anyone have any good books on the confederate secret service and espionage in general during the civil war?

I've read a ton on the military and political maneuvering in the war but the one thing I've never gotten into is the covert stuff that went on and it's really fascinating.

would really appreciate any recs.

Philip K. might ask if you're a replicant...

On The Horizon by Lois Lowry. Illustrated by Kenard Pak.

A short book about kids, one living in Pearl Harbor before the attack, another in Hiroshima when the bomb dropped, and still others serving aboard the USS Arizona.

Written so well in various types of verse that I didn't know it was verse until I caught myself keeping the beat several pages in.

One type is a triolet, with which I wasn't familiar, but found really interesting -- formal rhyme scheme with repeating elements -- which is great for storytelling.

About halfway through reading it, I Googled the author to see why I hadn't heard of her, and discovered that this is a children's book written for ages 10-12. It is comforting to know that books of this quality are still being written for children, and it also explains how it escaped modern editing sensibilities and found its way in print.

A masterpiece of craftsmanship. 80pp. Check it out.

Wow I haven't heard the name Lois Lowry in 30+ years.

Number the Stars was an all-time great children's book, at least when I was 8. Must've read it a half dozen times and I was not a major re-reader.

I have an 8yo and a 5yo so thanks for the reminder.

Cloud Cuckoo Land could have been at least 100 pages shorter. The attempt at a serious message about climate change is too half hearted. All the story threads spread across multiple times connext and wrap up nice and neatly. This read like it was made for Netflix.

i feel that way about most nonfiction, they clearly made their point long ago and now are just trying to stretch it out long enough to justify calling it a "serious book"

sapiens had a brilliant 50 page start and terrible waste of existence final 250 pages

I wonder if a lot of these aren't excellent magazines articles that got padded into lousy books for questionable purposes.

Gringos in Paradise by Barry Golson. Golson and his wife retired to Sayulita, Mexico, and this is the story of them getting a house built there, and how they integrate into the community.

He was a travel writer in pre-retirement life, so it's pretty well written. Fairly interesting, writing about how Mexican culture works in terms of getting things done. A nice insight into living there.

No doubt this happens all the time. I am currently reading My kind of Place by Susan Orlean (author of The Orchid Thief) and it is exactly what you describe. The content is largely made up of travel essays from the New Yorker. I find the overall tone a little bit too glib and twee. Much more successful was her collection On Animals, also comprised of essays drawn largely from the New Yorker, yet somehow more unified and more readable than the previous. Perhaps she became a better writer as the years passed by...

Hyperion by Dan Simmons - first book of the Hyperion Cantos quartet. I'll read the others but need some time to recover. This is hardcore sci-fi, the sort that doesn't try to explain its jargon and universe. The reader has to figure things out.

The book is structured as several characters telling their stories to explain why they're travelling to Hyperion. Their horror stories are littered with disturbing violence, inexplicable events, and a godlike machine creature that all point to an impending apocalypse. It's very good but unsettling.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

A small book, 12 chapters. Each one an essay-length writeup of some topic in the field. As always ,he does a good job of bringing concepts down to the layman's level. Worth a read if you're into that sort of thing.

Funny, just put a hold on this last week. Am listening to Death By Black Hole (also by NdGT) in the meantime. I read E=mc^2 by David Bodanis last week.

I know it will be a few weeks but I am eager for Table for Two, a collection of stories by Amor Towles as well.

Yeah I read the first two when they came out, Hyperion made quite the splash when it came out long before all the apocalypto fiction/tv.

The new Anthony Horowitz mystery dropped yesterday, 5th in the series where there is a character with his name who's an author who's the Watson in his relationship with an ex-detective.

His mystery Magpie Murders, which was turned into a very good series is as good [and funny] as mystery writing gets, that one is also a literary-based mystery but he himself is not a character in that one.

Def read before seeing it, because the multiple twists are excellent.