Bøger af Harlow Giles Unger

Washington loved him as a son; Hamilton and Lafayette loved him as a brother. His troops loved him as a daring, caring commanding officer."He had not a fault that I ever could discover said Washington. Clearly John Laurens should not have died. He was too young...there was no need for him to die. The war had ended a year earlier; most enemy troops had withdrawn; peace talks were about to start in a month!. Just two months and a day short of 28, he had already changed the course of American and world history, ensuring the beginning of the end of one great empire and the end of the beginning of another. Blessed with the makings of a future president of the United States, he fell from his horse in an ambush by renegade British troops...shot three times...the last man to die in the American Revolution.

Thousands gathered at pier side to cheer the arrival of the 34-gun French frigate sailing into Charleston, South Carolina, on April 8, 1793. The cheers doubled, tripled in volume as a colorfully dressed young Frenchman appeared at the ship's bow, doffing his feathered chapeau to wave at the throng. He was the celebrated Adjutant General Edmond-Charles Genêt; he had sailed to the United States as the first minister plenipotentiary, or ambassador of the French Republic to the United States of America. No one cheered more than the beautiful 19-year-old governor's daughter, who all but swooned when he kissed her hand at a reception later.Genêt arrived just as Americans were rebelling again-the third time in less than 30 years. As before, they were fighting taxation-- by the British in1765 and 1776; now, in '93 by their own elected government under George Washington. As before, the French had come to help them. "Citizen" Genêt, as he was called by French revolutionaries, was also a master spy with two sets of instructions. One--the usual diplomatic instructions--directed him to establish warm diplomatic relations with America. A second, secret set, however, directed him to ferret out his "mole" in the Washington administration-Thomas Jefferson-and help Jefferson unseat George Washington in a treasonous coup. The American and French governments would then unite in a powerful new trans-Atlantic empire stretching across all of North America. Incredible but true. Updated with French government documents once thought lost. Startling!

British troops had chased George Washington's Continental Army out of New York in 1776 and sent them fleeing from Philadelphia the following year. The remnants of Washington's rebel troops fled to a barren mountain top in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where the troops-out of ammunition by then--faced freezing temperatures, starvation, and certain defeat. As desertions threatened to end the American Revolution, a fat man suddenly appeared in Washington's tent and, as if by magic-or "magick," as Washington spelled it-produced the money to pay the troops and buy them enough food, clothing, and arms to defeat the British and secure United States independence His name was Robert Morris; Washington called him his "magick money man."

"They stole the election!" All the newspaper headlines said so! As this gripping new book explains, millions of Americans had voted for the man they wanted as President, and two politicians in Congress met behind closed doors and made a Corrupt Bargain that stole election. There was no doubt about it: The two men met secretly; the one agreed to throw his tie-braking congressional votes for the other in exchange for a vital cabinet appointment. It was simple. They stole the presidential election. Still worse, the Corrupt Bargain they made opened the way for future politicians to steal presidential elections with a minority of votes. Since that first Corrupt Bargain, five presidents have captured the White House with a minority of votes. Can it happen again? Will it happen again? Best-selling author exposes the original Corrupt Bargain in this thrilling new history of political double-dealing, intrigue, and treachery in America's highest places.

Thousands roared their welcome to the 34-gun French frigate sailing into Charleston, South Carolina, in April, 1793. At the bow stood a colorfully dressed young Frenchman doffing his feathered chapeau and waving to the cheering throng. The Frenchman was the celebrated Edmond-Charles Genêt--the first French ambassador to the U.S. What the welcoming crowd did not--could not--know was that Citizen Genêt, as he was called, was also a master spy carrying two sets of instructions. One set directed him to establish warm diplomatic relations; the other told him to find his "mole" in the Washington administration--Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson--and overthrow George Washington's government. "The Genêt Affair" details America's first and most thrilling real-life spy story. Espionage, intrigue, and a touch of romance fill this real-life drama in American history by New York Times best-selling author Harlow Giles Unger.

Robert Morris, Jr. was America's richest man in 1776. The stroke of his pen sent waves of currencies bounding over oceans, lapping every shore, spilling in and out of vaults, enriching merchants, planters, friends, family-and above all Robert Morris himself. His money bought and sold gold, silver, tea, tobacco, grain, iron ore, timber, cotton, silks and satin, silverware, china, foodstuffs, fine wines, furniture, cannons, cannon balls, rifles, slaves, and land-millions of acres of land. His most important investment, however, was an investment to ensure America's political end economic independence. In financing George Washington's Continental Army in the American War of Independence. Morris proved himself a daring American patriot as well as a daring American capitalist, risking his life with fifty-five other intrepid Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence-a treasonous act in British America, punishable by death. Morris then risked his business, his fleet of 250+ ships, his three palatial homes, and his personal fortune to purchase and smuggle military supplies for and pay the troops in Washington's army and free America's thirteen colonies from British rule. One of only two signers of America's three founding documents (the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution of the United States) Robert Morris rose from abject poverty to the pinnacle of success, wealth, and political and economic power among the greatest leaders of the land. Inventor of modern capitalism, he serves as a model for every young American to this day.

