01/11 BRIAN KILMEADE, THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES: THE FORGOTTEN WAR THAT CHANGED AMERICAN HISTORY

FOX NEWS PERSONALITY AND BEST SELLING AUTHOR BRIAN KILMEADE JOINS THE SHOW TO TALK ABOUT HIS NEW BOOK THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES: THE FORGOTTEN WAR THAT CHANGED AMERICAN HISTORY

Two hundred and thirty years ago, Barbary pirates raided an American merchant ship sailing off the coast of Portugal. The captured crew had three choices: convert to Islam, attempt to escape, or wait for their country—which had not yet elected its first President—to ransom their release. Over the next ten years, hundreds of American men, women, and children traveling across the Mediterranean would suffer this same fate while their Founding Fathers decided what to do about it: pay for peace or, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, America’s then Minister to France, “obtain it by war.”

And thus begins the action-packed romp of THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES: The Forgotten War That Changed American History (Sentinel/Penguin Random House; November 3, 2015; $27.95) by Fox News Channel’s Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, the author team behind the New York Times bestseller George Washington’s Secret Six. A dramatic story of bravery, diplomacy, and battle, THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES brings to life the stories of the soldiers who sailed America’s colors against the ruthless Barbary pirates to end centuries-old practices of kidnapping, theft, and terror. Quickly escalating to an all-out war, Jefferson’s battle on the high seas would forever change America’s approach to foreign policy and its role in an increasingly borderless world.

In the vein of their acclaimed bestseller George Washington’s Secret Six, Kilmeade and Yaeger bring to life a fascinating historical narrative about the American President who, only weeks after his inauguration, decided to confront the Tripoli pirates to establish America’s sovereignty on the high seas. They shed new light on a vitally important episode in American history, including:

• The root cause of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams' near 50 year rift over how to confront terrorism abroad.
• The widespread practice of kidnapping for ransom in the Islamic world.
• The tiny flotilla that would go on to inspire the creation of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, including the epic tale of USS Philadelphia and the tide-changing battle between the USS Enterprize and the enemy ship Tripoli.
• The fascinating cast of characters, Patriots and pirates alike, whose heroism and treachery on the high seas forever changed the nature of American warfare and diplomacy in the nineteenth century and beyond.

For anyone interested in the true stories behind the wise precedents the Founding Fathers set for America's future, THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES is a well-timed and well-told tale with useful application to the challenges the United States faces today.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:  BRIAN KILMEADE and DON YAEGER are the coauthors of George Washington’s Secret Six, a New York Times bestseller for more than five months. Kilmeade cohosts Fox News Channel’s morning show Fox & Friends and hosts the daily national radio show Kilmeade & Friends. Yaeger has written or co-written twenty-four books. For more information, please visit www.briankilmeade.com.

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