“GRIPPING… RELEVANT… REVOLUTIONARY…”
— Amy Chua, Yale Law School Professor and best-selling author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
“[A] fresh and stimulating history of the American Revolution…”
— James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom
“[T]here is almost no tale told of the Revolution that does not find its way into ‘Blood of Tyrants,’ provided it is juicy enough.”
— Wall Street Journal
“A timely, insightful, and much-needed reminder why America does best at war when it honors rather than erodes its founding principles.”
— Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow of Classics and Military History at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, and Author of A War Like No Other
“[A] fresh new perspective . . . . Beirne’s genealogical and personal interest in history, politics and the military makes for an enjoyable read.”
— Washington Times
“Lurid, horrifying, scandalous. I could not put it down.”
— William Eskridge Jr., Yale Law School professor and author of Republic of Statutes
“In this fast-paced narrative, Logan Beirne vividly explains something every American should know, but which few of us really understand. ”
— Jack Rakove, Stanford University Professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution
“Anyone interested in the original meaning of the Constitution, or America’s revolutionary struggle generally, should read this riveting and informative account.”
— Weekly Standard
Blood of Tyrants (Encounter Books, 2013) reveals the surprising details of our Founding Fathers’ leadership and this history’s impact on today. Delving into the forgotten—and often lurid—facts of the Revolutionary War, Logan Beirne focuses on the nation’s first commander in chief, George Washington, as he shaped the very meaning of the United States Constitution in the heat of battle.
Key episodes illustrate how the Founders dealt with thorny wartime issues: Who decides war strategy? When should we use military tribunals over civilian trials? Should we inflict harsh treatment on enemy captives if it means saving American lives? How do we protect citizens’ rights when the nation is struggling to defend itself? Beirne finds evidence in previously-unexplored documents such as General Washington’s letters debating torture, an eyewitness account of the military tribunal that executed a British prisoner, Founders’ letters warning against government debt, and communications pointing to a power struggle between Washington and the Continental Congress.