Coca-Cola in-house counsel Russell S. Bonds didn’t set out to write a book. Or at least he didn’t acknowledge — even to himself — that that’s what he was doing until almost two years into the process.

But after some four years of research and writing, his literary brainchild, “Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor,” a $29.95 hardback, was released on Sunday by Westholme Publishing.