Thomas Jefferson as Commander-in-Chief over this nation's first foray into war. Following the War of Independence, the country had large debts to other countries, and their ability to participate in international trade was seriously impeded by the Barbary pirates. Recent problems with the Somali pirates on the Eastern seaboard of Africa bear a lot of similarity. How Jefferson and his government grew the navy, overcame some ineffective leaders, and benefited from some truly great ones makes this a great story -- in addition to being a little known exploration of history.

I am a product of the US public schools and my knowledge of our country's early history is limited to what I learned in school. So needless to say, I had never heard of our country's war with the Tripoli pirates. I found this Instaread to be very informative. Our entire history could have been completely different if President Jefferson had not gone to war against these pirate bullies! The information is well written, though it does get a little repetitive between chapters. I think that is only when you read it straight through from start to finish. If you were just reading select sections, such as the key analysis or main characters of the book, it would not seem redundant. It's just being thorough. I now have a basic understanding of what happened between the US and the Tripoli Pirates and can make an educated decision on whether or not I want to read the full book.

Even though it was a very small war, the American action against the Tripoli pirates was a game changing event. The older, more established and more proximate European nations had other and more pressing problems to deal with so they were unwilling and unable to engage in another conflict. For years the United States paid ransoms and bribes to the pirates in order to free captured ships and sailors but the point had been reached where the decision was made to go to war. One of the summary points that is most significant is that the decision to go to war was a major one as it was the first time that the United States flexed military power outside its borders. Before the war could be initiated the navy to fight that war had to be built and there were many that believed that peace at the price of the pirates was the best option. However, President Jefferson understood that it was time for the United States to demonstrate to the world that it was capable of exerting itself on the world stage. All of the summary points are critical and demonstrate the major effect that the war had on the role that the United States had in the world. It was the first time that the U. S. acted in policing the world and the consequences far exceeded the size of the military victory. Another key point that is made that is of great relevance today is that the American leaders in the area made it absolutely clear that the only goal the United States had was an end to the piracy. Once that was achieved U. S. forces would be leaving. Studying this war is a lesson on how to do intervention right. All detailed book summaries should do one of two things, either convince you that you must read the book or make it clear that it is of no interest to you. This summary succeeds strongly in the former, describing a war with a specific goal and one that made the United States a power on the world stage. Also, it is a reminder that the words “... to the shores of Tripoli” in the Marine Hymn are a reference to the war described in this book.