Book #7

It's not very often that the kids and I read biographies, but that was the genre of our most recent book.  At the end of last year we read My Brother Sam is Dead and were introduced to Benedict Arnold.  I was intrigued and was able to talk my kids into reading a book about his life.  We read The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery by Steve Sheinkin.  The book contains the story of Arnold's life through journals, histories, and letters. 

The main reason I wanted to read this book was to discover the reason for Arnold's treason.  Turns out it was pride.  Arnold fought for the Americans in the Revolutionary War.  He marched to Quebec to stop the British, tricked his way into winning the Battle of Valcour Island, and valiantly fought and was wounded at the Battle of Saratoga.  He moved up the ranks to General.  But, he was not well liked by a lot of people and he never got the praise that he felt he deserved.  Because of this he decided to work something out with the British to help them end the war.  Luckily for us, his plan failed. 

Arnold wanted to make a name for himself--a good name to erase the bad reputation his father and grandfather left behind.  Unfortunately, the name he left isn't remembered for good.  We all know that someone who is a traitor gets the nickname of "Benedict Arnold".  The author says at the end of the book, "If Arnold had died from his wounds at the Battle of Saratoga, we would think of him today as one of the all-time great American heroes.  Aside from Washington, we'd say, he did more to win our Revolution that anyone. . .Sure, we'd say Arnold was unstable, tormented, a loose cannon.  But he'd be our loose cannon.  We don't say any of that, and it's all Arnold's fault."