reviews of “the north star”
Available on Amazon.ca, Amazon.com and Indigo
”Sher’s book provides a fuller — and, it must be added, thoroughly captivating — perspective on the Civil War and its aftermath, with Montreal emerging as a comfortable home for Confederate spies, Toronto as a seat of financial conspiracy, and the colonies that would soon form a new nation as a cauldron of conspiracies and filibustering … Sher’s book is a powerful reminder — one of many in recent years — that just as Canada was not simply a bystander in the Civil War, it was no conscientious objector to slavery.
Sher, acting like a magnet that sweeps to its poles all the shavings of Canadian involvement in the conflict, has assembled a remarkable assortment of surprising connections.”
-David Shribman, Literary Review of Canada
“I love a mystery. I love a mystery that deals with history. But I especially love a mystery that deals with our history, and The North Star delivers on all counts. Julian Sher does what he always does: an amazing job of digging deep, in this case uncovering the Canadian origins of a 150-year-old story that still haunts this continent.”
- Peter Mansbridge, broadcaster and author of Off the Record and Extraordinary Canadians
“In The North Star, Julian Sher offers a robust and comprehensive view of Canada and the American Civil War, bringing to light a great many unknown stories. The prose is elegant, the analysis concise, the narration masterful, and there are also delightful surprises along the way.”
— Afua Cooper, historian, author of The Hanging of Angélique and co-author of Black Matters
“The North Star is a valuable and welcome addition to our understanding of the many roles played by Canada and Canadians before, during and after the Civil War. Meticulously researched and enlivened with intriguing characters and bold tales. Sher writes with the deft touch of a skilled storyteller.”
- John Boyko, author, Blood and Daring: How Canada Fought the American Civil War and Forged a Nation
“One of the major voids in the history of that tragic event is the role Canada played in providing a sanctuary to elements of the Confederate Secret service. Sher’s impressive research and highly readable writing provide a detailed account that is long overdue.”
- Edward Steers, Jr., author of Blood on the Moon and Getting Right with Lincoln
“In The North Star, Julian Sher brilliantly illuminates the many ways Canada was involved in the American Civil War, revealing aspects of history that have been overlooked or not understood until now.”
- William P. Binzel, Vice President of the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia
“In this engagingly written book, Julian Sher explores how Confederates in Canada was involved in plots of spycraft, theft, arson, germ warfare and even assassination. Through his expert research, Sher lifts the veil on a long-shrouded portion of Civil War history.”
- Dave Taylor, historian and author of LincolnConspirators.com
MORE REVIEWS:
“Books about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln number in the thousands, but Julian Sher’s The North Star: Canada and the Civil War Plots Against Lincoln is one of very few to emphasize how these plans were hashed out over mint juleps and oysters at hotel bars in Montreal and Toronto … Julian Sher revels at the Canada-centric intrigue of it all, which makes The North Star something of a thrill ….For readers unfamiliar with this history, Sher provides the necessary framing and achieves a fair degree of nuance, too. In Sher’s telling, we get memorable details – like that earlier efforts to off Lincoln involved “poisoned ink” and “a spider-filled dumpling” – and rich characterization. The tone befits the telling too: it’s sometimes lofty, sometimes wry.”- Montreal Review of Books
“A fascinating read, The North Star reads like a mystery… Sher's timely exploration of this unpalatable slice of Canadian history not only inches us closer to what really happened in those far-off days but teaches us the need to know, however unpalatable - Oakville News
“A riveting and fascinating read …The North Star is a book I highly recommend to anyone interested in American and Canadian history. This one will remind readers why knowing and remembering our past is essential.” - Seattle Book Review
“A well-researched, detailed, and nuanced book… a cast of fascinating characters from varied racial, social, religious, and political backgrounds. History aficionados, human rights activists, and readers interested in learning the unvarnished realities of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War will be rewarded handsomely for reading the book.”
-San Diego Book Review