Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Burns's CIVIL WAR was commended for its even-handed treatment of
the North-South conflict; likewise Ted Turner in his epic GETTYSBURG.
And the works of the now-departed Shelby Foote are respected on both
sides of the Mason-Dixon line.
Any serious work about the Civil War, such as Jarrow's LINCOLN'S
FLYING SPIES, must also pass that first test, whether it has a
bias for one region of the country. Jarrow's book handily passes.
(I've spent a number of years in the South and North and won't
waste time with arguments about the superiority of one side or
the other.)
In this heavily researched work, you are awe struck by the unique
air advantage of the North with its balloon corps making successful
(and unsuccessful) attempts at spying on Rebel movements. But the
writer then invites you to observe the cunning maneuvers and
camouflage by the South (tactics the British used 75 years later
to fool Germany's air reconnaissance --read Anthony Cave Brown's
BODYGUARD OF LIES about British counterespionage in WWII.) See
the photo on page 49 showing dummy guns the Rebels used to fool
Union soldiers.
Another way Jarrow does not disappoint is that her storytelling
style belies the depth of her research. She does her readers, young
and old, a great service by giving life and color to an old, lost,
but important story ... so much that you might think the many Civil
War photos included in her book are in living color (almost).
Finally, I'm happy to find an author that makes history accessible
despite its weight of research. I remember trips to the library
50 years ago where my mother helped me find "fun" history books
--biographies, novels, etc. Thank you, Gail Jarrow, for digging
through dusty archives and making a balanced, fascinating book
for young AND old alike.
PS: This book, with its many Civil War photos and cited Web sites,
would make a great eBook to browse on Kindle!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Lincoln's Flying Spies: Thaddeus Lowe and the Civil War Balloon Corps
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