George Washington's Secret Six, by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger

This is a pretty interesting book about the Culper Spy Ring which was active in New York during the American Revolution. I didn't know much about the ring other than through pop culture references in Y: The Last Man and White Collar and quite enjoyed learning more about it, and the major impact on the war the spies brought about. The biggest (but not only) coup the ring accomplished was providing key intelligence that eventually prevented Benedict Arnold from turning West Point over to the British. Truly fascinating.

This is an easy read, with short chapters and just over 200 pages written at maybe a middle-school level. There is a lot of dialog here, capturing conversations between characters that couldn't possibly be known today, making this an odd blend of fiction and non-fiction. Overall this certainly gets a thumbs up as a basic introduction to the Culper Ring, and a good set of references in the back for digging in further.

First Sentence:

The execution of Nathan Hale on September 22, 1776, was the lowest point in a month of low points for General George Washington.