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Reviews
The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer, Josh Mensch
mrsmobarak's review against another edition
3.0
Eh.
The majority of the book's basis is built on certain assumptions and fills in wide gaps. It's also needlessly over-sensational. Every chapter ends with an exaggerated cliffhanger, something along the lines of:
"Soon they would find out just how terrible things could get"
"Little did they know everything was about to change"
"But one person would soon impact history in a way they never could have foreseen"
History is interesting on its own; it doesn't need to be sensationalized.
The majority of the book's basis is built on certain assumptions and fills in wide gaps. It's also needlessly over-sensational. Every chapter ends with an exaggerated cliffhanger, something along the lines of:
"Soon they would find out just how terrible things could get"
"Little did they know everything was about to change"
"But one person would soon impact history in a way they never could have foreseen"
History is interesting on its own; it doesn't need to be sensationalized.
stevem0214's review against another edition
4.0
Informative story. Maybe a little too informative and that's why I gave it 4 stars. Mr. Meltzer went back over the same material a few times I felt. Still though, it is a good study in the "First Conspiracy" and although I know if the punishment for the main conspirator, I didn't know the back story.
misskamibee's review against another edition
4.0
There was a point in my life that if you had told me that I would a) pick up a book about George Washington *on purpose*, and b) really enjoy said book, I might have thought you were a little crazy. But that time is not now! I am a true Brad Meltzer fan, and through the years reading his fiction and watching his television programs, my interest in things historical has certainly been piqued. I love that you almost forget at times that you are reading non-fiction with this book. Non-fiction can go dry and boring very quickly sometimes, which even with interesting subject matter can make a book tough to get through. Definitely not the case here. If more non-fiction were written in this style, I have a feeling a lot more people who aren't drawn to it would change their tune. I can not wait to read what's next!
bupdaddy's review against another edition
5.0
I have some small problems with the writing, and the click-baity title, but man-oh-man what a story! And for a novelist/part-time historian, Meltzer did a good job justifying his conclusions with the paucity of evidence there would naturally be around a conspiracy, and even the uncovering and quashing of a conspiracy.
Spoiler alert: Washington doesn't get killed.
So, yes, it's true that if you removed all the "In other words" and "In any case"'s from the text, it would be about fifty pages shorter. And it's true that he writes a whole lot about the context and things only marginally related to what the title promises, but who cares? That's like saying Godzilla was only onscreen for seven minutes of his titular 2014 movie. It doesn't matter. It's worth it.
This thing really happened, and it happened to a green general of a green army whose decisions in several months of 1776 changed world history.
And there are a couple of inexperienced historian slip-ups, IMO - he refers to a 'national army' a couple of times early in the book before the colonies were a nation. There's a reason it was called a continental army. Similarly, calling something treason when you take actions against an army which is there to defend against one's own nation, isn't quite right. The New York congress themselves, and the army itself, referred to mutiny.
But the facts are still there, and amazing.
One other niggling point - I don't like the cover. That's not the Washington this happened to. The Washington who was running his first army and was about to face an expeditionary force of the most powerful military in the world, coming on a fleet of more than 200 ships, was 44 and looked about like this. This didn't happen to an established legend worthy of marble. It happened to a real guy, a rookie general, essentially, with help from rookie anti-conspiracy investigators.
What a ride.
Spoiler alert: Washington doesn't get killed.
So, yes, it's true that if you removed all the "In other words" and "In any case"'s from the text, it would be about fifty pages shorter. And it's true that he writes a whole lot about the context and things only marginally related to what the title promises, but who cares? That's like saying Godzilla was only onscreen for seven minutes of his titular 2014 movie. It doesn't matter. It's worth it.
This thing really happened, and it happened to a green general of a green army whose decisions in several months of 1776 changed world history.
And there are a couple of inexperienced historian slip-ups, IMO - he refers to a 'national army' a couple of times early in the book before the colonies were a nation. There's a reason it was called a continental army. Similarly, calling something treason when you take actions against an army which is there to defend against one's own nation, isn't quite right. The New York congress themselves, and the army itself, referred to mutiny.
But the facts are still there, and amazing.
One other niggling point - I don't like the cover. That's not the Washington this happened to. The Washington who was running his first army and was about to face an expeditionary force of the most powerful military in the world, coming on a fleet of more than 200 ships, was 44 and looked about like this. This didn't happen to an established legend worthy of marble. It happened to a real guy, a rookie general, essentially, with help from rookie anti-conspiracy investigators.
What a ride.
njgingrich's review against another edition
2.0
It was an alright story, but far too long of a book for what it covered. It felt like a script for a a History Channel miniseries, with odd cliffhangers, tone, and language to try and hype up relatively mundane events.
About the fifth time a chapter ended with a variant of "but no one was quite prepared for what could come next" I stopped expecting much.
About the fifth time a chapter ended with a variant of "but no one was quite prepared for what could come next" I stopped expecting much.
mcmurdoc97's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
I thought the authors did a good job telling the multiple, intertwined stories. This is especially true considering the limited information available regarding the plot.
I do feel that most chapter ended with an unnecessary “dun dun dun” moment which made some parts seem cheesy and embellished.
Overall a good read that provided some new information of the American Revolution Era.
I do feel that most chapter ended with an unnecessary “dun dun dun” moment which made some parts seem cheesy and embellished.
Overall a good read that provided some new information of the American Revolution Era.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and War
lsmarenghi's review against another edition
2.0
The audiobook concludes with an interview in which the authors worries about spoiling the book. History spoilers aren’t a thing. This mindset permeates the narrative, which reads like a mystery and is written in the present tense. Also, it’s a bit repetitive and seems to assume that the audience is pretty ignorant.
liz_towery's review against another edition
4.0
It was a great read. And definitely pulled in my love from Hamilton near the end.
brontejane's review against another edition
2.0
It was an interesting topic, but the writing style really bothered me. It felt like it jumped around too much and that a lot of unnecessary "suspense" was built up. Chapters ended on unneeded "cliffhangers". What should have been a quick read for me took about twice as long as usual as it never really pulled me in.