By the end of 1798, France-"our oldest ally"-had captured or sunk more than eight hundred American ships, and President John Adams called George Washington out of retirement to command the defense of the nation's shores against imminent French invasion. The French war against America had reached its climax. After thirty-five years of feigning friendship for America, France at last revealed her real motive for supporting the American Revolution-and it had nothing to do with liberty. In The French War Against America, award-winning author and historian Harlow Giles Unger shatters the myth of France as our oldest ally and reveals her as our oldest enemy. Citing hundreds of secret and not-so-secret personal and official documents and letters from French, American, and British sources, Unger lays bare a chapter of American history ignored by many historians: the long and treacherous French plot to recapture North America.Contrary to popular belief, the French Army came to fight in America's Revolutionary War not to save America but to conquer her. By infiltrating the Continental Army high command, French officers hoped to replace Washington and establish a French military dictatorship. By war's end, French agents had infiltrated every area of American life, developing close relationships with top American officials, working their way to the highest levels of the American military, and bribing cabinet members to obtain secret documents-all to try to turn the young nation into a French vassal state. From the beginning of the war, however, a small group of courageous Founding Fathers had remained suspicious of French motives. This action-packed history follows them-Washington, Adams, John Jay, and others-as they outwit every overt and covert French plot to destroy the United States.A decade after the American Revolution, French government agents tried to overthrow President Washington by provoking widespread street rioting, while French warships occupied the harbors of major cities. Again, the Founding Fathers outwitted the French. Furious at their nation's humiliation, the French Navy began sinking American ships to crush American foreign trade. John Adams ordered construction of an American Navy that destroyed the French fleet. Undeterred, the French continued to plot to reconquer North America into the next century. Napoleon I prepared to send 20,000 troops to invade Louisiana in 1802, and his nephew Napoleon III sent 40,000 troops to conquer Mexico in 1863, with orders to march northward into the United States.To this day, "our oldest ally" often seems still at war with America-metaphorically and diplomatically, if not militarily. The French War Against America provides new perspectives on the origins of that war and explains why it may never end. An important addition to Franco-American history, it adds new insights into current diplomatic relationships. It is also an exciting, action-filled drama of remarkable human courage.

PRAISE FOR HARLOW Giles UNGER'S NOAH WEBSTER: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AN AMERICAN PATRIOT""Noah Webster was a truly remarkable man; shrewd, passionate, learned and energetic, God-fearing and patriotic. Mr. Unger has done a fine job reintroducing him to a new generation of Americans.""-Washington Times""Superb biography. . . . Don't miss this stirring book."" -Florence King, The American Spectator

On December 16, 1773, an estimated seven dozen men dumped roughly GBP10,000 worth of tea in Boston Harbor. This symbolic act unleashed a social, political, and economic firestorm throughout the colonies. Combining stellar scholarship with action-packed history, American Tempest reveals the truth behind the legendary event and examines its lasting consequence- the birth of an independent America.

PRAISE FOR HARLOW GILES UNGER'S NOAH WEBSTER: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AN AMERICAN PATRIOT"e;Noah Webster was a truly remarkable man; shrewd, passionate, learned and energetic, God-fearing and patriotic. Mr. Unger has done a fine job reintroducing him to a new generation of Americans."e;-Washington Times"e;Superb biography. . . . Don't miss this stirring book."e; -Florence King, The American Spectator

From New York Times bestselling author and Founding Fathers' biographer Harlow Giles Unger comes the astonishing biography of the man whose pen set America ablaze, inspiring its revolution, and whose ideas about reason and religion continue to try men's souls.

In this compelling biography, an award-winning author recounts the life of James Monroe, who dedicated himself to serving his country and building America's future. b&w photos.

A revealing biography of Dr. Benjamin Rush--fiery signer of the Declaration of Independence, prominent physician, ardent politician, zealous social reformer, passionate humanitarian, and dedicated educator

A new biography of America's first Founding Father, Richard Henry Lee, who wrote the original declaration of independence and went on to secure political and diplomatic victories as important as George Washington's military victories

A compelling new biography of America's most powerful Speaker of the House, who held the divided nation together for three decades and who was Lincoln's guiding light

A soul-stirring biography of John Marshall, the young republic's great chief justice, who led the Supreme Court to power and brought law and order to the nation

The outrageous true story of the French plot to supply arms and ammunition to Washington's Continental Army, and the bold French spy, inventor, playwright, and rogue behind it all

A compelling new biography of Patrick Henry, a monumental figure in American history, hailed in his time as the first of the nation's Founding Fathers