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Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution |  | Author: Joel Richard Paul
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $2.72
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Seller: mediamarket
Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 166837
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.5
ISBN: 1594488835
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.385
EAN: 9781594488832
ASIN: 1594488835
Publication Date: October 29, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | Audio CD - Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution | | • | Paperback - Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution | | • | Hardcover - Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution | | • | Kindle Edition - Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution | | • | Audible Audio Edition - Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution | | • | Unknown Binding - Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution (Playaway Adult Nonfiction) |
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Product Description
In this debut, lawyer and academic Paul examines three critical but forgotten characters of the American Revolution. The merchant is American Silas Deane, a Connecticut man sent to France by Congress to broker an alliance and arms treaty for the Continental Army. The playwright is a Frenchman named Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, author of The Barber of Seville, who saw the Revolution as an opportunity for profit. The spy is the colorful Chevalier d'Eon, who worked for Louis XV, and threatened to provoke war with England after Louis XVI came to power, using old letters that outlined a plan to invade London. Beaumarchais was tasked with retrieving those letters from the Chevalier before Louis XVI would provide funds to arm the Americans. Once secured, Beaumarchais worked with Deane to import arms, and other trade goods, without raising the suspicions of the British. Paul's 18th century is highly detailed, but most striking is how little war profiteering has changed in 200-plus years, complete with Congressional infighting among honest lawmakers and those using the system for personal gain. Examining the Revolutionary War through three disparate figures, Paul reveals just how close the wealthiest colonists came to replacing one oppressive aristocracy with another.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
 Deception in the Title July 2, 2010
Bob Blooms
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The title Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Save the American Revolution is really a stretch of the imagination. To me the book was a disappointment after reading Silas Deane - Patriot or Traitor? by Coy Hilton James, Code Number 72 Ben Franklin: Patriot or Spy? by Cecil Currey, and Beaumarchais and the American Revolution by Brian Morton and Donald Spinelli. The book jacket includes endorsements from several well known authors, one of which is Gordon S. Wood whose books I have read with great appreciation. However, I cannot offer the same with Unlikely Allies. The author fails to create the environment in which his main characters must function. It appears to me that there is a lack of focus on how specifically each character played a pivotal role in saving the American Revolution. The role, if any, of D'Eon in the American Revolution must be seriously questioned. As did other reviewers, I found the time lines difficult to follow. Based on comments to this point a rating of three stars may be questioned. It is entertaining and did have points of interest. To readers who are in search of in depth knowledge of the American Revolution I recommend that you search elsewhere.
Mission impossible June 8, 2010
Linda (CT, United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Many Americans are familiar with the fact that Benjamin Franklin, that wildly popular old patriot, spent years in France convincing the powers that were to support the Americans in their dispute with King George III. Most, however, are unaware that the role played by Silas Deane was even more important, and those who are, know that Deane was vilified as a embezzler of public funds, a traitor to the American cause, or both. At long last, someone has written the truth about the enormous service performed by Deane, who truly was one of the selfless men that saved the revolution from drowning in disaster.
Unlike some reviewers, I would hardly describe Unlikely Allies as rollicking or wildly entertaining. There are a few humorous elements, mainly in the expose of cross-dresser Chevalier d'Eon, but the author fails to show what d'Eon's contribution was. There are some obvious lapses in Paul's research, as when he describes the 1781 Yorktown Conference as taking place in Deane's Wethersfield, CT house (it happened next door). With respect to Deane and Beaumarchais, however, Paul has done a creditable job, plowing through obscure records that few before him have studied. Deane's mission to Paris was truly impossible, and, unsupported by his own government, what he achieved was nothing less than amazing. In the process, betrayed by his friends, he lost his family, his fortune, and ultimately his life. Perhaps now Silas Deane will be granted his rightful place among America's founding fathers.
 Going Rogue, Revolutionary Style March 13, 2010
Chad Carpenter (NEW YORK, NY, US)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
While talk of Tea Parties and founding fathers may be all the rage, the founding of the nation--as Paul's book makes delightfully clear--was far more complex, fragile, hard fought and exceptional than we ever knew. Indeed, this excellent and well-researched book should be mandatory reading for students of early American history. They'll not only encounter Revolutionary heroes far more heroic--and revolutionary--than those of the standard tale: a misunderstood and unjustly maligned patriot merchant who sacrificed all, a cross-dressing chevalier who dared blackmail a monarch, and a playwright who creates and is ultimately undone by Figaro. They'll also learn what "going rogue" really means.
Reviewers will no doubt offer well-deserved praise for Paul's engrossing narrative and masterful storytelling skills. Many writers attempt to bring history to life with gunpowder and battlefield maneuvers, but when was the last time you couldn't put down a history book out of sheer fascination? Perhaps that highlights the book's true genius. It not only inspires a deeper appreciation of the political complexities of its time and the personal determination of its characters--remove any one and American independence could have become just another unrealized idea--it does so through the most unlikely approach: simply telling the truth, the whole truth. Thanks to "Unlikely Allies", to borrow from the late Paul Harvey, now you know the rest of the story.
Unlikely Allies February 25, 2010
Sacramento Book Review (Sacramento, CA)
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
The reverently-named founding fathers have, post mortem, long been guilty of a different sort of tyranny: tyranny over America's early history. Here comes rebel Joel Richard Paul, a professor of international and constitutional law, wielding //Unlikely Allies//, a shadier version of the forging of the French-American alliance, without which the United States might not exist.
Ambassador Benjamin Franklin's wily republican charm might have won over the French public and historical imagination, but in actuality, the treaty was only a lucky byproduct of a multinational group of ambitious opportunists, who schemed and lied in a struggle to triumph in a world of shifting fortunes, loyalties, and even genders. Oh, there were a few heroes; Silas Deane, a dedicated idealist whose impassioned efforts as ambassador to France have until now been buried in misinformation, and the comic playwright Beaumarchais, called "the only free man in France" for his flagrant contempt for monarchical authority.
Paul gleefully unfurls his story like a suspense thriller, dropping hints, angling cliffhangers, and too often barreling right over nuances and complexities. But lack of deeper analysis aside, //Unlikely Allies// is quick and fun, offering up a fresh take on a period which needs a little shaking up.
Reviewed by Ariel Berg
Best Book Released in 2009 February 13, 2010
Arthur Meirson (NJ)
This is the never before told TRUE story of three historical figures who turned out to be indispensable in the formation of the United States of America: an American merchant turned accidental diplomat, a famous French playwright turned arms dealer, and a mysterious French war hero turned ... well, frankly more mysterious than anyone could imagine. The story sounds almost too amazing to be true. Better yet, Professor Joel Paul is a master storyteller. It seems that he can take any apparently bland topic and weave it into a page turner. Professor Paul knows exactly how to build suspense, maintain a reader's interest, and make the reader form a bond with the characters. You'll absolutely love this book! And, better yet, after reading it, you will definitely become the focus of attention at your very next dinner party as you captivate your friends about this incredible tale. If you're looking for an easy, page turning, intelligent and creative read, this book is for you!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
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