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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Entertainment: Books, Movies, Music & Art > Civil War Books > The Better Angels of our Nature |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Entertainment: Books, Movies, Music & Art > Civil War Books > The Better Angels of our Nature |
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| The Better Angels of our Nature | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29th, 2006 01:17 pm |
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1st Post |
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Widow Member
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In this morning's Washington Post there is a review of a new Civil War novel by S. C. Gylanders. It's set just before the Battle of Shiloh, with Sherman as a great American patriot and a teenage soldier as a Union infantryman. After reading the review, I think I'll skip this one. Patty http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/28/AR2006122801161.html
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29th, 2006 01:32 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Fuller E Pluribus Unum 
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What?!!! PATTY skipping on a book? Now that's an oxymoron if I ever heard one!!! I'll have to read the review and try to figure out why.
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29th, 2006 03:46 pm |
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3rd Post |
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ole Member 
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I'll have to go along with Patty. Too many good books out there to waste time and money on a limp novel that the reviewer had to invent nice things to say about it. Ole
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29th, 2006 04:02 pm |
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4th Post |
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susansweet Member 
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I just read the review and agree with Patty I am skipping this book. Would rather read non fiction about the war anyway. Since I have a nice stack from Christmas I will pass on this one . Thanks Patty for posting the review.
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| Posted: Sat Dec 30th, 2006 01:27 am |
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5th Post |
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CleburneFan Member 
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Ms Widow, thanks for the heads up on this book. I'm not a big fan of Civil War fiction myself, but if a truly compelling novel were to come down the pike, I would read it. Apparently the book you describe is not that great novel. The reviewer says the author glosses over "slavery, corruption, desertion, conscription and disease." To me an authentic Civil War novel simply cannot gloss over such issues that were so much an indelible part of the war. That's like writing about the European theater of World War Two and not mention Hitler. I'd wager that at least several members of this message board could write a better novel just off the top of their heads based on what they know about the war.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15th, 2007 10:14 pm |
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6th Post |
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GCalhoun Member
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I listened to this book, not having much choice from the library's selection that day and needing something to keep me company in the car. It started out well enough, but the longer it went, the worse it got. The writing is predictably "politically correct" in that all Confederate soldiers were lazy, stupid and brutish, and all Union soldiers were courageous, compassionate and honorable. Gylanders concentrates on the war in the Western theater, which is fine, except she occasionally refers to what is happening in the East only when the Union has won a battle. She gloats over the victories at Antietam and Gettysburg, conveniently omitting Union disasters at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. My strong recommendation to anyone intersted in serious Civil War literature is to give this one a miss, as I wish I had.
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