Brian Kilmeade – författare

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, #1 New York Times bestselling author and FOX & Friends cohost Brian Kilmeade profiles six early Americans whose courage helped define freedom for our fledgling nation.When the colonists threw off British rule, they launched a great experiment in democracy. Self-government by the people, with a sworn commitment to equality and liberty for all, had never been tried. To give the new nation shape, leaders and patriots, men who would raise their voices and serve the cause, needed to rise to the challenge.Six among the founders — John Adams and his son John Quincy, George Washington, Captain Daniel Shays, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Quincy Adams – all would play defining roles in the decades to follow.John Adams defended of the accused British soldiers at Boston Massacre, risking his reputation to establish the rule of law as an essential American value. George Washington, outnumbered in the face of the most powerful military force in the world, found a new way of war – and a road to victory. Daniel Shays lost everything for standing up for the little man — but inspired the Constitutional Convention.The visionary Thomas Jefferson remade the country, doubling its boundaries by masterminding the Louisiana Purchase. James Madison challenged the British Goliath again, declaring the War of 1812 and rallying the United States in its first foray into making America a respected world power. Finally, John Quincy Adams, the conscience of the country, launched the nation’s hardest-ever conversation, attempting to erase America’s original sin.Together, these six crucial episodes unified the fledgling United States of America, setting it on a trajectory unlike any other. As he has in his past bestsellers, Kilmeade’s storytelling is page-turning and eye-opening, and shows how they defined freedom in America and paved the way for the country we are today.

A page-turning middle-grade adaptation of the New York Times bestseller about George Washington''s top-secret spy ring that helped defeat the British.The American Revolution is well under way in 1776, but things are looking bleak for General George Washington and his Continental Army. With Washington''s hasty retreat from New York City in August, many think the war might soon be over. After all: how on earth is this ragtag group going to defeat its enemy, the well-trained and well-funded military of the largest empire in history? But Washington soon realizes he can''t win with military might. Instead, he must outsmart the British, so he creates a sophisticated intelligence network: the top-secret Culper Spy Ring. Drawing on extensive research, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger tell the fascinating stories of these long unrecognized spies: a reserved merchant, a tavern keeper, a brash young longshoreman, a curmudgeonly Long Island bachelor, a coffeehouse owner, and a mysterious woman.This vivid and accessible young readers adaptation of the New York Times bestseller features an exclusive new introduction, extensive back matter, and eye-catching art throughout. Chronicling a crucial moment in American history, this historical thriller will excite and inspire the next generation of patriots.

*Now with a new afterword containing never-before-seen research on the identity of the spy ring’s most secret member, Agent 355“This is my kind of history book. Get ready. Here’s the action.” —BRAD MELTZER, bestselling author of The Fifth Assassin and host of DecodedWhen George Washington beat a hasty retreat from New York City in August 1776, many thought the American Revolution might soon be over. Instead, Washington rallied—thanks in large part to a little-known, top-secret group called the Culper Spy Ring. He realized that he couldn’t defeat the British with military might, so he recruited a sophisticated and deeply secretive intelligence network to infiltrate New York.Drawing on extensive research, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger have offered fascinating portraits of these spies: a reserved Quaker merchant, a tavern keeper, a brash young longshoreman, a curmudgeonly Long Island bachelor, a coffeehouse owner, and a mysterious woman. Long unrecognized, the secret six are finally receiving their due among the pantheon of American heroes.

“Another blockbuster! Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates reads like an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning thriller. You will love this book and also wonder why so few people know this story. No one captures the danger, intrigue, and drama of the American Revolution and its aftermath like Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger.” —Brad ThorThis is the little-known story of how a newly indepen­dent nation was challenged by four Muslim powers and what happened when America’s third president decided to stand up to intimidation. When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America faced a crisis. The new nation was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa’s Barbary coast routinely captured American sailors and held them as slaves, demanding ransom and tribute payments far beyond what the new coun­try could afford. Over the previous fifteen years, as a diplomat and then as secretary of state, Jefferson had tried to work with the Barbary states (Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco). Unfortunately, he found it impossible to negotiate with people who believed their religion jus­tified the plunder and enslavement of non-Muslims. These rogue states would show no mercy—at least not while easy money could be made by extorting the Western powers. So President Jefferson decided to move beyond diplomacy. He sent the U.S. Navy’s new warships and a detachment of Marines to blockade Tripoli—launching the Barbary Wars and beginning America’s journey toward future superpower status. As they did in their previous bestseller, George Washington’s Secret Six, Kilmeade and Yaeger have transformed a nearly forgotten slice of history into a dramatic story that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. Among the many sus­penseful episodes:  ·Lieutenant Andrew Sterett’s ferocious cannon battle on the high seas against the treacherous pirate ship Tripoli. ·Lieutenant Stephen Decatur’s daring night raid of an enemy harbor, with the aim of destroying an American ship that had fallen into the pirates’ hands.·General William Eaton’s unprecedented five-hundred-mile land march from Egypt to the port of Derne, where the Marines launched a surprise attack and an American flag was raised in victory on foreign soil for the first time. Few today remember these men and other heroes who inspired the Marine Corps hymn: “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli, we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea.” Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates recaptures this forgot­ten war that changed American history with a real-life drama of intrigue, bravery, and battle on the high seas.