Praise for Lincoln’s Spies

“[A] fast-paced, fact-rich account…Douglas Waller has most skillfully aimed a spotlight on this neglected aspect of the Union effort. Civil War military history can never again be read or told in quite the same way.”    — Wall Street Journal


“A lively account…Impressively researched, ‘Lincoln’s Spies’ illuminates a little-known aspect of the history of the Civil War.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune

 

“’Lincoln’s Spies’ is about more than its title suggests—[Waller’s] extremely well researched book is not only a study of the four key figures but also a comprehensive study of Union and Confederate espionage and a landmark contribution to both Civil War literature and American intelligence history.” — The Cipher Brief

 

“’Lincoln’s Spies’ is a fascinating, well-written and well-researched book that covers the Civil War chronologically while highlighting the actions of the four spies and others.” — Washington Times

 

“A fascinating account of spies and counter-spies during the Civil War…the skullduggery waged on behalf of Abraham Lincoln and the Union is told with a flowing style that truly reads like a 19thcentury spy serial and is a welcome addition to any Civil War bookshelf.” — New York Journal of Books

 

“Douglas Waller’s fast-paced and deeply researched narrative of Union intelligence operations in the Eastern theater of the Civil War cuts through the myths and fabrications that grew up around “Lincoln’s spies” and presents a professional, readable appraisal that emphasizes the positive contributions that Colonel George Sharpe and Richmond Unionist Elizabeth Van Lew made to ultimate Northern victory.  This book is vital reading for anyone interested in the Civil War or in the origins of modern spycraft.”    — James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom

 

“In Lincoln’s Spies, at long last, we have an absolutely compelling and essential account to stand alongside those on Lincoln’s generals, Lincoln’s admirals, and Lincoln’s cabinet secretaries. Here is a pantheon of heroes and a rogues’ gallery, the patriotic and the subversive, the idealistic and the crooked. Douglas Waller brings more than a keen intelligence to the early craft of intelligence. He is like a spy into the past who has uncovered some of the most incredible and devious characters of the Civil War and revealed their plots, schemes and secret worlds.”  Sidney Blumenthal, author of The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln series 

 

“The story of spies in the Civil War is a complex tale, often told in simplistic and distorted terms. Douglas Waller’s Lincoln’s Spies is an impressively researched, intimately described story that will set the record straight on many aspects of this underscore to the period. It will be required reading for students of the Civil War.”  — David J. Eicher, Author of The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War

 

“Waller delivers a highly readable and detailed accounting of spies and spycraft during the Civil War… For those wanting to see spying through both a wide-angle lens in terms of patterns of espionage and a microscopic one in terms of personalities, Waller’s book is the one to read.” — Library Journal

 

“Waller’s narrative moves chronologically, alternating between each of the four subjects and recounting their exploits in detail. This is a long but cracking good tale.”— Publishers Weekly

 

“A detailed, chronological look at the work of a handful of spies in President Abraham Lincoln’s network and the extent to which they helped defeat the Confederacy… A meticulous chronicle of all facets of Lincoln’s war effort.”  Kirkus Reviews

 

“Civil War buffs will delve into ‘Lincoln’s Spies,’ feasting on details unearthed by Waller’s deep-digging research.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch