SPIES FOR THE BLUE AND GRAY

The espionage of 1861-65 -- on both sides- makes for fascinating reading in the true spy field. Some of the stories are familiar to those who have read biographies of Rome Greenhow and of Belle Boyd; many histories of the War between the States carry mention of this spy or that, Tim Webster, Lafe Baker, Pauline Cushman. I've never happened to run across Walter Bowie. Phil Henson's story is an extraordinary one of double spying, carried to the th degree of danger. Elizabeth Van Lew carried her espionage on in efficient detail right under the eyes of her disapproving Richmond neighbors, who knew her as a Union sympathizer, but did not realize the extent to which her sympathies carried her. The Moon sisters story is unique -- and fresh material for most readers. All in all, a beguiling sort of book, in which Kane's own sympathies are put aside for full employment of his gift as a spinner of tales. Some will argue that the material is romanticized and fictionalized, but the end result is good entertainment, and informative as well.