Victory in Tripoli - by Joshua London (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

At the dawn of a new century, a newly elected U.S. president was forced to confront an escalating series of unprovoked attacks on Americans by Muslim terrorists sworn to carry out jihad against all Western powers. As timely and familiar as these events may seem, they occurred more than two centuries ago. The president was Thomas Jefferson, and the terrorists were the Barbary pirates. Victory in Tripoli recounts the untold story of one of the defining challenges overcome by the young U.S. republic. This fast-moving and dramatic tale examines the events that gave birth to the Navy and the Marines and re-creates the startling political, diplomatic, and military battles that were central to the conflict. This highly interesting and informative history offers deep insight into issues that remain fundamental to U.S. foreign policy decisions to this day.

From the Back Cover

"This is a tale of piracy, heroism, disaster, triumph, and American exceptionalism. A wonderful story, filling a gap in the history of the early republic. A terrific book!"
--Bernard Cornwell, New York Times bestselling author of Sharpe's Havoc

"Insightful and entertaining, Victory in Tripoli is an absolutely fascinating story, wonderfully told. Anyone with even a passing interest in naval history, or U.S. history in general, should read this book."
--Admiral William J. Crowe Jr., USN (Ret.), former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

"Victory in Tripoli deftly captures the dangers of covert operations, the complexity of international diplomacy, and the thrills and horrors of battle. Joshua E. London's exciting and insightful look at one of America's earliest and seldom remembered foreign escapades offers much for the keen observer of current events."
--Charles T. Pinck, president of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Society

"History shall tell that the United States first volunteered a ship of war, equipped, a carrier for a pirate. . . . Frankly I own, I would have lost the peace and been impaled myself rather than yield such a concession. Will nothing rouse my country!"
--William Eaton, in a letter to the secretary of state, 1800

Giving money, arms, and a warship to a pirate who has attacked our merchant vessels and taken U.S. sailors as slaves? William Eaton, United States consul to Tunis, was furious. Eaton, however, was not a man given to impotent rage. He was intent on ending the custom of paying protection money to the Barbary pirates of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. His plan: to reverse the roles of diplomacy in the region by taking the fight straight to the piratical regimes.

Over the next five years, the fledgling U.S. Navy would develop into a formidable force as it employed blockades, covert operations, amphibious assaults, brute force, and even mercenaries to make the Mediterranean safe for U.S. merchant ships. Victory in Tripoli tells the inspiring story of how Eaton and a few other determined Americans forced their young nation to stand up to terrorism. It is an eerily familiar tale whose lessons remain central to U.S. foreign policy to this day.

About the Author

JOSHUA E. LONDON is a Washington, D.C.-based writer. He has written on politics and public policy for many publications, including the American Spectator, Human Events, National Review Online, and Details: Promoting Jewish Conservative Values. London holds an M.A. in social science from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Davis.