Reading List

Table of Contents

ISBN:

0786714042

Format:

Paperback, 336 pages

Publish Date:

October, 2004

Publisher:

39

Other Format(s):

Hardcover, Audiobook (on NKO)

In the early days of the American republic, without congressional or public debate, a president whom we usually think of as peaceable, Thomas Jefferson, launched America?s first war on foreign soil ? a war against terror. The enemy was Muslim; the war was waged unconventionally, with commandos, native troops, and encrypted intelligence. It was launched from foreign bases under short-term alliances. (Does any of this sound familiar right now?) For nearly two centuries the Barbary pirates had been the scourge of the Mediterranean, enslaving tens of thousands of Europeans and extorting millions of dollars from their countries in a ?mercenary holy war? against Christendom. Sailing in sleek corsairs built for speed and plunder, the Barbary pirates attacked European and American merchant shipping with impunity, triumphing as much by terror as by force of arms. As a newly independent nation, America and her merchant fleet became a frequent target of such piracy. After his inauguration, instead of negotiating worthless treaties and paying tribute, Jefferson chose to fight. Jefferson?s War traces the events surrounding the evolution of the third president?s resolute belief that peace with the Barbary States, and respect from Europe, could be achieved only through ?the medium of war.? Displaying what will strike readers today as a surprising combativeness, Jefferson ordered the U.S. Navy to Tripoli in 1801 to repel ?force with force.? The Navy thus shook off any doubts lingering from the Revolutionary War about its fighting ability, proving that ship-for-ship it was the equal of any navy afloat.With its startling parallels to the situation today, plus its vivid depiction of the Old Navy in its formative acts of heroic deeds, Jefferson?s War is a superlative reflection on our naval heritage.