Lincoln's Spies

[Rob Wick]

I almost bought it today, and then I put it down. When Waller talks about the rewards and how a military commission recommended using the rules in prize cases as a guide, he mistakenly writes that Congress agreed and voted in favor of that plan. That is absolutely wrong and any first-year history student, upon doing the most basic research, would have known that if they had read the Congressional Globe. The reason Everton Conger got the largest amount of the reward money was because Pennsylvania Representative William D. Kelly introduced a resolution to the Committee of Claims asking it to investigate the matter. They totally rejected the Holt-Townsend report and Congress came up with its own plan. If Waller got that wrong, what else is incorrect? Sorry, but I won't be buying it.

Best
Rob