By M. William Phelp

Investigative journalist M. William Phelps’s narrative biography will chronicle a period in Hale’s life between 1773 and 1776. It is told through a variety of primary sources, focusing on the close relationship Hale had with his brother, Enoch, and set against two major battles of the American Revolution.

“There’s been some new information about Hale’s life to surface,” says Phelps, “which offers a more poignant look into this man’s incredible story of patriotism. But that is merely one aspect of a truly epic story—a remarkable life, essentially, of faith, hope and courage, folded against the backdrop of two brothers coping with the immense tragedies of war.”

Phelps sets the record straight for the first time on Hale’s often misunderstood and misreported life story.

“Nathan Hale went to his hanging with the famously paraphrased line, ‘I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.’ M. William Phelps gives a new, fully documented life to this romantic, long neglected American revolutionary.”

— R.A. Scotti, Author of The Sudden Sea and Basilica

“M. William Phelps has written a meticulously-researched biography of Nathan Hale. Known mainly as the young man who regretted that he had but one life to give to his country, Hale represented the flower of New England society. Phelps has well captured the excitement of Hale’s joining the Patriot cause in the American Revolution, giving us a fresh narrative of those tumultuous years.”

— Joyce Appleby, Author of Inheriting the Revolution

“Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale’s quote at his hanging by the British in 1776, ‘I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country’ is one of the most memorable in U.S. history. Here, William Phelps has written an absorbing, highly detailed biography of the patriotic Hale. It is a work that at the same time tells the story of young Hale, army life and the daily battles between the American and British forces at the start of the war. He weaves each story together to create a very colorful, emotional and enjoyable book. Readers should shudder at the fact that when Hale was caught and hanged, the Americans were begin driven out of New York and his usefulness as a spy had already ended. Yet his famous quote lives on today.”

— Bruce Chadwick, Author of George Washington’s War

“Phelps has brilliantly taken Nathan Hale from the faded memory of history and reintroduced us to a vibrant young man, a scholar who we witness as he transforms into a soldier and spy as a final act of moral conscience. Phelps has reintroduced Hale as the quintessential young American who steps across the line to act for his country.

This book speaks to us today. Like the thousands of young soldiers lost their lives because of incompetent leadership, Nathan Hale hung because his handlers sent him on an ill-conceived mission. What Phelps has done is given us the insight as to where Hale found such strength and fortitude. Phelps’ book should be read by anyone who is responsible for putting lives at risk for our country. Phelps’ account of Hale’s death is a gut-wrenching reminder of the consequences of failed leadership.”

— Joseph J. Trento, Author of The Secret History of the CIA

“With his new work on Nathan Hale, M. William Phelps has done a great service to the world of historical writing about the American Revolution. A Hale biography was certainly overdue, and Phelps’ has given us a good one; thorough, making fine use of primary sources and, thankfully, a pleasure to read. This is a fine study not just of Hale but of the Continental Army in the early days of the war, of the enormous obstacles that the fledgling force had to overcome to prevail upon the most powerful fighting force on earth.”

— James L. Nelson, Author of Benedict Arnold’s Navy