Nathan Hale, the famous spy of the American Revolution, tells his own story in this graphic-novel treatment of history. The conceit of author Hale's new series of Hazardous Tales is that his narrator has been swallowed by a big book of history prior to being hanged and thus knows the future of the country he helped bring into being. It's a Scheherazade sort of premise, as Hale, convicted of espionage, forestalls death by telling stories from American history. In this volume, he's helped by the hangman in telling the story of the early days of the revolution. He takes readers from his college days at Yale to the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, his joining the 7th Connecticut regiment, the Battle of Bunker Hill and other pivotal scenes in New England and New York City, where Hale works as an "intelligence officer" following the movements of the British troops to help General Washington develop his war strategies. Hale is caught and to be hangedbut not before he has, in this series, tales to tell. As in Big Bad Ironclad, which publishes simultaneously, the backmatter presents biographical sketches of the major players, further commentary on the execution of Nathan Hale, and even a mini-comic on Crispus Attucks of Boston Massacre fame. An innovative approach to history that will have young people reading with pleasure. (Graphic historical fiction. 8-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The history books tell us that Nathan Hale, Revolutionary War hero, was hanged for spying in 1776. They don't mention that, before he died, he was swallowed by a giant, magical history book, which imbued him with full knowledge of the future and returned him to the gallows so he could recount the story of the war to a British soldier and a slightly dimwitted hangman. Another Nathan Hale, comics author and also illustrator of Rapunzel's Revenge (2008) and Calamity Jack (2010), uses this device to launch a new Revolutionary War-centric historical series. The tone and humor remind one of Steve Sheinkin's exceedingly clever anti-textbooks (King George: What Was His Problem?, 2008), but, though biographical notes and further readings are included, several relationships, motives, and even Hale's presence at certain events are pure conjecture. So, though this is not ideal for straight facts, there is a great deal of charm, both in the characters and in the cartoonish and evocative panels that crowd the digest-sized pages. This first book in Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales imbues some personality into the history.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 3-8-One Dead Spy begins as Nathan Hale is about to be hanged. He was not a very good spy. But in the hands of Nathan Hale, the present-day graphic novelist, he makes an excellent narrator. American history is hilarious in these lively, rigorously researched, visually engaging stories. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Nathan Hales Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy by Nathan Hale; illus. by the authorIntermediate, Middle School Amulet /Abrams 128 pp.Readers interested in American history will enjoy these graphic novels, the start of a series by Rapunzels Revenge (rev. 11/08) and Calamity Jack (rev. 3/10) illustrator Nathan Hale. In One Dead Spy, Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale (no relation to the books author, though he milks the joke to good effect) stalls his execution by thrillingly recounting his adventures to the bumbling hangman and a staid Redcoat jailor. Big Bad Ironclad! finds Hale narrating the Civil War naval battle between the Merrimac/Virginia and the Monitor. (A magical reference book that imparts its wisdom to Hale allows for the anachronism.) Comic panels of varying sizes enhance the real-life events and support the stories over-the-top humor. The pages are crowded, but the writing is accessible and entertaining; author Hales style gives readers an insider-y, you are there-type scoop. Budding historians will also appreciate the back matter, including brief biographies of the main players and (sort of) bibliographies. Ironclad includes a timeline, and Spy has an appended "mini-comic": "Crispus Attucks: First to Defy, First to Die!" dorcas hand(c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.