Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by vreads3
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
4.0
Fascinating history! Women and major figures in the civil people that I'd never heard of before, each with incredible stories of stubbornness, resilience, defeat, deception, and triumph.
I was appreciative of the author's inclusion of both Confederate and Union members of history as it illustrated that while the overarching principle of pro-slavery (obviously evil and unjustifiable) and anti-slavery (unfortunately not always anti-racism and not always for altruistic reasons) defined the two warring governments, people were often complex and nuanced in their actions, equally capable of being despicable and brave.
The Union cannot be accurately simplified to the "good guys." They frequently displayed willful incompetence, blatant corruption, hypocrisy, racism, misogyny, sexism and engaged in barbarism equal to their enemies and this book does a good job of pointing that out through personal accounts.
Well written, though I would have liked a little more liberal quoting from diaries and exploring original accounts in greater length rather than the novelization style of writing. Nevertheless, it's clearly a thorough book with good research and a valuable focus on women's experiences.
Karen White does an excellent job providing an engaging and expertly paced narration.
I was appreciative of the author's inclusion of both Confederate and Union members of history as it illustrated that while the overarching principle of pro-slavery (obviously evil and unjustifiable) and anti-slavery (unfortunately not always anti-racism and not always for altruistic reasons) defined the two warring governments, people were often complex and nuanced in their actions, equally capable of being despicable and brave.
The Union cannot be accurately simplified to the "good guys." They frequently displayed willful incompetence, blatant corruption, hypocrisy, racism, misogyny, sexism and engaged in barbarism equal to their enemies and this book does a good job of pointing that out through personal accounts.
Well written, though I would have liked a little more liberal quoting from diaries and exploring original accounts in greater length rather than the novelization style of writing. Nevertheless, it's clearly a thorough book with good research and a valuable focus on women's experiences.
Karen White does an excellent job providing an engaging and expertly paced narration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Medical trauma, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic