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Sign up todayOn Secret Service
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Learn moreJohn Jakes, the author of over 60 books, including the eight-part Kent Family Chronicles, The North and South trilogy, and innumerable short stories of the American West, returns to the Civil War in the engrossing On Secret Service. The story of a war within a war on various levels—the North v. the South, the Union's Pinkerton Detective Agency v. the Confederacy's agent provocateurs, youthful idealism v. youthful lust—On Secret Service chronicles the lives and times of four young Americans, from the war's early tremors in January 1861, through its bloody conclusion, Lincoln's assassination, and John Wilkes Booth's murder in May 1865.
"Jakes combines encyclopedic command of historical fact with unmatched storytelling. Carefully researched and filled with colorful characters who move in an authentic Washington atmosphere."—Booklist
John Jakes is the bestselling author of Charleston, the Kent Family Chronicles, the North and South trilogy, On Secret Service, California Gold, Homeland, and American Dreams. Descended from a soldier of the Virginia Continental Line who fought in the American Revolution, Jakes is one of today’s most distinguished authors of historical fiction.
Michael Kramer is an actor, director, and narrator. He has recorded more than 100 audiobooks, as well as titles for the Library of Congress Talking Books program. Among the recognition he has garnered for his narration are AudioFile magazine’s Earphones Award and the Torgi Award. Mr. Kramer lives in Washington, DC, where he is active in the area’s theater scene, and has appeared in productions at the Shakespeare Theatre, the Kennedy Center, and Theater J.
John Jakes is the bestselling author of Charleston, the Kent Family Chronicles, the North and South trilogy, On Secret Service, California Gold, Homeland, and American Dreams. Descended from a soldier of the Virginia Continental Line who fought in the American Revolution, Jakes is one of today’s most distinguished authors of historical fiction.
Michael Kramer is an actor, director, and narrator. He has recorded more than 100 audiobooks, as well as titles for the Library of Congress Talking Books program. Among the recognition he has garnered for his narration are AudioFile magazine’s Earphones Award and the Torgi Award. Mr. Kramer lives in Washington, DC, where he is active in the area’s theater scene, and has appeared in productions at the Shakespeare Theatre, the Kennedy Center, and Theater J.
Reviews
“On Secret Service draws you back into the Civil War and the wrenching days preceding Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. The factual details are simply astonishing: You walk the muddy streets, smell the acrid smoke of battlefields, and experience firsthand the inner workings of a vast conspiracy.” –Patricia Cornwell“The author saves the best for last in dealing with Lincoln’s assassination, bringing the drama to life by giving each of his protagonists a crucial role as the conspiracy unfolds with expert pacing and suspense. Jakes uncovers the little-known history of espionage and counterespionage during the War Between the States with his signature combination of meticulous research and epic narrative.” –Publishers Weekly
“Gripping, exciting, and historically accurate…a very good book.” –Library Journal
“An absorbing study of how human affairs stubbornly fall outside the simplistic categories of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’…” –Kirkus Reviews
“John Jakes has written another fine historical novel about his favorite period—The Civil War…Jakes is a wonderful storyteller, mixing fiction with fact and capturing the feel and flavor of that turbulent time.” –The Sunday Oklahoman
“Perhaps no author has made popularized American history more his own province than John Jakes…[He] does the invaluable service of any historical writer in transforming history’s dusty pages into a living account. An excellent job of conveying the horror of that war now dimmed by the passage of the years.” –Jacksonville Times-Union
“[Jakes] gets the big story right, while writing in a clear style, keeping the narrative moving briskly from cliff-hanger to cliff-hanger, serving up portions of steamy sex in between, and offering us plenty of heroes and heroines to admire and several villains to hate. Even a deep-dyed Civil War buff…will find himself turning the pages to see what happens next.” –Civil War Book Review
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