When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America faced a crisis: its merchant ships were under attack by pirates from North Africa's Barbary Coast, who routinely captured and ransomed American sailors, at costs far beyond what the new country could afford. Knowing that the pirates' religion justified their activities, Jefferson decided to forgo diplomacy, sending the U.S. Navy's new warships and a detachment of Marines to blockade Tripoli, launching the Barbary Wars and beginning America's journey toward superpower status. As they did in George Washington's Secret Six, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger have transformed a nearly forgotten slice of history into a dramatic story.