The Lion and the Fox: Two Rival Spies and the Secret Plot to Build a Confederate Navy
- Downloads：5649
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-24 11:21:29
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Alexander Rose
- ISBN：B09ZCJ2C51
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Tawney
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Take an American diplomat who feels directed by God to stop slavery and a Confederate operative with a design to break the North's maritime blockade。 Put them in Liverpool England as they work to outsmart each other and there's a story to be told。 Alexander Rose takes this story and provides an enjoyable and highly readable book about one aspect of the Civil War far removed from the battlefield。 There is plenty of explanation of the politics involved on all sides， including the British。 And ther Take an American diplomat who feels directed by God to stop slavery and a Confederate operative with a design to break the North's maritime blockade。 Put them in Liverpool England as they work to outsmart each other and there's a story to be told。 Alexander Rose takes this story and provides an enjoyable and highly readable book about one aspect of the Civil War far removed from the battlefield。 There is plenty of explanation of the politics involved on all sides， including the British。 And there are lots of very colorful characters， disappointments and some very daring action。 It's and entertaining and educational read。I received this book compliments of Mariner and NetGalley。 。。。more
Rebecca
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Spy vs spy during the Civil War with cinematic images of iron clads roaming the high seas， and naval warfare as deception and skulduggery。 Fantastic and quick read - gift it to the boys/grandpas/dads who like military history， espionage， Civil War， or bawdy descriptions of the Liverpool docks！
Thomas
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Read almost like a thriller！ Fascinating history of some pivotal players during the War of Northern Aggression （heh）， really well told。
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Mariner Books for an advanced copy of this history book focused on the espionage war between the North and the South during The Civil War。 Covert wars between governments at war and at peace is little understand by people。 Most think of espionage as slick James Bond types with numerous gadgets or burly bearded covert operators who loot， shoot and scoot in dangerous countries all over the world。 Media bares some responsibility， as how can you have str My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Mariner Books for an advanced copy of this history book focused on the espionage war between the North and the South during The Civil War。 Covert wars between governments at war and at peace is little understand by people。 Most think of espionage as slick James Bond types with numerous gadgets or burly bearded covert operators who loot， shoot and scoot in dangerous countries all over the world。 Media bares some responsibility， as how can you have streaming shows with hot leads in exotic lands， without a modicum of hyperbole。 Governments don't mind this image easier as it is easier to ask for government funding for proactive forces， rather than point out most spying is based on the boring task of gathering information， listening to people talk， paying the right people， and having lawyers ready to swoop in when they can。 This was the state of play between the North and the South during the American Civil War in a battlefield not much discussed， Liverpool， England。 In The Lion and the Fox: Two Rival Spies and the Secret Plot to Build a Confederate Navy， historian， writer and television producer Alexander Rose tells of this important battle and how it might have effected the war effort for both sides if the results had been different。 Liverpool， England was one of the busiest， most up-to-date and yet dingy shipping cities on Earth。 A crowded area， filled with seafarers， ex-sailors， public houses and houses of ill repute， Liverpool was home to many who made fortunes at sea， financed these fortunes and built the ships that made them。 In 1861 two Americans， one a diplomat from the North， the second proud son of the South landed in the city with different agendas， but fated to vie against each other。 Thomas Dudley was a Quaker， sent to England to work with the American delegation， and soon found himself in a shadow world that despite a few setbacks found that he was quite good at。 James Bulloch was a mariner by trade who made his way to Liverpool on an important mission for the South。 Build a fleet of ships that could evade the Northern blockade of Southern ports， and if possible ships that could destroy the ad hoc Navy the Union had brought together。 Both men would scheme， spy， pay people， lie， cheat， deceive， sue， counter sue and use all their skills to block their respective war efforts， efforts that could change the way was going for both sides。 I'm not much a fan of Civil War history， but I do love nautical history， and thought this might be interesting。 I am so glad I tried this as this is fascinating history， with writing that really carries the reader and once it starts moving never really slows down。 