Knowledgeable experts have ranked Elizabeth Van Lew as one of the best female spies of all time. Until Dr. Wyman's comprehensive "The Chosen Path," little was known about the full perilous life and valuable contributions of this Richmond, Virginia born socialite who became "Grant's Spy" during the Civil War.

From triumph to tragedy, her life was filled with extraordinary drama. As with most covert operations, her successes were un-heralded. For her overt acts of loyalty to the Union, her rewards were ridicule, threats, unmerciful cruelty, humiliation, and arrest. Why did she do it? How did...