Turncoat

“Deftly weaving that story into the larger military history of the American Revolution, Mr. Brumwell vividly sketches characters and recounts pivotal episodes.”—William Anthony Hay, Wall Street Journal

“Historian Brumwell offers a provocative explanation for one of the enduring mysteries of the American Revolution: why did Benedict Arnold, one of ‘Washington’s most celebrated and valued subordinates,’ become a traitor in 1780? . . . Open-minded readers will appreciate his dissenting view that Arnold may have ‘genuinely had his country’s well-being at heart,’ a view that Brumwell believes ‘merits careful consideration within any balanced re-examination of America’s most infamous traitor.’”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Gripping . . . This fine book situates Benedict Arnold within several contexts: issues of loyalty and disloyalty; treason as a political concept and a crime; relationships among honor, reputation, politics, and war; and the ordeal of 1780 for everyone embroiled in the Revolutionary War.  In a time when charges of treason and disloyalty intrude into our daily politics, Turncoat is essential reading.”—R. R. B. Bernstein, City College of New York

“Lucidly written and rich in detail, Brumwell’s narrative explains Benedict Arnold’s treason by taking him at his word—that the Revolution’s arch-traitor turned his coat to save America from a bloody civil war and a patriot cause gone astray. Brumwell’s conclusions are as provocative as Arnold was controversial.  A gripping read.”—Mark Edward Lender, Co-author of the award-winning Fatal Sunday

"Written with grace and flair by a leading military historian Turncoat examines Benedict Arnold's career as a soldier on both sides during the War of Independence. In so doing Brumwell has written an incisive study of the war and the very meaning of the American Revolution itself. This is the defining portrait of Arnold for the twenty-first century.”—Francis D. Cogliano, author of Revolutionary America

"The most balanced and insightful assessment of Benedict Arnold to date. Utilizing fresh manuscript sources, Brumwell reasserts the crucial importance of human agency in history.”—Edward G. Lengel, author of General George Washington