder why so few people know this story. No one captures the danger, intrigue, and drama of the American Revolution and its aftermath like Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger.” —Brad Thor
This is the little-known story of how a newly independent nation was challenged by four Muslim powers and what happened when America’s third president decided to stand up to intimidation.
When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America faced a crisis. The new nation was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa’s Barbary coast routinely captured American sailors and held them as slaves, demanding ransom and tribute payments far beyond what the new country could afford.
Over the previous fifteen years, as a diplomat and then as secretary of state, Jefferson had tried to work with the Barbary states (Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco). Unfortunately, he found it impossible to negotiate with people who believed their religion justified the plunder and enslavement of non-Muslims. These rogue states would show no mercy—at least not while easy money could be made by extorting the Western powers. So President Jefferson decided to move beyond diplomacy. He sent the U.S. Navy’s new warships and a detachment of Marines to blockade Tripoli—launching the Barbary Wars and beginning America’s journey toward future superpower status.
As they did in their previous bestseller, George Washington’s Secret Six, Kilmeade and Yaeger have transformed a nearly forgotten slice of history into a dramatic story that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. Among the many suspenseful episodes:
·Lieutenant Andrew Sterett’s ferocious cannon battle on the high seas against the treacherous pirate ship Tripoli.
·Lieutenant Stephen Decatur’s daring night raid of an enemy harbor, with the aim of destroying an American ship that had fallen into the pirates’ hands.
·General William Eaton’s unprecedented five-hundred-mile land march from Egypt to the port of Derne, where the Marines launched a surprise attack and an American flag was raised in victory on foreign soil for the first time.
Few today remember these men and other heroes who inspired the Marine Corps hymn: “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli, we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea.” Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates recaptures this forgotten war that changed American history with a real-life drama of intrigue, bravery, and battle on the high seas.
Authors
Name: Brian Kilmeade
Born: May, 1964
About the author:
As cohost of FOX & Friends, the number one rated morning program on cable television for the past nine years, Brian Kilmeade shares his unique perspective on the daily news. He has interviewed the biggest names in politics, sports and entertainment, often securing exclusive content.
Kilmeade played a large part in FOX ís coverage of September 11th, as well as coverage including reporting from war zones in the middle east and over a dozen military bases from coast to coast. In addition, he has contributed live coverage of both the Democratic and Republican Party Conventions.
Also serving as the networks sports anchor, Kilmeade has reported on or provided live coverage of every major American sport over the last twenty years.
Currently, he is the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show on FOX News Radio, Kilmeade & Friends. The show is heard on 80 stations, as well as XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Kilmeade’s first book, The Games Do Count: America’s Best & Brightest On The Power Of Sports (2004), was The New York Times best-seller and presents more than seventy stories straight from America’s top leaders and those who were closest to them. Kilmeade reveals this simple and compelling truth: America’s best and brightest haven’t just worked hard—they’ve played hard, too.
His companion volume, It’s How You Play the Game: The Powerful Sports Moments That Taught Lasting Values to America’s Finest (2007), reveals personal stories of the defining sports moments in the lives of athletes, CEOs, actors, politicians, and historical figures—and how what they learned on the field prepared them to handle life and overcome adversity with courage, dignity, and sportsmanship. Sports Illustrated said of it, “This book taught me more about some of my favorite leaders than any profile of them I had ever read.”
A graduate of Long Island University, Kilmeade began his career as a correspondent on Channel One, a daily national high school television news program. He then served as an anchor and host for KHSC-TV in Ontario, California. Brian also hosted sports talk radio for top rated XTRA-AM 690 whose duties included co-hosting The Jim Brown Show.
Prior to joining FOX News Channel, Kilmeade served as a freelance sports anchor for NBC in Hartford, as well as a sideline reporter for the MSG Network, where he covered the New York/New Jersey Metro-Stars, a major league soccer team based in Giants Stadium. He worked as a feature reporter and anchor for Newsport TV, where he hosted Newsport Journal, a daily magazine show for the national sports network. He also anchored Scoreboard Central, a live half-hour general sports program.
In addition to his career in journalism, Kilmeade has 10 years of experience as a stand-up comedian. He lives in Massapequa with his family, where he still coaches soccer.
