A New York Times BestsellerWinner of the George Washington PrizeA surprising account of the middle years of the American Revolution and the tragic relationship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold, from the New York Times bestselling author of In The Heart of the Sea, Mayflower, and In the Hurricane's Eye. " May be one of the greatest what-if books of the agea volume that turns one of America's best-known narratives on its headBoston Globe"Clear and insightful, (Valiant Ambition) consolidates Philbrick's reputation as one of America's foremost practitioners of narrative nonfiction. " Wall Street JournalIn the second book of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick turns to the tragic relationship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold. In September 1776, the vulnerable Continental army under an unsure George Washington evacuated New York after a devastating defeat by the British army. Three weeks later, one of his favorite generals, Benedict Arnold, miraculously succeeded in postponing the British naval advance down Lake Champlain that might have lost the war. As this book ends, four years later Washington has vanquished his demons, and Arnold has fled to the enemy.