{"product_id":"book-d1j3","title":"Lincoln's Spies","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis major addition to the history of the Civil War is a “fast-paced, fact-rich account” (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal)\u003c\/i\u003e offering a detailed look at President Abraham Lincoln’s use of clandestine services, military intelligence, and the secret battles waged by Union spies and agents to save the nation—filled with espionage, sabotage, and intrigue.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVeteran CIA correspondent Douglas Waller delivers a riveting account of the heroes and misfits who carried out a shadow war of espionage, covert operations, and intelligence gathering behind the Confederate battlefields. \u003ci\u003eLincoln’s Spies\u003c\/i\u003e follows four agents from the North—three men and one woman—who informed Lincoln’s generals on the enemy positions for crucial battles and busted up clandestine Rebel networks and Confederate spy rings.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eFamed detective Allan Pinkerton mounted a successful covert operation to slip Lincoln through Baltimore before his inauguration after he learns of an assassination attempt from his agents working undercover as Confederate soldiers. But he proved less than competent as General George McClellan’s spymaster, delivering faulty intelligence reports that overestimated Confederate strength.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eGeorge Henry Sharpe, an erudite New York lawyer, succeeded Pinkerton as spymaster for the Union’s Army of the Potomac. Sharpe deployed secret agents throughout the South, planted misinformation with Robert E. Lee’s army, and outpaced anything the enemy could field.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eElizabeth Van Lew, a Virginia heiress who hated slavery and disapproved of secession, was one of Sharpe’s most successful agents. She ran a Union spy ring in Richmond out of her mansion with dozens of agents feeding her military and political secrets that she funneled to General Ulysses S. Grant as his army closed in on the Confederate capital. Van Lew became one of the unsung heroes of history.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eLafayette Baker was a handsome Union officer with a controversial past, whose agents clashed with Pinkerton’s operatives. He assembled a retinue of disreputable spies, thieves, and prostitutes to root out traitors in Washington, DC. But he failed at his most important mission: uncovering the threat to Lincoln from John Wilkes Booth and his gang.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBehind these operatives was Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, who was an avid consumer of intelligence and a ruthless aficionado of clandestine warfare, willing to take whatever chances necessary to win the war. \u003ci\u003eLincoln’s Spies\u003c\/i\u003e is a “meticulous chronicle of all facets of Lincoln’s war effort” (\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e) and an excellent choice for those wanting “a cracking good tale” (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e) of espionage in the Civil War.","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster Audio","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49347164930352,"sku":"BDd1j3","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio CD","offer_id":49347164963120,"sku":"10d1j3","price":65.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/d1j3-Square-cover.jpg?v=1772086575","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-d1j3","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}