We the Readers Book Group: Washington's Spies

In 1778, George Washington unleashed an unlikely ring of spies on Long Island to discover British battle plans, the secrets, methods and details of which are only recently being uncovered by historians. 

Based on this remarkable new research, acclaimed historian Alexander Rose brings to life the true story of the spy ring that helped America win the Revolutionary War. For the first time, Rose takes us beyond the battlefront and deep into the shadowy underworld of double agents and triple crosses, covert operations and code breaking, and unmasks the courageous, flawed men who inhabited this wilderness of mirrors—including the spymaster at the heart of it all.

In the summer of 1778, with the war poised to turn in his favor, General George Washington desperately needed to know where the British would strike next. To that end, he unleashed his secret weapon: an unlikely ring of spies in New York charged with discovering the enemy’s battle plans and military strategy. The men he mentored were dubbed the Culper Ring. The British secret service tried to hunt them down, but they escaped by the closest of shaves thanks to their ciphers, dead drops, and invisible ink. 

Copies of the book can be found here: Washington's Spies: the Story of America's First Spy Ring and book kit copies will be available beginning Tuesday, November 18th at 9 am at the Red Mountain Library Service Desk.  First come, first served, while copies are available.  Limited to one per person, please.

Upcoming Discussions for 2026

January: Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet by Michael Meyer

February: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

March: The Woman’s Hour by Elaine Weiss

April: Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick 

May: American Sphinx by Joseph Ellis

June: The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw

July: Blue Highways- A Journey into America by William Least Heat-Moon