Author Stephen Fox will read and sign his new book, Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama, Thursday, Aug. 2, from 6-8 p.m. at Page & Palette Bookstore in Fairhope.

Wolf of the Deep is the absorbing story of Raphael Semmes and the CSS Alabama, the Confederate raider that destroyed Union ocean shipping and took more prizes than any other raider in naval history.

In July 1862, the Confederate Capt. Raphael Semmes received orders to report to Liverpool, where he would take command of a secret new British-built steam warship. His mission: to prey on Union commercial vessels and undermine the North’s ability to continue the war.

At the helm of the Alabama, Semmes would become the most hated and feared man in ports up and down the Union coast as well as a Confederate legend.

Now, with unparalleled authority, depth and a vivid sense of the excitement and danger of the time, Fox tells the story of Capt. Semmes’ remarkable wartime exploits.

Entertaining and highly informative, Wolf of the Deep is at once an account of the overlooked naval side of the Civil War, an intimate portrait of life at sea and an appreciation of a great naval commander.

Fox is the author of six previous books, including Transatlantic, a history of the Atlantic steamship industry.

He lives in Massachusetts.

For more information contact Page & Palette at 928-5295, or visit online at www.pageandpalette.com.

Page & Palette is located at 32 S. Section St. in Fairhope.