Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy [Hardcover]

M. William Phelps (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2008

The first biography in nearly a century of the legendary Revolutionary War patriot and our country’s first spy.
Few Americans know much more about Nathan Hale than his famous last words: “I only regret that I have one life left to give for my country.” But who was the real Nathan Hale?
     M. William Phelps charts the life of this famed patriot and Connecticut’s state hero, following Hale’s rural childhood, his education at Yale, and his work as a schoolteacher. Even in his brief career, he distinguished himself by offering formal lessons to young women. Like many young Americans, he soon became drawn into the colonies’ war for independence, becoming a captain in Washington’s army. When the general was in need of a spy, Hale willingly rose to the challenge, bravely sacrificing his life for the sake of American liberty.
     Using Hale’s own journals and letters as well as testimonies from his friends and contemporaries, Phelps depicts the Revolution as it was seen from the ground. From the confrontation in Boston to the battle for New York City, readers experience what life was like for an ordinary soldier in the struggling Continental army.
     In this impressive, well-researched biography, Phelps separates historical fact from long-standing myth to reveal the life of Nathan Hale, a young man who deserves to be remembered as an original American patriot.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Nathan Hale is a secular saint of American patriotism. Facing a British gallows for spying during the Revolutionary War, he supposedly uttered these immortal words: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” Phelps has written an informative, interesting biography of Hale that effectively reveals the flesh-and-blood human behind the iconic image. Clearly an admirer of Hale, he has written nothing that detracts from Hale’s reputation; instead, he has provided a nuanced portrait of a deeply religious, idealistic young man whose short life was dedicated to various forms of public service. Hale was raised in rural Connecticut, attended Yale at the age of 14, and graduated with honors. Upon graduation, he worked as a schoolteacher, and after Lexington and Concord, joined a Connecticut militia. He seemed to approach service to the Patriot cause as a passion, not merely a duty. Phelps, using Hale’s own correspondence, clears up some of the murky details surrounding Hale’s spying, arrest, and execution. This is a well-done, balanced account of a short but interesting life. --Jay Freeman

Review

Advance Praise for Nathan Hale:
“Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale’s quote at his hanging by the British in 1776, ‘I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,’ is one of the most memorable in U.S. history. Here, M. William Phelps has written an absorbing, highly detailed biography of the patriotic Hale. He weaves each story together to create a very colorful, emotional, and enjoyable book.” ---Bruce Chadwick, author of George Washington’s War
“With his new work on Nathan Hale, M. William Phelps has done a great service to the world of historical writing about the American Revolution. A Hale biography was certainly overdue, and Phelps has given us a good one; thorough, making fine use of primary sources, and, thankfully, a pleasure to read.” ---James L. Nelson, author of Benedict Arnold’s Navy
“Phelps provides an extensive examination of Hale’s life and legend, illuminating a crucial aspect of the Revolutionary War era. A thoughtful and substantial narrative of bravery and heroism, this effort considers myth and reality both and the importance of each to historical understanding.” ---Orville Vernon Burton, author of The Age of Lincoln
“M. William Phelps has written a meticulously researched biography of Nathan Hale. Known mainly as the young man who regretted that he had but one life to give to his country, Hale represented the flower of New England society. Phelps has well captured the excitement of Hale’s joining the patriot cause in the American Revolution, giving us a fresh narrative of those tumultuous years.” ---Joyce Appleby, author of Inheriting the Revolution
“Phelps has brilliantly taken Nathan Hale from the faded memory of history and reintroduced us to a vibrant young man, a scholar whom we witness as he transforms into a soldier and spy as a final act of moral conscience. Phelps has reintroduced Hale as the quintessential young American who steps across the line to act for his country.” ---Joseph J. Trento, author of The Secret History of the CIA
“Nathan Hale went to his hanging with the famously paraphrased line, ‘I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.’ M. William Phelps gives a new, fully documented life to this romantic, long-neglected American revolutionary.” ---R. A. Scotti, author of The Sudden Sea and Basilica

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (September 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312376413
• ISBN-13: 978-0312376413
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #967,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Crime expert, lecturer, TV personality and acclaimed investigative journalist M. William Phelps is the national bestselling, award-winning author of nineteen nonfiction books. Winner of 2008 New England Book Festival Award for I'll Be Watching You, Phelps has made close to 100 television appearances, including CBS's "Early Show," Court TV/truTV, Discovery Channel, Fox News Channel, ABC's "Good Morning America," Learning Channel, Biography Channel, History Channel, Montel Williams, Investigation Discovery, Oxygen's "Snapped" and "Captured;" he's been on USA Radio Network, Catholic Radio, Ava Maria Radio, ABC News Radio and Radio America, who calls him "the nation's leading authority on the mind of the female murderer." He's written for the Providence Journal, Hartford Courant, New London Day, and consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series "Dexter."

