Recently arrived as a very kind gift from two former fellows:

Thomas Barclay (1728-1793): Consul in France, Diplomat in Barbary, by Priscilla H. and Richard S. Roberts (Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University Press, 2008). Kudos to the Robertses for applying a dose of rigorous scholarship to this very timely but often confusing (and confused) topic.  Come see the book at our library, check availability near you, or you could even break down and buy it for your very own...