Items related to On Secret Service

Jakes, John On Secret Service ISBN 13: 9780525945444

On Secret Service - Hardcover

 
9780525945444: On Secret Service
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
A new novel by the "godfather of the historical novel" retraces the early years of the "Secret Service," from the Pinkertons to the assassination of Lincoln, following four main characters--a spy, a rebel, and actress, and an officer. 135,000 first printing.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
John Jakes is to historical American fiction what Stephen King is to horror: a one-man industry. 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 his well-trod Civil War stomping grounds 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.

The main players are Lon Price, the ardent abolitionist and rising-star operative of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, and Margaret Miller, the beautiful, initially vacuous daughter of the South whose chief concern is that the war be over quickly so as not to interfere with Washington's upcoming social season. After a chance encounter in a Washington park, they are as repulsed by each other's political views as they are drawn together by an undeniable physical chemistry. As hostilities increase, the Pinkertons are pledged to the service of the Union and Lon becomes, ipso facto, a charter member in the U.S. Secret Service. When Margaret's stridently pro-slavery father is gunned down by a Pinkerton operative at a clandestine "Secesh" meeting, Margaret throws off her socialite mantle and vows revenge. She pledges allegiance to the South's most notorious female spy, the wealthy, well-connected, and equally well-endowed Rose Greenhow.

A parallel relationship develops between Margaret's unlikely best friend, the boyishly slight Hanna Siegel, a devout abolitionist who longs to prove herself on the battlefield, and the conflicted Captain Frederick Dasher, late of West Point, now of the First Virginia Cavalry, and protégé to Brigadier General "Jeb" Stuart. Played out before a scrim of battles, lives, fortunes, and reputations won and irreparably lost, Lon, Margaret, Hanna, and Fred cat-and-mouse their way through America's costliest war.

While the respective outcomes are somewhat predictable, what is not predictable is the degree to which the reader is captivated by Jakes's encyclopedic command of historical fact and his unmatched storytelling. The mingling of well-drawn fictional characters with nicely fleshed-out historical figures raises to rare levels circumstances that would, in lesser hands, seem mere contrivances. --Michael Hudson

From the Publisher:
12 1.5-hour cassettes

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherDutton Adult
  • Publication date2000
  • ISBN 10 052594544X
  • ISBN 13 9780525945444
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages416
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780451204059: On Secret Service

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780451204059
Publisher: Signet, 2001
Softcover

  • 9780751530636: On Secret Service

    Time W..., 2002
    Softcover

  • 9781568951775: On Secret Service

    Wheele..., 2001
    Softcover

  • 9780739410301: On Secret Service (Large Print) (Large Print)

    Dutton, 2000
    Hardcover

  • 9781568959054: On Secret Service

    Wheele..., 2000
    Hardcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 2
Seller:
Gulf Coast Books
(Memphis, TN, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 052594544X-11-16167245

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 9.93
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Barnes & Nooyen Books
(Spring, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description hardcover. Condition: New. New Condition, Hardcover Book, Seller Inventory # 2311090010

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 9.94
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_052594544X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 22.42
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GF Books, Inc.
(Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. Seller Inventory # 052594544X-2-1

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.46
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-052594544X-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.47
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard052594544X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 26.62
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think052594544X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.56
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover052594544X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 29.50
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Hafa Adai Books
(Moncks Corner, SC, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # Hafa_fresh_052594544X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 46.68
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.95
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

On Secret Service Jakes, John
Published by Dutton Adult (2000)
ISBN 10: 052594544X ISBN 13: 9780525945444
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Aragon Books Canada
(OTTAWA, ON, Canada)

Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # XCN--059

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 29.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 23.00
From Canada to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book