Profiled in such noted publications as Connecticut Magazine, Writer's Digest, NY Daily News, Newsday, Albany Times-Union, Hartford Courant, Advance for Nurses Magazine, Forensic Nursing, and NY Post, Phelps lives in a small Connecticut farming community. Beyond his true-crime books, in 2008, Phelps published a highly acclaimed narrative nonfiction biography of Revolutionary War patriot Nathan Hale, NATHAN HALE: The Life and Death of America's First Spy (Thomas Dunne Books).

I have been busy! This December, THE DEVIL'S RIGHT HAND will publish. It is a book about Sam and John Colt, and how one brother invented the revolving firearm and the other murdered someone with a hatchet, culminating in the tragedies that took place afterward and how they juxtapose against the epic story of the Colt family legacy.

I have five more "Deadly Women" episodes in the can for Beyond Productions to air soon on Investigation Discovery channel. Don't miss the latest season--the best yet! Thank you everyone who has written in to say how much you like the shows.

My first TV series, DARK MINDS, is in post-production and will air in early 2012 on Investigation Discovery (ID). The concept of the show is unique and fresh. I have one of the preeminent serial killer profilers working today, John Kelly, ECD (a National Board Certified Addiction Specialist, Board Certified Social Worker, Certified Forensic Examiner and Fellow of the American Board of Forensic Examiners, president of S.T.A.L.K., Inc.), starring with me in the show--and one VERY special guest star each week--a bona fide serial killer in prison we are calling "13".

My thriller series, introducing Boston PD Detective Jake Sundance Cooper, is in the pipeline, and closer to publication.

When time permits, I continue to work on a Christmas story/literary murder-mystery, featuring an old curmudgeon and WW II survivor who, through a little girl, learns a great lesson in redemption and accountability.

Photo Credit: "Dark Minds"/Investigation Discovery

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Regrets and honor, September 20, 2008

By 

Linda Pagliuco "katknit" (CT, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy (Hardcover)

Other than a few children's authors, no one has published a definitive biography of Nathan Hale for decades. M. William Phelps has now stepped in to fill the gap. Using his investigative research skills, honed as a true crime writer, Phelps has combed the archives to find any and all of the information currently available about the life of Nathan Hale. That is not an easy task, as most of the primary documents come from British sources, who, understandably, were biased. Most of the secondhand sources were provided years after Hale's death in 1776, and the tendency at that time was to glorify and romanticize.

In this book, Phelps has pulled together all available, credible documentation, and presented the information in an interesting format that blends fact-based fiction (vignettes from Hale's life) and hard data. Hale's upbringing, early stint as a schoolteacher, and fateful career as Revolutionary War soldier, are critically examined and brought to life. Hale is portrayed as an earnest young man who, like many of his contemporaries, saw the war for independence as a chance to prove one's belief in and devotion to the ideals of liberty and equality. Perhaps the most intriguing section deals with the possible ways in which Hale was identified and apprehended as a spy, as the mythology swirling around that event has long been debated. Did Samuel Hale, Nathan's Tory cousin and an officer on the staff of British General Gage, betray his kinsman? Did the infamous Robert Rogers entrap him? What about the patron of the tavern Nathan was said to frequent?

It will probably never be possible to determine exactly how and why Nathan Hale became the "martyr spy" of the American Revolution. Evidence clearly indicates that he wanted to do something heroic and memorable, and that indeed is what happened. Did he really say,"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" just moments before his death by hanging? I think he did. Read Phelps's Nathan Hale and draw your own conclusions.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Starts out well......, December 27, 2008

By 

Stephen B. Hale "Capt Hale" (Coventry CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy (Hardcover)

Seemed to be researched well, writing was ok, especially about Nathan's early life. It was while Nathan was making his escape from New York that I heartily disagree with Mr. Phelps conclusions. He has the wise and intelligent Nathan setting up a social schedule in the middle of running for his life with the most dastardly villain on Long Island, Robert Rogers. Rogers was THE most famous Ranger in all of America at that time. Nathan being a Captain in Knowlton's Rangers himself would know everything there was to know about Robert Rogers including the little fact that he was fighting on the side of the British.
Given Nathan's background, education and experience up to this point in his short life it is just not possible that Nathan was captured in this manner. Rodgers Rangers were mostly robbing anyone they could on Long Island. Its more likely Nathan was jumped from ambush for the sole purpose of robbing a Dutch Schoolmaster, he was searched and the thieves found the maps and drawings and decided they could profit more being soldiers that evening than thieves.
I gave this book two stars for Mr. Phelps able handling of Nathans early life and would recommend it for that part.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine biography on an often-forgotten hero!, October 3, 2008

By 

Libertas (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy (Hardcover)

What a shame that modern History textbooks leave out the story of Nathan Hale. Phelps has done a wonderful job of capturing the essence of a forgotten hero. Hale showed much promise as a young officer in Washington's rag-tag Continental army. I have always been intrigued by the mystery-ridden tale of how a 21-year old with everything going for him could take on such a risky mission, then accept the unfortunate consequences with such dignity, grace, and honor. I highly recommend this biography to anyone who enjoys reading about those who go above and beyond the call of duty for our great nation.