Customer Reviews

Tripoli: The United States' First War on Terror

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Tripoli is a fascinating look into at the early 1800s and the United States' involvement in the Mediterranean. In movies the pirates are usually portrayed as romantic swashbucklers out to have adventures. In reality they ruled their part of the world with an iron fist demanding "gifts" from the governments of other countries. Of course, at the time they didn't call them bribes--but if the "gifts" weren't forthcoming, then war was declared on the country that didn't cooperate.

William Eaton was first assigned to be the Consul in Tunis for the United States. The Bey, the pirate leader, demanded continual "gifts" escalating the value every six months. Eaton tried and tried to please the Bey but the demands became outlandish. Eventually the U.S. sent a warship to the area--but, were they at war? The Bey had declared war, but Captain Sterritt of the Enterprise had no word from his own government.

Eventually word came and the Barbary Territories and the U.S. were officially at war. It was a long war with many battles. William Eaton became a general and led his men through many battles, culminating in the battle at the fort in Derna.

This is an interesting look into the time when our country was young and trying to establish itself in the world of commerce, and the struggles we faced abroad as well as the courage and determination of the men involved.

Armchair Interviews says: A well-done history lesson.

This book covers part of the early 19th century
history of the United States - the war against the
Barbary Coast pirates - that took place in the
Presidencies of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The
culmination of the story is the battle for Derna in
what is now Libya, and the main protagonist is William
Eaton, who single-handedly forged a policy, sold it to
the US Government, and carried it out. While the
exciting narrative describes many military actions
both on land and on sea, the reader is struck by the
amazing patience and persistence of Eaton, first as
consul and negotiator to the various Barbary Coast
potentates, and secondly as a military leader seeking
to restore the true successor to the throne of Tripoli
- searching successfully for him amidst hostile forces
in Egypt, and holding together a mixed army of Greeks,
Arabs, and Americans during the long march to Derna
From Alexandria.

The book is a sound piece of military history that
reads as well as any adventure story but contains
ample references and endnotes for the historian.

Heartily recommended.

I too read this book while on vacation. I found it to be a both enjoyable and fascinating history lesson. Having grown up outside the US, this was a period of the country's history that I knew little of. It is interesting to observe the parallels with today's war on terror.

I picked this up at the airport to read on vacation. I could not put it down. The Author does a great job getting you involved with all the characters and gives a great perspective on the early years of the United States.

David Smethurst has written an invaluable, well-researched and most readable story of America's role in bringing down the terror reign of the Barbary Muslim states in North Africa.

In this account you can see nascent problems of character in our State Department. These problems were there from the beginning and would increase over the generations of doing "diplomacy" rather than dealing forthrightly via negotiations. Here we are in 2009, lamely offering "friendship" and diplomatic solutions to countries whose criminal leaders play evil games with our sense of justice and more importantly, with the lives of their citizens.

William Eaton is the main protagonist in the book. He was the consul appointed to serve in Tunis. His own inclinaton was that of Thomas Jefferson, i.e., America should never pay tribute but rather should "repel force with force". He found the leaders in the Barbary States to be odious. The more he knew of them, the more contempt (which he had to hide) this knowledge engendered.

When you get to the 500 mile trek across the desert, beginning at Alexandria, be prepared to note the perfidy of the Arab members of this conglomeration of fighters. Even France doesn't come close to these folks, who renege on their commitments, are continually threatening to slaughter the Christians in the group, and who finally betray Eaton by sneaking over to the enemy camp.

Thus was Eaton's plan to restore some sense of law destroyed. He saw this failure as a "black mark" on America's integrity. When at last Eaton was forced to flee with his few Marines, leaving behind the others whom he knew would be slaughtered, he was distraught.

Copts in Alexandria are still meeting that same fate today.

At one point, Eaton realizes that these Arabs don't worship any god but money. They may pay lip service to Allah, but in the end, their allegiance is to whomever is paying the most AT THE MOMENT.

Plus ca change.

I was given this book as a Christmas gift. I recommend it as a gift to anyone you know who is a fan of readable accounts of America's early history.

This little book really does tell the whole story. We have all heard bits and pieces but here you get to hear it all, told so well you can smell the ship!