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Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution at Northshire Saratoga

The Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs will be hosting an event with the author of a new book about Benedict Arnold on June 6.

Nathaniel Philbrick -- author of Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution -- will appear in conversation with Steve Sheinkin, author of The Notorious Benedict Arnold. Book blurbage:

Valiant Ambition is a complex, controversial, and dramatic portrait of a people in crisis and the war that gave birth to a nation. The focus is on loyalty and personal integrity, evoking a Shakespearean tragedy that unfolds in the key relationship of [George] Washington and Arnold, who is an impulsive but sympathetic hero whose misfortunes at the hands of self-serving politicians fatally destroy his faith in the legitimacy of the rebellion. As a country wary of tyrants suddenly must figure out how it should be led, Washington's unmatched ability to rise above the petty politics of his time enables him to win the war that really matters.

As you might know, Benedict Arnold played a key role in the Battles of Saratoga -- and his actions there are honored in some indirect ways.

Philbrick won a National Book Award for In the Heart of the Sea, which was adapted as film directed by Ron Howard last year. And a handful of his other works are apparently in various stages of being adapted for film and TV.

The Northshire event is Monday, June 6 at 6 pm in the store on Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs. Admission is $5 and redeemable for five bucks off the book.