Title: Secret or not?
Review: Frank Klement wrote here a fascinating exploration of the various secret societies that either existed or were supposed to have existed during the American Civil War. Perhaps his most interesting idea is that most of them, including the Knights of the Golden Circle (supposed to be a model for the later KKK) never really existed outside the over-active imaginations of its founder and the professional conspiracy-hunters of the day.Is he right? I don't know. Certain people calling themselves Knights of the Gold Circle WERE active in Texas during the early days of the War. (See, for instance, Donald S. Frazier's BLOOD & TREASURE.) So, some organization calling itself the KGC really did exist.But was it the Fifth Column that it was said to be at the time? Clearly not, and Klement's take was right on that score.All in all an interesting book. Perhaps not to be read without some quibbles. But an excellent read just the same.mjt
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