Very interesting. I knew nothing about most of this.

Listened to this one with my kids on audiobook during a car trip . . . I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. It took a while before the story caught my full attention. That could be due to distraction however. Toward the late middle of the book I was hooked, interested in what Washington did next to win whatever battle . . . lots of spy stuff! The book paints George Washington as not only an army general, but an expert in intelligence operations -- which in the author's opinion is what won the war. Is that something I should have already known? It made me think of the wars in the scriptures when the phrase "by stratagem" was used to describe the war tactics. There was certainly a lot more stratagem going on during the Revolutionary War than I knew about. I got a bit confused at times trying to follow all the historical names, again, very likely due to distraction . . . trying to listen while keeping five children happy on a road trip! Overall recommended.

This book was very interesting because I like to read books about George Washington.
It talked about how he wasn't just a general, but a master of spies. He sent spies
all over the country to help him win the American Revolution. His spies stole
secrets from the British, so he knew where they would be before he had to
fight them. This was very important because the British actually had a
stronger and better-trained army than we did, so he needed a tactical advantage.
He also used his spies to fool the British into thinking the American forces
would be where they actually were not. This made the British waste time and resources
marching to places where they would not actually fight a battle. This book taught me that
spying is just as important as battlefield tactics. Washington knew this, and it helped
us win our independence from Britain.

Absolutely loved it. The kids were riveted. Especially fun if you've seen Turn.

What a fun read about spies!

Not sure if it was intentional, but this book read like it was written for a middle schooler; explaining what some words mean. Interesting information, but could have been more detailed with consequences. This book made it appears as though the spies of the war are the only reason we one our Independence and that Washington was a spy and tactical genius, when a lot of the time (from what I've read) he was just lucky.

For my nonfiction book, I chose George Washington, Spymaster. A nonfiction book is a talks about a subject and everything in it is completely true, nothing is made up. George Washington, Spymaster is a nonfiction book about the American Revolution that tells a story of how George Washington outspied the British and won the Revolutionary War. It explains that he did this by setting up a huge spy network and knew exactly what was going to happen. This book covers almost every historic person or place that had anything to do with the Reavolutionary War. George Washington, Spymaster has many hand drawn pictures from that time to help you, and it has exerts from George Washington's diary.

I thought this book was terrific! Even though it is intended for teens, it is a great introduction to the Reavolutionary War time period. It had pictures, news articles, and messages that real spies carried back then. At points, the author seemed to drone on, but in a voice that had nothing but excitement behind it. But, the writer told the story in a very subjective opinion, and that is that George Washington was more of a spymaster than a general. It only talked about spying, and how that was the only reason for George winning the war. If you read this book, I would suggest reading another book about the time period. If you want to learn about the Reavolutionary War, this a great starting point. Over all, I would rate this book 4.5.

Very intriguing.

We think of George Washington as "the Father of our Country," the first U.S. president and the commander of the American Army who won the American Revolution. We should also think of Washington as one of history's great spymasters. He was able to utilize spy rings and double agents to fight a covert war which was crucial in gaining American independence. The man who was said to have never told a lie showed that he was very capable of using deception to mislead the enemy again and again.
For me, the most interesting part of the story was about Benedict Arnold's treason. Arnold was able to get away but Major John Andre the English agent who was his contact was captured. Washington ordered that Andre be hanged. Most fortunately, Arnold's scheme to betray the fort at West Point, which was under his command, was foiled.
There's a great quote at the end. Major George Beckwith, the head of British intelligence operations in America at the end of the war, noted: "Washington did not really outfight the British, he simply outspied us."

One of the most fascinating stories I've read to the kids as we study the Revolutionary War.

This book is probably written for young teens but is an interesting take on the spies of the Revolution and the spying techniques used by George Washington to help win the war.

Written for middle grade kids, but interesting enough for this adult. I learned a lot of details about Washington’s spy ring and I particularly enjoyed the specifics of how spies spread messages and employed codes or invisible inks. There were also some interesting details, including names of British agents that I haven’t seen elsewhere. This would be a great appetizer before tackling one of the longer adult books about the Culper spy ring. Or just enough to have interesting things to say at your next cocktail party!