Most of what we know regarding the Civil War even today pertains to either famous battles - Antietam; Gettysburg; or Averasboro - or famous people - Stuart; Mosby; Grant; or Lee. However; many stories remain untold; shrouded in mystery. This book is an attempt to shed light on the enormous contribution of one such mysterious entity which in innovative ways fought to preserve the constitutional rights of its fellow Southern citizens. This was the Confederate Secret Service Bureau and Signal Corps. Though special operation units and clandestine operations have become the rage the world over; they are nothing new to American history. Long before there were any special operations units such as the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT); Ranger Battalions; Jedburgh Detachments; or Office of Strategic Services (OSS); there existed a special operations branch which encapsulated the Confederate Secret Service; Secret Navy; and Special and Detached Services and Signal Corps. These three comprised the covert fighting ability of the Confederacy. Of all the other special operations entities that were created to establish 'a better state of the peace' that had previously existed; none other made such a massive contribution to the war effort. This is what this book hopes to acknowledge and elaborate on.
#1221609 in Books Crosswalk Press 2010-10-22Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .94 x 6.00l; 1.15 #File Name: 0984556303351 pagesISBN13: 9780984556304Condition: NewNotes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. History with a loving tellerBy SC GrandmomThis was historical slice of life in Russia during a time when the people were in turmoil. Not a silly love story but whimsical and factual account of a young man in an uncertain world You do not have to know quotes in Yiddish or local history of the area as it is annotated for the reader.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. THANK YOU FOR THIS BOOKBy roseThe Accidental Anarchist Dear Bryna;I would like to thank you for the excellent book you have written (finalized) and published.For me; it was an eye opener: about the Polish Jews and the 1905 Russian-Japan War. I myself appreciated mostly the deep moral background projecting through the book. And in addition; it was very nice of you to add the live map at the end of the book.I believe the story is not a fiction at all and Grandpa Jacob was an extraordinary Polish Jew. I met the Polish Jews firstly when I was a 9 years old prisoner in the concentration camp of Terezin. It was at the last days of WWII. A group of not more than 50 Polish Jews came to our prison in a death marsh: drifting sick people hardly standing. Most of them were sick with typhus. They were put into quarantine. We the surviving children met some of them later. They joined the other Terezin prisoners very actively as soon as they recuperated. We were amazed at their creative activity remembering their close to death condition when they entered our prison several days ago.On the deep moral background: This is my little sorry:My wife and I were invited to our grandchildren school to participate in Grandparents Day. We visited our grandson English class. The teacher was leading a discussion about a book the children read: All Quite on Western Front by Remarque (We read it some 60 years ago; you probably did too.) The discussion came to a happening when Paul kills a French solder in a battle and reads his papers; sees photos of his family. He regrets what he did and makes some promises how he will help the widow and his children. He never does.I was just reading your book at that time: There was a similar situation in your book; when Jacob gets into a fight with a Japanese solder. However; Jacob does not kill: and they both return back to their units; none of them has to regret their doing. They did not kill an innocent stranger.There were several similar situations in your book and I appreciated it very much.Thank you again.TOM LENDA; PUBLISHER of CHILDREN ON DEATH ROW.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Accidental Anarchist - a great readBy FrancesBryna Kranzler has organized the notes and journal entries of her grandfather; Yakov (Jacob) Marateck; and has transformed them into a very readable saga; with humor; irony and a dash of underlying tragedy. For over three hundred pages; I was immersed in different world and era. In the first of two time periods that Yakov traverses in The Accidental Anarchist; we follow his exploits from Polish Vishogrod into the Russo-Japanese war in Manchuria as a Russian soldier. His experiences are alive with rich descriptions and the prose makes the reader feel the bitter cold and appreciate Yakov's lust for life amid the chaos. In the second time period; the reader follows Yakov back home to Vishogrod and then to Warsaw. There; Yakov's youthful idealism leads him into trouble time and again; incurring death sentences from which he escapes and a sentence in a Siberian labor camp.What might have been a tale of misery takes on the hue of humor and appreciation for what life can bring. There is even a touch of romance in the way a hastily scribbled note pushed into the hesitant hand of a young girl; a stranger he passes on his way to a death sentence; leads eventually to a search for that girl; who was to become Bryna's grandmother.Above all; it is Yakov's complete lack of self-sympathy; his ironic humor and the very descriptive prose from his notes and journals; held together by Bryna's orderly yet artful hand; that drew me in and kept me reading.
