If you read the description of this book above, then you know that Patrick Bass, an historian who wrote the introduction, basically compares the book to period fiction.
The text of The Spy of the Rebellion is simply Allen Pinkerton defending himself against those who claimed that his mistake in always vastly overestimating the size of Confederate armies gave Union General McClellan the excuse he needed NOT to press the war against the Confederacy. This book joins many memoirs of this period, especially those of too many former Confederate generals, in rewriting history to make it appear they were in the right. Pinkerton's book goes to great lengths in defense of McClellan, if for no other reason than because making McClellan look good, makes Pinkerton also look good.
Having said all that, I really enjoyed this 600+ page book simply because of Pinkerton's use of extremely flowery prose. He refuses to use four words when forty will do just as well. As such, the book reads even more like an 1860s novel. And, for some reason, all the Union soldiers and spies are well-built, have intelligent features and are fair of face, unless they are the ones he arrests because they are traitors. Meanwhile, all the Confederate are stoop-shouldered, swarthy and have eyes that refuse to look you in the face. This is true even of those individuals he never met, but were contacted by his agents. It's a riot! And I confess to being pro-Union.
Fortunately, the print is large and there are only a couple of paragraphs on each page. As a result, the pages fly by swiftly. If you are looking for a good example of a Civil War 'novel' written in the type of prose only novelists used back then, you will enjoy this book.
According to Pinkerton, all his papers and notes were destroyed in a fire. Yet, over 20 years after the fact, he can remember conversations in great detail. And that includes the ones in which he was not a participant or that even took place behind Confederate lines. So, if you are a Civil War buff, you will also enjoy the book, if only to pick out the spots where Pinkerton is making it up as he goes along.
The one area that really rankled me, and which occurred numerous times, was that Pinkerton declares himself to be a true and hardened Abolitionist, a hater of slavery and a true friend to our "African brothers." Yet in almost every case, where he or his heroes come in contact with Afro-Americans, he describes them in a very condescending manner, as if they were clowns. In fact, in one instance he does describe one Negro as a clown.
If you really want to read about the Union's spy system during the war, I suggest you read "Grant's Secret Service." This book is quite fair. It praises Grant for decisions he made and also points out where he didn't make those decisions but claims he did in his memoirs. Hey, did anyone tell the truth in the 1880s?
The text of The Spy of the Rebellion is simply Allen Pinkerton defending himself against those who claimed that his mistake in always vastly overestimating the size of Confederate armies gave Union General McClellan the excuse he needed NOT to press the war against the Confederacy. This book joins many memoirs of this period, especially those of too many former Confederate generals, in rewriting history to make it appear they were in the right. Pinkerton's book goes to great lengths in defense of McClellan, if for no other reason than because making McClellan look good, makes Pinkerton also look good.
Having said all that, I really enjoyed this 600+ page book simply because of Pinkerton's use of extremely flowery prose. He refuses to use four words when forty will do just as well. As such, the book reads even more like an 1860s novel. And, for some reason, all the Union soldiers and spies are well-built, have intelligent features and are fair of face, unless they are the ones he arrests because they are traitors. Meanwhile, all the Confederate are stoop-shouldered, swarthy and have eyes that refuse to look you in the face. This is true even of those individuals he never met, but were contacted by his agents. It's a riot! And I confess to being pro-Union.
Fortunately, the print is large and there are only a couple of paragraphs on each page. As a result, the pages fly by swiftly. If you are looking for a good example of a Civil War 'novel' written in the type of prose only novelists used back then, you will enjoy this book.
According to Pinkerton, all his papers and notes were destroyed in a fire. Yet, over 20 years after the fact, he can remember conversations in great detail. And that includes the ones in which he was not a participant or that even took place behind Confederate lines. So, if you are a Civil War buff, you will also enjoy the book, if only to pick out the spots where Pinkerton is making it up as he goes along.
The one area that really rankled me, and which occurred numerous times, was that Pinkerton declares himself to be a true and hardened Abolitionist, a hater of slavery and a true friend to our "African brothers." Yet in almost every case, where he or his heroes come in contact with Afro-Americans, he describes them in a very condescending manner, as if they were clowns. In fact, in one instance he does describe one Negro as a clown.
If you really want to read about the Union's spy system during the war, I suggest you read "Grant's Secret Service." This book is quite fair. It praises Grant for decisions he made and also points out where he didn't make those decisions but claims he did in his memoirs. Hey, did anyone tell the truth in the 1880s?
