Black Tom: Terror on the Hudson

Black Tom is an exceptionally fine historical novel that unfolds in Jersey City, just prior to the first world war. It ranges from melting-pot social relationships in Jersey to the rise of the powerful Hague machine, along with Woodrow Wilson's neutrality and the efforts of German saboteurs to destroy American munitions shipments to the allies. This is a book rich in humor, characterization, history, and suspense, and I recommend it without reservation. It offered rewarding insights into America on the eve of the worst war.