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Review of: "Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History," by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger. Praise for this book! I have been aware of this conflict for most of my adult life. The problem is that almost no one else was/is. The fledgling United States entered into what has become known as the Barbary Wars, between the years of 1801–1805 and 1815–1816. The Barbary States were a collection of North African states, many of which practiced state-supported piracy in order to exact tribute from weaker Atlantic powers. Morocco was an independent kingdom, with Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli owing a loose allegiance to the Ottoman Empire. In this book Kilmeade and Yaeger illustrate how U.S. merchant ships were being boarded and raided by these pirates for ransom in the Mediterranean Sea in order to fund their own personal interests. As such they were known as the "Scourge of the Mediterranean." Without giving away too much from the book, the U.S. paid very high ransom to these nations for years. In March 1785, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams went to London to negotiate with Tripoli's envoy, ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman. When they enquired "concerning the ground of the pretensions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury", the ambassador replied: "It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every Mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise." He also said that "the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once." Later, after Thomas Jefferson's inauguration, his request for authority to deal with the pirates was acted upon and Congress passed "An act for the protection of commerce and seamen of the United States against the Tripolitan cruisers", authorizing the President to "…employ such of the armed vessels of the United States as may be judged requisite… for protecting effectually the commerce and seamen thereof on the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and adjoining seas." As such the statute authorized American ships to seize vessels belonging to the Bay of Tripoli, with the captured property distributed to those who brought the vessels into port. The U.S. won the war against the Pirates but still paid tribute and ransom for the release of American prisoners. After this first (Barbary) war, the problem of Barbary piracy was not fully settled. By 1807, Algiers had gone back to taking American ships and seamen hostage. Distracted by the preludes to the War of 1812, the U.S. was unable to respond to the provocation until 1815, with the Second Barbary War, in which naval victories by Commodores William Bainbridge and Stephen Decatur led to treaties ending all tribute payments by the U.S. The Second Barbary War ended the acts of the Barbary Pirates. In short, the United States had dealt with radical Muslims perpetuating terrorism and attempting to fulfil the taking of slaves and property under their promised "that which your right hands own" religious dogma, or claiming war booty, since the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. This is nothing new. I am so proud of Kilmeade and Yaeger for bringing this very important era in American History back to the public conscious again. For the critics who claim that this book is dry and reads "like history" do not be deceived. It is history, but it is exciting and gallant. Patriots who acted in our Nation's best interests who have been forgotten by time are given a new life to a new generation. Well done. Five stars without hesitation or reservation.