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The Blue and the Gray Undercover: All New Civil War Spy Adventures [Hardcover]

Ed Gorman (Editor)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)


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Book Description

December 14, 2001
Battles were won with bullets and sabers on the battlefields of the War Between the States, for sure. But often, the outcome of those battles was affected by the heroic acts of spies--both Union and Confederate. Such heroes, unsung while they did their vital work, included those whose true stories are told in the pages of this book:

• Elizabeth Van Lew: Her Richmond, Virginia, neighbors thought her eccentric--or crazy--but her odd behavior covered her activities as a spy for the Union army.

• Belle Boyd: A daring Confederate spy whose charm and beauty were exceeded only by her boldness and resourcefulness in eluding Union's efforts to capture her.

• Serena Freneau: A beautiful spy who seduced secrets from Union officers--even marrying one of them!

• Timothy Webster: A Union spy who dared to infiltrate the South's infamous "Knights of Liberty" as a double agent.

Their exploits, and the other tales in this extraordinary volume, are as thrilling as any spy stories from the past or present--and many of them are true history.

The Blue and the Gray Undercover

No war is won on the battlefield alone, and the Civil War was no exception. Behind the lines, behind closed doors, in disguise, spies for both the Union and the Confederacy did what spies have always done: seek out information that will help their side get some advantage over the enemy.

In the pages of this unique volume some of the most gifted storytellers of our generation write about many different spies. Editor Ed Gorman has brought together never-before-published tales of undercover work during the War Between the States by such bestselling authors as Doug Allyn, John Lutz, Brendan DuBois, Loren D. Estleman, and by other talented writers, including Janet Berliner, James H. Cobb, Bill Crider, Jane Haddam, Edward D. Hoch, Marie Jakober, Jane Lindskold, P. G. Nagle, Gary Phillips, Robert J. Randisi, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Aileen Schumacher, and Ray Vukcevich.

In cities and in the wild, north and south of the Mason-Dixon line, in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea--even in Canada--these stories capture the tension and excitement of the high-stakes risks numberless people took to help their side in the terrible war that sundered a nation.

Not all the stories are based on fact, but all show people doing the kinds of things that were actually done to win the war with brains instead of bullets. The result is a fascinating look at a little-known part of our Civil War heritage.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This masterful selection of 18 original short stories based on little-known exploits by civilian Union and Confederate spies shines light on the spirit, resourcefulness and sheer bravery of men, women and children, both free and slave, who gave their all in the service of their ideals. At once educational and entertaining, tales like Janet Berliner's account of action in rough Nevada territory and Edward D. Hoch and Robert J. Randisi's stories of the exploits of unforgiving and coldhearted double agents are spun around actual events and known characters and are convincingly realistic. Feats of courage like as those described in Brendan DuBois's tale of an unlikely spy and James H. Cobb's Jane Bond-style outing thrill the pulse, while the usually cozy Jane Haddam and humorous Loren Estleman turn in bone-chilling and brutally perfect gems on the horror of war. Romantic themes are deftly explored in P.G. Nagle's "The Courtship of Captain Swenk," and Kristine Kathryn Rusch tells a brilliant flashback tale of a faithless wife and a rebel officer presumed dead in "The Dead Line." Editor Ed Gorman participates, too, giving a surprise ending to what is perhaps the saddest tale in the collection, and Marie Jakober's gut-wrenching story about an infamous Confederate prison in Richmond, Va., rounds out this satisfying and rewarding read. The balance struck between action and reflection, suspense and romance, humor and tragedy makes this a particularly fine collection, of interest to mystery readers as well as Civil War buffs.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Contemporary usage equates the word spy with James Bond, the cold war, and nuclear secrets. But spies have been around since the beginning of armed conflict, and seldom has there been a conflagration in which they were more valuable than in our own Civil War. Gorman, who writes entertaining mysteries, thrillers and westerns, has assembled 18 original Civil War espionage stories by an all-star stable of writers that includes John Lutz, Loren D. Estleman, and Bill Crider. Among the highlights are Robert J. Randisi's "The Knights of Liberty," featuring Timothy Webster, a real-life Pinkerton Agency operative who was eventually caught and executed by the Confederacy, and Crider's "Belle Boyd, The Rebel Spy," which takes the form of a proposal for an old-time Republic Pictures cliffhanger serial. "Each story is introduced by the author and includes a brief summary of the author's work. This is a flawlessly executed collection based on an intriguing premise that will appeal to both Civil War buffs and espionage aficionados. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (December 14, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312874871
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312874872
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,979,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ed Gorman is an award winning American author best known for his crime and mystery fiction. He wrote The Poker Club which is now a film of the same name directed by Tim McCann.

He has written under many pseudonyms including "E. J. Gorman" and "Daniel Ransom." He won a Spur Award for Best Short Fiction for his short story "The Face" in 1992. His fiction collection Cages was nominated for the 1995 Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection. His collection The Dark Fantastic was nominated for the same award in 2001.

He has contributed to many magazines and other publications including Xero, Black Lizard, Cemetery Dance, the anthology Tales of Zorro, and many more.

Visit his blog at newimprovedgorman.blogspot.com

 

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasing Change of Pace, February 19, 2002
This review is from: The Blue and the Gray Undercover: All New Civil War Spy Adventures (Hardcover)
Editor Gorman has compiled eighteen original short stories for this fairly entertaining anthology of Civil War spy stories, likely to appeal primarily to the Civil War fiction readers looking for a change of pace, or to mystery fans looking for a change of setting. Each of the authors (none of whom I've read before) contributes a story of 15-25 pages, some of which are fictional treatments of historical incidents or persons, the rest of which are straight fiction. Most of the stories are fairly basic short tales, with a reversal near the end that showcases the spy's skill or trickery. Common protagonists are bewitching and cunning women who shockingly turn out to be spies, and blacks and children who are inevitably smarter and craftier than suspected. As befits the depressing reality of the Civil War, many of the stories are rather bleak and depressing, in their setting if not always in their outcome. There are a few, however, that are a little more swashbuckling and James Bondish in their approach, such as Robert Randisi's "The Knights of Liberty", James Cobb's "Monica Van Tefflen" and the one true throwaway entry, Bill Crider's "Belle Boyd, The Rebel Spy," which is a silly treatment for a cliffhanger serial film. What each author has done well is inject obscure period details and history into their stories, with the result, that even if the story fails to entertain, it will inform. All in all, the collection strikes a fairly good balance of suspense, tragedy, horror, romance, politics, and of course, history-however, if the stories have greater impact if you read them one a day instead of all in one sitting. Another reason not to read it in one sitting is that the typeface is set incredibly small. Even for someone with young (30 year old) eyes like myself, reading it for more than 30 minutes at a time was a strain.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Eighteen sixty-four. Sherman had been here. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
cook room
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Kelly, Captain Swenk, Civil War, General Jackson, Belle Boyd, Stony Creek, Sergeant Calhoun, Lieutenant Morgan, New York, Rude's Hill, Port Tobacco, Amanda Kelly, Big Mike, Captain Hines, Knights of Liberty, Van Telflin, Colonel Thiessen, Judge Lemmik, United States, Colonel Cabot, General Lee, Jane Haddam, Jeremy Slater, Miss Freneau, Tom's Brook
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