Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful, unusual look at the American Revolution
Review: Although John Ensor Harr is not the American Revolution's answer to Hilary Mantel, and "Dark Eagle" lacks the fluid, graceful and intense prose of Mantel's French Revolution-era story "A Place of Greater Safety," Mr. Harr's novel is, however, an interesting and worthwhile piece of historical fiction. It did take me a while to get into the book, due to the clunky pacing and rapid changing of viewpoints- I confused many of the minor characters since many of them are not particularly well characterized. However, unlike the gentleman before me, I had no trouble with the upper-class Loyalist tone of the story. I actually find it refreshing- so many books set in this time period are filled with flag-waving hokum a la "The Patriot" or "Johnny Tremaine," that it's nice to see something that DOESN'T portray the American Revolution as the apex of goodness and light! (I challenge anybody who does think this way to read chapter 4 of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States.") I thought, all in all, Mr. Harr very sensitively portrayed Benedict Arnold's virtues and failings. The secondary characters- the sophisticated yet clueless redcoat John Andre and the manipulative society belle Peggy Shippen- are fascinating as well. All of them- Arnold, Andre and Peggy- make a wonderful trio, and seeing how they all destroy themselves through lust, pride and greed is the stuff worthy of a Balzac novel. In the end, "Dark Eagle" is about the destructive power of money and pride. There is no place for the conceits of American propaganda in this book; it is devoted to the study of the rise and fall of a proud, talented and- ultimately- pathetic individual. Anyone who would not find this interesting, please look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, unusual look at the American Revolution
Review: Although John Ensor Harr is not the American Revolution's answer to Hilary Mantel, and "Dark Eagle" lacks the fluid, graceful and intense prose of Mantel's French Revolution-era story "A Place of Greater Safety," Mr. Harr's novel is, however, an interesting and worthwhile piece of historical fiction. It did take me a while to get into the book, due to the clunky pacing and rapid changing of viewpoints- I confused many of the minor characters since many of them are not particularly well characterized. However, unlike the gentleman before me, I had no trouble with the upper-class Loyalist tone of the story. I actually find it refreshing- so many books set in this time period are filled with flag-waving hokum a la "The Patriot" or "Johnny Tremaine," that it's nice to see something that DOESN'T portray the American Revolution as the apex of goodness and light! (I challenge anybody who does think this way to read chapter 4 of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States.") I thought, all in all, Mr. Harr very sensitively portrayed Benedict Arnold's virtues and failings. The secondary characters- the sophisticated yet clueless redcoat John Andre and the manipulative society belle Peggy Shippen- are fascinating as well. All of them- Arnold, Andre and Peggy- make a wonderful trio, and seeing how they all destroy themselves through lust, pride and greed is the stuff worthy of a Balzac novel. In the end, "Dark Eagle" is about the destructive power of money and pride. There is no place for the conceits of American propaganda in this book; it is devoted to the study of the rise and fall of a proud, talented and- ultimately- pathetic individual. Anyone who would not find this interesting, please look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful but a little awkward
Review: I am a big fan of well-written historical fiction, and since most historical fiction in this country seems devoted to the Civil War, reading Dark Eagle was a refreshing change of pace. In this book, portions of the Revolutionary War come alive, in particular the Saratoga campaign, the British invasion of Philadelphia, and Arnold's treason and his botched attempt to hand over West Point to General Clinton.
I have always thought Arnold to be one of the more fascinating figures in American history. His name has become so synonymous with betrayal and treason, that any turncoat is instantly labelled a "Benedict Arnold." Harr's account tells of Arnold's rise through the ranks, his valor on the battlefield, his injuries, his shameful mistreatment by the Continental Congress with Washington unable or unwilling to help, and his ultimate betrayal. While Arnold's actions in the end inspire disdain from the reader, you can at least understand what led Benedict to his fate.
The same cannot always be said of some other characters in the book, like Horatio Gates, who comes across as pitifully inept as a general, spiteful, vain and manipulative, willing to leave Arnold's exploits completely out of his account of the Saratoga victory to deprive the wounded Arnold of his just recognition. The well-researched glimpses we get of characters like Schuyler, Burgoyne, Gates, Hamilton, Howe and others made this a worthwhile read.
However, the book is not without its problems. The novel starts out ambitiously as an attempt to tell the story of Arnold, and of the war itself, with eye-witness accounts supposedly written years later, after long reflection, by aides to Benedict Arnold and General Burgoyne. These supposed "letters" from aides such as Varick and Franks created a unique narrative tool, almost like the narrative of Burr by Gore Vidal supposedly written by Charles Schuyler years after the fact, when he knew the elderly Burr. Harr's problem here is that his choice for narrative techniques can take him only so far, (for example none of these aides spent any time in the Shippen household), and so by the middle of the novel he largely ignores them. The second half of the novel is largely a third person account of the Arnold betrayal, and the capture and punishment of John Andre, which at times seemed a little rushed.
I also would have liked a little more information regarding post-treason Arnold. Most authors,(even James Kirby Martin in his recent biography of Arnold, An American Warrior Reconsidered), give short thrift to the remainder of Arnold's career, his aggressive raids in Virginia late in the war, and his life in London afterwards. Apparently Andre was such a popular and well-liked figure, and the aborted turnover of West Point was such a disaster from the British standpoint, that the redcoats never had much use for Arnold when the West Point plan fell apart. I have yet to find a book that provides a really satisfying account of Arnold's remaining years, after that fateful attempt to send Andre behind the lines with plans for West Point hidden in his shoe.
In any event, for readers of historical fiction who want a change of pace from the Civil War novels of writers like Owen Parry and Jeffrey Shaara, there is much here to recommend. I give it 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Behold! The Power of the Amazon Recommendation...
Review: I would say about two months ago when I visited Amazon.com to order a book to send to a friend of mine, a recommendation popped up. The recommendation was John Ensor Harr's "Dark Eagle." I must say that the recommendation was right on the nose.Harr's novel is a masterpiece. In brilliant strokes he painted an accurate and even-handed portrait of the American Revolution and of that tragically reviled character, Benedict Arnold. Tragically reviled is the term of art and is so because, unless you believe in historic inevitability, his fate did not have to turn out like it did. Harr's portrayal of Arnolds wrangling with the Continental Congress provides great insight into the role and function of that body. The awe and power of Congress' issuance of the Declaration of Independence belies the fact it was an extremely weak body with very little power. The book does well to portray the struggles between Congress and Genereal Washington, between Congress and its citizens, between the newly formed States and Congress, between General Washington and the States and finally, how all of those struggles were inter-related and formed the basis and antagonism for the struggle between Washington and the British. It is against this backdrop that citizens and soldiers like Benedict Arnold had to deal with the Continental Congress and, in the case of Arnold, makes it all the more understandable why he found such difficulty in dealing with Congress. Second, Harr's portrayal of the Continental Army's Officer Staff provides another source for Benedict Arnold's tragic fall. For those who may wonder whether General Horatio Gates truly was the destructive force for the army that John Ensor Harr made him out to be, he was. His portrayal reminds me of a line from "The Patriot" (an enjoyable, but not truly accurate depiction of the American Revolution) when Mel Gibson asked cynically, "Where's your General Gates now?" after Gates' rout in Trenton. The intellectual fulcrum of the book actually appears towards the end of the novel: (pg. 431) Arnold: What do they call it [changing one's allegiance]
Peggy: It depends on who wins
Arnold: What do they call it until someone wins
Peggy: They call it treason. "They call it treason." One should always bear in mind the fact that we all accept today the proposition as true that what occured upon American soil beginning in 1775 was a revolution fought by patriots. However, in 1779 the issue was not at all clear. Had the "revolution" failed; had Congress been captured and Washington's army defeated, those same patriots who drafted the Declaration of Independence would now be judged as traitors. "Dark Eagle" is as much historical fiction as it is a good old fashion morality play and demands that the reader make the same hard choices that Benedict Arnold made and in so doing, allows the reader to truly judge Arnold.
Rating:
Summary: Behold! The Power of the Amazon Recommendation...
Review: I would say about two months ago when I visited Amazon.com to order a book to send to a friend of mine, a recommendation popped up. The recommendation was John Ensor Harr's "Dark Eagle." I must say that the recommendation was right on the nose. Harr's novel is a masterpiece. In brilliant strokes he painted an accurate and even-handed portrait of the American Revolution and of that tragically reviled character, Benedict Arnold. Tragically reviled is the term of art and is so because, unless you believe in historic inevitability, his fate did not have to turn out like it did. Harr's portrayal of Arnolds wrangling with the Continental Congress provides great insight into the role and function of that body. The awe and power of Congress' issuance of the Declaration of Independence belies the fact it was an extremely weak body with very little power. The book does well to portray the struggles between Congress and Genereal Washington, between Congress and its citizens, between the newly formed States and Congress, between General Washington and the States and finally, how all of those struggles were inter-related and formed the basis and antagonism for the struggle between Washington and the British. It is against this backdrop that citizens and soldiers like Benedict Arnold had to deal with the Continental Congress and, in the case of Arnold, makes it all the more understandable why he found such difficulty in dealing with Congress. Second, Harr's portrayal of the Continental Army's Officer Staff provides another source for Benedict Arnold's tragic fall. For those who may wonder whether General Horatio Gates truly was the destructive force for the army that John Ensor Harr made him out to be, he was. His portrayal reminds me of a line from "The Patriot" (an enjoyable, but not truly accurate depiction of the American Revolution) when Mel Gibson asked cynically, "Where's your General Gates now?" after Gates' rout in Trenton. The intellectual fulcrum of the book actually appears towards the end of the novel: (pg. 431) Arnold: What do they call it [changing one's allegiance]
Peggy: It depends on who wins
Arnold: What do they call it until someone wins
Peggy: They call it treason. "They call it treason." One should always bear in mind the fact that we all accept today the proposition as true that what occured upon American soil beginning in 1775 was a revolution fought by patriots. However, in 1779 the issue was not at all clear. Had the "revolution" failed; had Congress been captured and Washington's army defeated, those same patriots who drafted the Declaration of Independence would now be judged as traitors. "Dark Eagle" is as much historical fiction as it is a good old fashion morality play and demands that the reader make the same hard choices that Benedict Arnold made and in so doing, allows the reader to truly judge Arnold.
Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING
Review: I've never been fascinated by the Revolutionary War, being content with a sketchy high school history and mental images of the Minutemen at Lexington, Washington at Valley Forge, and Cornwallis at Yorktown. Some latent interest in the wild card of the war--Benedict Arnold--prompted me to pick up DARK EAGLE from the shelf. Glad I did! Beginning with the known facts of the life of Arnold and his peers, Harr has woven a lively portrait of a tactical genius and future traitor into a colorful narrative of the crucial war years. We get to see the man and his conflicts from many viewpoints, including that of his young second wife, his superior officers, even his British adversaries. I also found the converging story of young Major John Andre to be an engaging, though tragic, story in itself. All in all, a rewarding read for buffs - and semibuffs like myself.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth Reading
Review: If you like historical fiction and/or have an interest in knowing what made Benedict Arnold's name synonymous for the word "traitor," Dark Eagle is a book you'll definitely enjoy. Harr demonstrates a strong ability to weave many interesting and little known facts about the Revolutionary War, Benedict Arnold and many other historical figures into a well-written and, at times, suspenseful work of fiction. Further, as some other reviewers have noted, Dark Eagle is rich in visual imagery that makes you feel you are right in the middle of the action. Dark Eagle should find a large audience among those who are fans of books about history, war and even suspense.
Rating:
Summary: Get to Know Benedict Arnold
Review: Like most people, I know the name Benedict Arnold very well. What I did not know, however, was just exactly what it was that he did that made his name THE synonym for traitor. Now I know. In his novel Dark Eagle, John Ensor Harr has taken a person known by name only to most of us and made him a real person. Now we know why he did what he did. Of course, I can't go into details as it would spoil the fun for everyone else. And trust me on this one, it is fun. Suffice it to say, if you have ever wondered just what did this guy do to deserve such a bad name, you really want to read this book. It is a great read; Hollywood should be scrambling for this one. Rich with visual imagery, from the dust on a man's uniform to crumbs on a banquet plate, you really feel as if you were there. Not only are we introduced to the main character, but a whole support cast that make this story a tapestry of period elegance, as well as intrigue. Fans of history, drama, war and mystery will all enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Mr. Harr's ambitious novel of the Benedict Arnold story is a good attempt at best. Readers of historical fiction will not particularly enjoy this book as it's narrative is rather clumsy and the voices of it's characters are niether believable or consistant. The characters are in fact two dimensional and never really come alive. A dry recounting of events with made up dialogue and meetings to string things together, this book in no way remotely approaches the grace and scholarship of a Kenneth Roberts or O'Brian as historical fiction. The research is also somewhat suspect in a few areas.
Rating:
Summary: Another Look at a Once Great American.
Review: No doubt the case of Benedict Arnold gets short shrift in most elemental high school text books. As a result, Arnold is seen as a murky figure (Dark Eagle?) who betrayed his country at the very moment of its birth in order to improve his own lot. This is a partial truth. In fact, Arnold was America's greatest fighting General throughout the early years of the Revolutionary War (as Washington was the greatest retreating General in that same conflict....no disrepect intended), and for multiple, purely political reasons dealing with the different states' insecurities, he was perhaps the least recognized. In fact, he financed his entire army, and never received adequate recognition or reimbursement from the Congress. In any event, the book makes a compelling case for Arnold. It is wonderfully written, hard to put down. The reader is mesmerized by the injustices done to General Arnold, and saddened by his ultimate treason. Brought sharply into focus are many other players on that stage, including Washington, Major John Andre and a host of mediocre Generals who were green with envy at Arnold's prowess. There is a reason for such books to be written: we must learn from our errors and see that they are not repeated.
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