Rose is a very good writer。 The book is well sourced and full of interesting facts about sailing， ships and shipbuilding， politics， and even life in Liverpool。 The book does a very good job describing what espionage really is， working with people you might not trust， trying to get information on people that are your enemies， who might sell you out just as quick。 Rose has a skill making life at sea， as interesting as life in a courtroom， or a coffeehouse listening to chatter。 What never ceases to amaze me is how quickly people just throw away scruples， or even laws at just a little bit of lucre。 And also how quickly after the war both sides had a vested interest in not prosecuting anyone， which sounds very familiar。 One of the better histories I have read in quite a while， especially dealing with the Civil War。Recommended for fans of nautical history， and for fans of both the Civil War and espionage。 A very well written account of spies， diplomats， curs， tars and the people who make money no matter who wins or loses。 。。。more
Kim McGee
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A cat and mouse chase in Liverpool England to prevent the amassing of ships for the Confederacy。 Nothing like the gift of a gunboat to cement a friendship with Jefferson Davis and get much needed ships back to the U。S。 to free the South from the Northern blockade。 Thomas Dudley， the lion， is the unlikely U。S。 Council in Liverpool who created a spy network to find and thwart James Bullock's， the fox， attempts to purchase and build ships。 He was very persistent yet always seemed one step behind。 T A cat and mouse chase in Liverpool England to prevent the amassing of ships for the Confederacy。 Nothing like the gift of a gunboat to cement a friendship with Jefferson Davis and get much needed ships back to the U。S。 to free the South from the Northern blockade。 Thomas Dudley， the lion， is the unlikely U。S。 Council in Liverpool who created a spy network to find and thwart James Bullock's， the fox， attempts to purchase and build ships。 He was very persistent yet always seemed one step behind。 This is the hidden world of spies， arms smuggling and underhanded ship building from the author who brought us the story of the first spy ring initiated by General George Washington。 A good fit for history buffs and those who are fascinated and appalled by conditions in Dicken's Liverpool。 My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy。 。。。more
Rich
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-4。25- Full disclosure this was a goodreads winner。 I can honestly say I put in for this book as a bit of an after thought and was pleasantly surprised by how good the book was。 The author has meticulously researched the topic and conveys his arguments and point of view with humor and peppers the narrative with historical references。 As a history graduate from college， I enjoyed both his sense of humor and his writing style。 Now on to the meat of this review。 The author takes us to the earliest -4。25- Full disclosure this was a goodreads winner。 I can honestly say I put in for this book as a bit of an after thought and was pleasantly surprised by how good the book was。 The author has meticulously researched the topic and conveys his arguments and point of view with humor and peppers the narrative with historical references。 As a history graduate from college， I enjoyed both his sense of humor and his writing style。 Now on to the meat of this review。 The author takes us to the earliest stages of the American Civil War。 Some prior knowledge is expected， not unreasonably on the part of the reader。 Early in the war The North led by President Lincoln realizes that cotton aka as "white gold" is the economic life blood of the south and the confederacy。 In order to choke off the South's money Lincoln orders the embargo and blockade of all major southern ports， effectively strangling the souths ability to raise money。 With this backdrop the author takes us to merry old England where a game of cat and mouse is afoot between agents of the South and the North in classic Sherlock Holmes style。 The south is trying to procure ships to break the blockade and raiders to cause havoc on Northern shipping。 The north is doing everything possible to maintain British neutrality and prevent the British from assisting the southern cause。 Over the course of a few hundred pages the author takes the reader on a fascinating journey of victories and defeats for both sides， with the inevitable defeat of the Confederacy。 I was unfamiliar with this bit of history and enjoyed reading about it， towards the end I felt the narrative slowed somewhat as legal challenges were brought forth by the north。 The author did do a yeoman's job of making this aspect as interesting as possible under the circumstances。 Overall I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the behind the scenes battles for the high seas during the Civil War。 。。。more
David Burris
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Thank you， Alexander Rose for your detailed research and excellent book。 Many need to read and discover this history。
Brendan Dowd
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