George Washington and Benedict Arnold

A Tale of Two Patriots

By: Dave Richard Palmer

Narrated by: Lynn Benson

Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

From 1775 through 1777, George Washington and Benedict Arnold were America's two most celebrated warriors. Their earlier lives had surprisingly parallel paths. They were strong leaders in combat, they admired and respected each other, and they even shared common enemies.

Yet one became our greatest hero and the other our most notorious traitor. Why?

Author and military historian Dave Palmer reveals the answer: character. In this fascinating and unique dual biography, Palmer also shows:

• How Arnold's treason actually helped the Patriot cause
• Why Arnold and Washington's amazingly similar backgrounds, family influences, youthful experiences, and "self-made'' status led to strikingly different results in their lives
• How in four well-defined steps Arnold went from hero to traitor

Presenting the panorama of the Revolutionary War through the lives of two of its most colorful and important figures, George Washington and Benedict Arnold reveals important lessons for today through a story that few Americans know, but that every American should.

©2010 Dave Richard Palmer (P)2014 Regnery Publishing

Audible needs to reedit this product

Great book and the reader was fine. However there was a lot of skips, hiccups, and reread short passages in the audible version.

in-depth and we'll presented

the book clearly illustrates the amount of research and care taken to write the book. there is a great of information presented that is not commonly discussed with the topic of the revolutionary war. loved it

History is lies we all agree are true

Benedict Arnold is such a great tragedy. He was a great man with his weaknesses and his enemies, and from what this story tells, they were mainly on his side. George Washington is a great man and was the man of the century. However, the main villain I believe in this story is the Congenital Congress. As with most politicians, they get away with graft, corruption and lies. Basically murder. Although the facts can speak for themselves, I don't think the book covers other possibilities. Could Major General Benedict Arnold be suffering PTSD. Could financial crisis have pushed Benedict over the abyss? The British I think come off looking the best in this sad story. George Washington at least does not look like a fool but I think he was a little naive. Congress and the other generals of the Continenial Army get treated even handedly but I do think Americans need to study Benedict Arnold more and ask a few questions about their own beliefs on the whole affair.
Lynn Benson does make some technical errors when narrating this book, but nothing too serious. Dave Richard Palmer's writing is clear and factual.

Insightful look at the Revolution's generals

I found this a very interesting look into the personalities of arguably the two best known American revolutionary generals. After demonstrating many similarities in their upbringing and career trajectories he shows how they ended up on paths to fame or infamy.

The pacing is well done and he weaves in important history without slowing the narrative. There is a genuine sense of excitement as he relates various campaign maneuvers and sieges. He also telegraphs just enough information to keep you oriented without spoiling the story.

I enjoyed the performance and felt the overall production value is high.

A Tale of Triumph and Tragedy

Would you try another book from Dave Richard Palmer and/or Lynn Benson?

I would read one from Palmer, but Benson's performance wasn't very good, so I probably wouldn't listen to another by him.

What other book might you compare George Washington and Benedict Arnold to and why?

Any dual biography that features intertwined destinies. I often thought of Grant and Sherman

Would you be willing to try another one of Lynn Benson’s performances?

His performance was not very good, unfortunately.

Was George Washington and Benedict Arnold worth the listening time?

Yes, the story was excellent, and there is not very much content about Benedict Arnold out there.