Pinkerton's War: The Civil War's Greatest Spy And The Birth Of The U.S. Secret Service

by Jay Bonansinga

A thrilling historical account of Allan Pinkerton’s pivotal role in the Civil War and the birth of the Secret Service   Scottish immigrant Allan Pinkerton is best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which gained renown for solving train robberies in the 1850s and battling the labor movement in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. But the central drama of his career, and the focus of this book, was his work as protector of President Abraham Lincoln and head of a network of Union spies (including himself!) who posed as Confederate soldiers and sympathizers in a deadly cat-and-mouse game.  As here told in riveting prose by author Jay Bonansinga, Pinkerton’s politics and abolitionist sympathies drew the attention of supporters of presidential incumbent Abraham Lincoln—and Pinkerton was hired to act as his bodyguard. Pinkerton was asked to organize the U.S. government’s first “Secret Service,” and during the Civil War he managed a network of spies who worked behind confederate lines and tackled espionage at the highest levels in Washington. By war’s end, the agency’s reputation was so well established that it was often hired by the government to perform many of the same duties today assigned to the Secret Service, the FBI, the CIA, and, most recently, the Department of Homeland Security. -- Bonansigna is also the author of the novelization of the huge hit television series The Walking Dead , a book titled The Walking Rise of the Governor .

Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

The national best-selling author of ten acclaimed books – both fiction and non-fiction -- Jay Bonansinga has been called “one of the most imaginative writers of thrillers” by the Chicago Tribune.

Jay is the holder of a master's degree in film from Columbia College Chicago, and currently resides in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife and two sons. He is also a visiting professor at Northwestern University in their Creative Writing for the Media program.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This look at the life of Allan Pinkerton is entertaining, but has some inaccuracies within that take away from the final product. For example, one reason that was given for the attempt to assassinate Lincoln as he passed through Baltimore in 1861 was that it was believed that Andrew Johnson would be more sympathetic to the South (pg. 70-1). Unfortunately, Johnson wasn't the VP-elect in 1861, but instead it was Maine politician Hannibal Hamlin. Elementary mistakes like this should not appear in a book about the American Civil War.

[Corey Recko · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want a novel about Allan Pinkerton's role in the Civil War you may enjoy this book. If, however, you want accurate history, look elsewhere. Not only is there no original research presented here, but the author relies on poor secondary sources, many of which were written at a time when authors found it necessary to invent dialog and fill in gaps in the known facts with fiction. The problem here is that the author accepts these fictionalized accounts and invented dialogue as fact, repeating much of it throughout this book. It's laughable when he writes that he only used sourced dialogue so as to "stay true to the record." Even if it is sourced, it isn't true to the record if the source simply made it up, as is the case all too often here. Another major problem is the author's reliance on books that Allan Pinkerton wrote later in life as "the foundation of the book's narrative" [the author's own words]. Much of what was presented in these books was fictionalized as most serious and casual historians who have spent any time researching Pinkerton know. I'm shocked that someone who would write an entire book on this subject would be unaware this, and that Lyons Press would publish this book without getting an expert's opinion (as any expert would have rejected this manuscript outright). I hate to say all this because I was looking forward to the book when I first heard about it; but post this review as a warning to those not too familiar with the subject who think they are getting accurate history. Sadly, much of Pinkerton's War is pure fiction.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are like me, you may think of Pinkerton as a by-word for anti-union thugs. And you've probably seen Pinkerton armored cars driving about your town, armed and armored, and ready for war against Bonnie and Clyde to this very day. But this is a book about the other Pinkerton, the original one, the abolitionist Allan Pinkerton.

Before the Civil War Allan Pinkerton escorted John Brown and his party of escaping slaves to Canada. He invented the modern science/profession of detection. His Pinkerton Agency played a central role in thwarting the Baltimore assassination plot against Lincoln, prior to his inauguration. And, in the first years of the Civil War he invented the idea of the Secret Service, and ran spies and espionage operations against the South. His tale is a remarkable one, and well worth a few evenings. In the nature of a story about spies, this book conveys a great deal about the political and social world of the American polity in the early 1860s.

I don't know how his sons, who inherited the business, came to be union busters, but that is another story about different men and different times. The story of the original Pinkerton, Allan Pinkerton, is all about rising from rags and manual labor to become an emperor of intrigue, in the name of abolition and the cause of President Lincoln. Fun stuff, if you are of a certain mind.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good biography of Pinkerton with a heavy dose of the civil war era and the role spies played in the war.

Much has been said about Pinterton's relationship with "Lil Mac"m McClellan. There are many who place a high degree of blame on Pinkerton for Lil Mac's perceived constant challanges with taking initiative and evidently overestimating the troop strength of his opponent.

The author defends Pinkerton on these charges. He feels the information was provided thoroughly and timing of the decisions had more to do with it. Frankly I find it pretty hard to believe.

I did like the read. It goes through several great stories and characters of that time. Ultimately his efforts were the foundation of the modern CIA.

Thought it was an interesting read. Gave it 3.5 stars.

[Marv]

After this I will read Big Trouble by J. Anthony Lukas.

[North Landesman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun story about the man who invited Private Detectives. Comically overwritten, but quick and informative.