A Hated Libyan Dictator Overthrown --- We've Been There Before: In1805

NJ (I-Newswire) August 22, 2011 - Author Tom Behr has just published a historical novel, Blood Brothers: A Novel of Courage and Treachery On the Shores of Tripoli, based on America’s actual 1805 invasion of Libya.

This timely novel is a fictionalized but uncompromising exploration into America’s first attempt at regime change in Libya and its consequences. Had America’s efforts succeeded in 1805, the headlines would have been eerily the same: “Rebels seize Tripoli – the tyrant’s rule crumbles with little resistance.”

The questions raised by the Blood Brothers novel today are still as important − and unanswered − as they were in 1805. While military power can remove a dictator, what does it take to create a stable, peaceful political aftermath? What is the right balance between war and diplomacy? How should America deal with a Muslim world that may want our help but hates our faith and culture? In a larger sense, how can we go beyond preaching our values to actually living them?

ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1801, a young American nation went to war with the Barbary pirates of Tripoli to protect American shipping in the Mediterranean. After four years of failed efforts, squandered lives and wasted money, President Thomas Jefferson authorized an American secret agent, William Eaton, to invade Tripoli and place a pro-American puppet on the throne. In March of 1805, Eaton set out across 500 miles of desert with a rag-tag army of European mercenaries, treacherous Arab allies, and eight United States Marines, to attack an enemy ten times their number.

Into this gripping historical context, Tom Behr has woven the psychological journeys of two half-brothers who meet for the first time in the turmoil of battle. One brother, Peter Kirkpatrick, is a young, headstrong, naively patriotic American naval officer accompanying Eaton’s mission. His older brother Henry Doyle, hired by Eaton as the chief scout for the mission, is a 45-year-old, cynical Muslim spy and professional assassin. Doyle helps the Americans for money but has every reason to hate them.

As Peter Kirkpatrick’s idealism crumbles in the face of political corruption and betrayal, his question becomes: what can I still believe in? For Henry Doyle, the choice is simpler: do I save my newly found half-brother − or let him die in the desert?

Blood Brothers is the first in a series of four planned novels that explore the main characters’ shared experiences in the War of 1812 and its aftermath.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Behr received his M.A. in American Literature from the Bread Loaf School of English and his Ph.D in English Renaissance and 18th Century Studies as a Princeton University National Fellow. After a twenty-year career as an English teacher, he became a successful consultant in organizational leadership for multinational corporations. A life-time small boat sailor, he currently researches and blogs about naval warfare in the age of sail and about America’s relationship with the Muslim world past and present. In addition to numerous professional papers, his publications include a highly-praised business book, The Tao of Sales.

He and his wife JoAnn divide their time between their 1730’s home in New Jersey and their summer residence in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
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About Tom Behr:
Contact: Tom Behr
Telephone: 908.647.6489
Cell: 908.672.1519
Email: tom@bloodbrothersnovel.com

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Website: www.bloodbrothersnovel.com

To request a review copy: tom@bloodbrothersnovel.com

Company Contact Information
Tom Behr
Tom Behr
Phone : 908.647.6489