Thursday, writer Nathaniel Philbrick joins us to talk about George Washington and his buddy Benedict Arnold. Arnold has long been regarded as the archetypal American traitor. But before he betrayed his country, he was actually one of Washington’s favorite and most trusted generals. In a new book, Philbrick examines the complicated relationship between the two men. Ultimately, he says, it’s about their different reactions to a dysfunctional Congress that was driven by self-righteous opportunism.
Nathaniel Philbrick is the author numerous books, including In the Heart of the Sea, Why Read Moby Dick? and Mayflower. His new book is called Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution [Amazon|Indiebound].
