ON SECRET SERVICE Called "the godfather of the historical novel" by the Los Angeles Times, John Jakes transports readers to a divided America and the last great untold story of the Civil War. Jakes, whose North and South trilogy includes all number one New York Times bestsellers, writes about the Civil War like no one else, and constructs a story of the shadow war waged by Union and Confederate spies and counterspies, by undercover agents and provocateurs on both sides of the line. From the involvement of the Pinkertons to the creation of the Secret Service to Lincoln's assassination, Jakes focuses  on four young people caught up in the chaos of war: a spy, a rebel, an actress, and an officer, their lives swept away in a tumult of love, hatred, political intrigue, violence, and constant danger.Set against the fiery backdrop of the Civil War, from fierce battles to the stunning violence of the New York Draft Riots to that fateful night at Ford's Theater when even the President's handpicked men could not stop an assassin's bullet, On Secret Service is rife with real people and accurate period detail--historical narrative at its finest--and is another classic from the master of the genre. "John Jakes . . . is, quite simply, a master of the ancient art of storytelling." --The New York Times Book Review"Jakes makes history come alive by weaving strands of fiction with carefully researched and brilliantly presented historical figures and events."--The Washington Post Book World (on American Dreams)