The Maddest Idea (Revolution At Sea) - Softcover

Nelson, James L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671519255 ISBN 13: 9780671519254

Publisher: Pocket Books, 1997

Synopsis

From Simon & Schuster, The Maddest Idea is James L. Nelson's Book Two is a powerful saga of the American Revolution and a stirring dramatic maritime adventure.

When gunpowder reserves dwindle to dangerously low levels in 1775, General George Washington sends Captain Isaac Biddlecomb on a treacherous mission to capture British gunpowder in Bermuda.

About this title

About the Author

James L. Nelson is a native of Maine and a former professional square-rig sailor.  He is the author of over fifteen books, including By Force of Arms, The Maddest Idea, The Continental Risque, and All the Brave Fellows. He lives in Maine with his wife and children, where he continues to write and maintain his involvement with traditional sail. Find out more at JamesLNelson.com.

From the Back Cover

Late summer, 1775, General George Washington discovers that his cache of gunpowder has dwindled to a mere nine shots per man. Desperate, he adopts the plan designed by a group of Rhode Island patriots - send a ship to Bermuda to capture British powder known to be there - as well as their recommendation for the man to lead to the mission: Captain Isaac Biddlecomb. But the plan is a trap, set by a traitor among the patriots, and one from which even Biddlecomb cannot escape. With treachery threatening the revolution, Washington dispatches his aide-de-camp, Major Edward Fitzgerald, to hunt the turncoat down. Meanwhile, Biddlecomb must rely on native cunning and seamanship to free his men and his ship, and to bring to the army near Boston the gunpowder that is the lifeblood of the nascent fight for liberty.

Reviews

The second volume of Nelson's Revolution at Sea trilogy improves upon the first, By Force of Arms (1995). Captain Isaac Biddlecomb of Rhode Island is still the protagonist, leading the British on a merry chase as he seeks powder for Washington's revolutionary army. Meanwhile, Major Fitzgerald of Virginia hunts for the traitor who caused Biddlecomb to sail into a trap. The climax of this panel of the triptych requires adding a notable episode to the colonies' siege of Boston, but it will keep the reader absorbed, as, indeed, will the whole book. Nelson still paints his characters with broad strokes, but now his pacing is brisk, and the salt air blows through every chapter. He has also well captured the improvised quality of the American war effort in 1775 and the divided loyalties of colonists who had only just begun to think of themselves as Americans. Nelson now sails honorably with the squadron of naval fiction scribes currently led by Patrick O'Brian. Roland Green

Edition details

• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671519255
• ISBN 13: 9780671519254
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 417