Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History, by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger

Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History, by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, is light reading as historical accounts go, giving the reader a clean and crisp narrative of America’s first real ‘war’ overseas.  In the process, the US Navy became a long standing official entity, and the Marines most famous land missions on the coast of North Africa occurred, which became immortalized in their anthem.

Kilmeade and Yaeger make some obvious and at times clumsy comparisons between early America's fight with the Muslim Barbary states and the present series of wars with Muslims in Islamic lands.  Some of the historical characters believe, and the authors appear to concur, that Muslims only negotiate through a show of strength, and not from any motive of pacific self-interest (not so sure about that).

So, if you want a light book that makes you feel good about American exceptionalism and teaches you a bit of history, this is for you.