In the wake of my Patrick O'Brian enthusiasm, I discovered James L. Nelson. I really enjoyed his Isaac Biddlecomb series, which brought to mind the great Kenneth Roberts. Then his Thomas Marlowe books tapped into my love of pirate adventure going back through Treasure Island to Look Out for Pirates!, the first book I ever "read" independently (I had every word memorized).
Other readers of Kenneth Roberts know of his heroic march to Quebec, but Benedict Arnold's Navy reveals even more dimensions of greatness in the man, prior to his betraying the US to the British. This was a very good work of nonfiction, well-researched and clearly written. Compared to the fiction works above, it may be overwritten in it's attempted thorough evenhandedness. As a fan of nautical fiction I might only give this ***, but making allowances for it being nonfiction, and as a reader of revolutionary war history, ****.
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