Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy

So creative, educational, and I love the art style!

I have been a fan of Nathan Hale (the spy, not the author, who I'd never heard of before) since I was a kid forty years ago. I have a rather large collection of books about him, including my prizes, an original Stuart from 1856 and a copy of Seymour's "Documentary Life". This book will go well on that shelf.The premise of this book is a bit of magic realism: As Nathan Hale speaks his last words, a huge history book swallows him up. A few minutes later he emerges, starry eyed (but still with his hands tied behind his back), explaining that "I'm in the history book now" and that he has read the future history of America. He tells the enthralled hangman and the British soldier (who I take to be William Cunningham) the story of his life and of the beginnings of the American Revolution. When he comes to the end of his story, they want to know more, so like Scheherazade, he postpones his execution by spinning more tales, which will be a future series of graphic novels (I can't wait for the one about Benedict Arnold).The book is very funny, with a lot of gallows humor--literally, since the frame story all takes place on the gallows. For example:Hangman: Do you have any regrets?Hale: I regret that I only have one life.Hangman: Ha ha! Good one! If you had an extra life you could be hanged, then just walk away.One of my favorite bits of silliness was this one: "George Washington. He's from Virginia. He looks like this." "Meh. This is my George. King George." "George vs. George. They sort of look the same." "By George! They do look the same."There are also poignant moments, including this one, just after Hale comes out of the history book:Hangman: Does it happen? Do you get hanged in the future?Hale (sadly): Yes, I do.Hangman: Ain't you scared?Hale: Yes, I'm scared. Wouldn't you be?In an afterward, the author explains that the book is "76% accurate" and highlights some of the details that may not be right, and asks for feedback on others. I have a couple of very minor ones: Hale wore his hair short like the Romans he admired. The hangman was a black slave named Richmond.On the other hand, he got a lot of details right, including the fun ones about Hale breaking windows at Yale and cutting up the deck of cards and giving his shoe buckles to Hempstead.I don't know if the author is familiar with Lora Innes' version of Nathan Hale in her graphic novels. This author's version is every bit as charming and sweet.I enjoyed this so much, and as I said, am really looking forward to Hale's take on Arnold. (I've always been struck by the similarities in the stories of Nathan Hale and John Andre. See my online story "Enemy Spies".)I want to add that as a bibliophile I loved the solid construction of this book. It has a good sturdy hardcover, and the pages are printed on a sturdy thick paper. This a book meant to last a long time, both physically and in terms of content.

I bought this for my Nephews because they love history. (Ages 9 and 11) they both loved this and the other Nathan hale book I bought them. These are great.

I’ve been a fan of Nathan Hale’s for a while. Nathan Hale the author and illustrator, not the patriot, although you could be pardoned the confusion. I loved his illustrations for the graphic novels "Rapunzel’s Revenge" and "Calamity Jack," and his picture book "Yellowbelly and Plum" was one of my sons’ favorites. Hale’s current series has moved him to the top of my list.In 2012 Nathan Hale and Amulet Books started a series of graphic novels based on American History, under the banner (literally) "Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales." The first book in the series is "One Dead Spy," and it and the following books are interesting, easy to follow, and downright entertaining. I’m buying every one of them."One Dead Spy" is about Nathan Hale (the patriot), executed in 1776, at the very beginning of the American Revolution. The 128-page hardcover comic begins with Manhattan in flames, and a whistling Hangman bringing a noose to a gallows. He shoos a bald eagle away, and prepares Nathan Hale to be hanged. They’re soon joined by a British Officer, and these three will be the narrators for the rest of the book. Given an omniscient overview of American History, Hale sees what the destiny of the country is, and even though things look grim for the colonists (and more especially for Hale personally) in September 1776, he knows that there’s a brighter future. He proceeds to tell the Hangman and British Officer all about the American Revolution, focusing on the first year, and Hale’s role in it.Nathan Hale makes a good narrator for the years 1775-76, and his path crosses with the likes of George Washington, Henry Knox, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, General Howe and other notable heroes and villains of American History. The author uses these interactions to tell the key events of the revolution, including the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, the Battle of Bunker Hill (and Breed Hill), the Boston Massacre, and the Declaration of Independence. He leaves a lot of things untold, telling more of his tales in future volumes, but gives us enough information to make this book a solid read.As a parent, a history teacher, a geek, and a promoter of graphic novels, I frigging love this series. I enjoy the humor and the menace in One Dead Spy—even as the Hangman provides comic relief, you can’t forget that the real narrator, Nathan Hale, was executed. Some of the humor is in asides, some is in telling the truths of history that are often left out of the dry history books. The illustrations are cartoony but excellent, with no confusion about who's who in the course of the story. Hale (the author) also doesn’t shy away from telling us when people suffered and died, making this more mature reading than you might expect. I loved it.

Per me che sono un appassionato di Storia è stato molto avvincente leggere questa graphic novel. Disegni fantastici per grandi e piccoli.

My son loves these books. Fun, easy reads that teach history