God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America's Most Hated Man

by Jack Kelly

Overview

Finalist, New England Book Awards

"Vivid." —The Wall Street Journal

"A dazzling addition to the history of the American Revolution." ―Kirkus Review (starred)

"Finally... a full and fascinating portrait of a true hero of the American Revolution, until he was visited by villainy. A riveting read." ―Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author of Follow Me to Hell

Benedict Arnold committed treason— for more than two centuries, that’s all that most Americans have known about him.

Yet Arnold was much more than a turncoat—his achievements during the early years of the Revolutionary War defined him as the most successful soldier of the era. GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD tells the gripping story of Arnold’s rush of audacious feats—his capture of Fort Ticonderoga, his Maine mountain expedition to attack Quebec, the famous artillery brawl at Valcour Island, the turning-point battle at Saratoga—that laid the groundwork for our independence.

Arnold was a superb leader, a brilliant tactician, a supremely courageous military officer. He was also imperfect, disloyal, villainous. One of the most paradoxical characters in American history, and one of the most interesting. GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD does not exonerate him for his treason—the stain on his character is permanent. But Kelly’s insightful exploration of Arnold’s career as a warrior shines a new light on this gutsy, fearless, and enigmatic figure. In the process, the book offers a fresh perspective on the reasons for Arnold’s momentous change of heart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250281951
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/05/2023
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

JACK KELLY is a journalist, novelist, and historian, whose books include Band of Giants, which received the DAR's History Award Medal. He has contributed to national periodicals including The Wall Street Journal and is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow. He has appeared on The History Channel and interviewed on National Public Radio. He grew up in a town in the canal corridor adjacent to Palmyra, Joseph Smith's home. He lives in New York's Hudson Valley.

Editorial Reviews

10/16/2023

Historian Kelly (Band of Giants) endeavors in this novelistic biography to present a fuller picture of Benedict Arnold, the Continental Army officer who betrayed the American Revolution. A brash and moody military strategist, Arnold came under the admiring eye of George Washington after a victory over the British at Fort Ticonderoga in New York and an unsuccessful expedition to capture Quebec. But, lacking a “gentleman’s” background, Arnold never found the wealth or military honors he desperately sought. Wounded at the battle of Saratoga, he spent a painful convalescence as the military governor of Philadelphia that ended in a court martial for financial corruption. Disillusioned with the revolution, Arnold began funneling information to the British. Assigned a command at West Point, he planned to surrender it without a fight, but missives detailing the plot were intercepted. After serving out the rest of the war on the British side, he spent his postwar exile in England and Canada. The narrative is at its best when detailing the grim realities of 18th-century warfare; the account of the Quebec winter expedition is particularly riveting. Yet Kelly’s analysis of Arnold’s treachery, which casts him as “an enigma, his motives lost in the impenetrable alchemy of the human heart,” doesn’t come to grips with his complexities. Revolutionary War buffs will enjoy the skillful narration, but there are few new insights here. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

"Vivid and fast-paced." —The Christian Science Monitor

"[Kelly] propels readers into the brutal action with vigorous prose and sentences that are often short and pugnacious—much like Arnold himself....as Mr. Kelly’s vivid narrative makes clear, without Arnold’s conspicuous courage and resourcefulness from 1775 to 1777, it is arguable whether the United States of America would now exist... it is perhaps time to consider whether Arnold’s pretreason exploits entitle him to rather more recognition than a nameless boot." —The Wall Street Journal

"A deeply insightful, researched page-turner." —Booklist

"Revolutionary War buffs will enjoy the skillful narration." —Publisher's Weekly

“Jack Kelly brings the smell of gunpowder to every page of this riveting account of Benedict Arnold’s military career. Arnold, as Kelly rightly notes, was the finest military commander of the American Revolution. A warrior born to lead soldiers in combat. Kelly recounts how Arnold’s brilliant battles at Valcour island and Saratoga make his traitorous decision at West Point more tragic and even more awful.” —Ty Seidule, Professor Emeritus of History at West Point, author of Robert E. Lee and Me

"Insightful, well-crafted, and engaging.. Kelly provides a provocative look at what made Arnold tick. Here is Arnold the gifted leader, risk taker, intuitive military tactician, and ultimately a traitor. I recommend this book for those who wish to understand the war and to know Benedict Arnold." —John Ferling, author of Winning Independence

"A fascinating look at one of the American Revolution's best known and least understood figures. Jack Kelly deliver's a thrilling, action-packed narrative that presents a balanced, challenging view of a complicated man." —David Liss, author of The Peculiarities and The Whiskey Rebels

"Wonderfully written, Jack Kelly's fresh and lively new study of one of America's greatest combat commanders is an important contribution to our understanding of this complicated and influential leader." —Kevin J. Weddle, Ph.D., Colonel (Ret), US Army, Professor of Military Theory and Strategy, US Army War College

"Jack Kelly has given us not a revisionist look at the notorious traitor of the Revolution, but a deep dive into the man, his motivations, and his extraordinary military campaigns. Think you know Benedict Arnold? Think again, once you've read this well-written, smartly researched, deeply insightful work." —Kevin Baker, author of Paradise Alley

"A fascinating page-turner that delves into the gray area between the hero and the villain. Jack Kelly takes us on a gripping journey that convincingly grapples with the notion of history as paradox. Anyone interested in the Revolutionary War will be riveted, and readers new to the subject will become quick converts." —Matthew Pearl, New York Times bestselling author of The Dante Club and The Taking of Jemima Boone

From the Publisher

★ 2023-08-29
An invitation to accompany America's most notorious traitor and weigh him in the balance.

Kelly, author of Valcour and The Edge of Anarchy, presents the complete story of Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), one of the Revolutionary War's most brilliant strategists, including the personal and professional slights (real and imagined) that drove him to commit the act of treason that made him infamous. The author weaves Arnold's upbringing into the narrative of the American uprising against the British, focusing in particular on his keen business acumen, invaluable experiences as a trader on the high seas, and his father’s alcoholic downfall (“one of the key passages of [his] life”), which sidetracked his formal education and fueled a lifelong sensitivity to insults and disrespect. Kelly's accounts of Arnold-led land battles, marches, and naval operations are vividly descriptive, placing readers alongside Arnold and his men to feel the harrowing tension, physical courage, and bravery of those involved. Especially deft are the author’s portraits of Arnold's march through the Maine wilderness en route to invade Quebec, the taking of Fort Ticonderoga, and the Battle of Saratoga (his military apex). Kelly also excels in detailing the stinginess with which the Continental Congress allotted funds and supplies and determined promotion and rank. Arnold’s fragile ego and sense of honor were routinely wounded as individuals he considered inferior took credit for his strategies and victories and were elevated in rank and esteem. Kelly also ably explains Arnold's relationship with George Washington, who, more than most, recognized his genius and importance to the American cause and interceded with Congress on Arnold's behalf during court-martials and inquiries. The author chronicles Washington's supreme anguish after his firsthand discovery of Arnold's treachery and explains how they became polar opposites in the hearts and minds of Americans.

A dazzling addition to the history of the American Revolution.

Kirkus Reviews