A Soldier's Book was a powerful and exciting story about the Civil War. It really depicted what it was like, following Ira Cahill Stevens, a fictionial character, through real like senarios. I love how it really told the story through the eyes of the Soldier's, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to read a novel about war.

I've read quite a few Civil War novels, and this is one of the best. It gives us a good look at what it was like to be stuck in what was probably the worst of the Civil War prison camps (and they were all horrible), and to start losing touch with reality.

I found myself wanting to help the main character out of his terrible predicament. This is one of those books you just can't put down, and one that you don't want to end. She's got a great story to tell, and her writing style is outstanding.

This is one of the best novels I've read in years.

Drawing from the daily journal of a Union prisoner of war, Joanna Higgins has crafted a spare, intense, incredibly moving debut novel, a Civil War drama in which historically accurate details bring fictional characters to resonant life.

It is not amiss to equate her offering with the quintessential record of those experiences, Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor for Ms. Higgins exhibits an estimable command of research, as well as a munificent gift for lyrical elegiac prose.

Scenes of prison camp life are heart-bruising as seen through the eyes of men struggling to survive in a morass of death and disease. "...there are eleven thousand of us in this pen of about twenty acres. And four of those swamp." Plagued by vermin, lack of sanitation, self-administered medical care, raiders (comrades who steal their scant possessions for barter) and the cruelty of guards, many captives soon die, even beg to be shot.

Yet, in spite of intolerable conditions there is a thread of hope - not Emily Dickinson's hope, "the thing with feathers," but the hope of those pushed beyond their physical and emotional limits: "The burn and pulsing of it. That is hope doing its work."

A young Union soldier and former apothecary's apprentice, Ira Cahill Stevens, is taken prisoner in 1864, during the time when passionate arguments have brought prisoner exchanges to a standstill. Thus, prison camps have become intolerably overcrowded and tantamount to a death sentence, abysmal sties where soldiers switch allegiance for food and clothing.

Incarcerated with only his "Soldier's Book for Leisure Moments," a small handbook "intended for the young Christian soldier going forth 'in deference of his country,'" his father's pen, a silver spoon, and needle and thread, Ira is aghast and sickened, tenuously clinging to the prospect of a prisoner exchange.

Ira's sustenance is found in his ever present book, "...the only thing that helps me fall asleep," and his comrades. For guidance the young soldier looks to an older man, Gus, a preacher, who kneels to say his daily prayers then pats the ground and falls asleep. When Ira grows ill, Gus reads to him from the Bible. Ira hears "...words that don't mean a thing but the sound of 'em nice."

Gus's counterpoint is Marinus, an incorrigible cynic, who relishes the sound of his own words. There is also Louie with his "ferrety laugh" who tries to tunnel to freedom, and Willy, "...skinny but with a little boy's plumped up face yet. Hair so red it makes his skin pink. Jug ears."

Eventually Ira is moved to a military prison in Florence, South Carolina, where he becomes a paroled prisoner volunteer in the hospital overseen by a compassionate Dr. Strother. Ira comes to hold the medic in such esteem that he vows not to try to escape, "...my word of honor that I will not violate my parole by going beyond one-half mile from the hospital limits."

But when he is sent into surrounding woods to forage for berries, he walks on "pine needles and mossy stone. I kneel down and claim it all for the Union." He is tempted to flee in the dense fog but returns to confinement, realizing, "Loyalty, it seems, is a prison strong as any."

Ultimately, that is the message of A Soldier's Book - choices. No matter how desperate the situation there are choices. As Ira increasingly opts for the humane when surrounded by inhumanity, he evolves into moral manhood. And this affecting volume becomes not only a harrowing reminder of the brutality we visit upon one another, but a memorable paean to the noble bent of the human spirit.

Josie has just married Mathew , whose 3 teenage children currently live with their mother, Nadine. Josie's son, Rufus will live with Josie and Mathew but he secretly prefers his father Tom's house, especially since Tom met Elizabeth.....what happens when Nadine relinquishes the children to Mathew and Josie? And when Elizabeth wants to mother Rufus but cannot see a future with his father? This is a story about circumstances that many families, both adults and children, will face at every level of society. Trollope has a great gift for succint and emotive language that turns so called ordinary events into meaningful and poignant moments and where the reader as onlooker, is totally absorbed into the minutae of family interaction. Without choosing sides or casting blame , Trollope takes us through the changes and adjustments that two divorces and a remarriage make for all involved. For eg Josie as stepmother must defy the stereotype of the "other woman" made harder by natural mother Nadine's destructive and irrational behaviour, pushing the loyalties of her children constantly to the test. Elizabeth comes up against the extreme reactions of Toms' adult children who will not allow Tom a second chance. Triumphs and tragedies are experienced by each participant as they pick up the pieces of a new family structure, and the reader is left with a strong awareness that there are no clear cut answers . Only that the immense efforts made by step- families can result in unexpected successes. Sentimental it may be, but this novel is a positive and generous slant on the extended step family.

Josie has just married Mathew, whose 3 teenage children live with their mother Nadine. Josie's son Rufus will live with Josie and Mathew but secretly Rufus prefers his father Tom's house, especially since Tom met Elizabeth......what will happen when Nadine relinquishes the 3 teenagers to Josie and Mathew>? Will Elizabeth be able to give up Rufus even if she cannot see a future with his father? This is a sentimental but highly readable book on the effects faced by adults and children, when family dynamics change. Trollope has a gift for succint and emotive language whereby the reader as onlooker can be totally absorbedinto the minutae of family life, and ordinary domestic events are invested with a poignancy that lingers as surely as similar real life scenarios . Th story takes us through the adjustments needed by two divorces and a remarriage, the consequences managing to rebound on every adult and child involved. The traumas of key figures such as Josie the new stepmother, fighting the negative stereotypes , despite Nadine's irrational and abusive behaviour toward her children, are compulsive, as are Elizabeth's struggles with the destructive pattern of possessiveness set by Tom's adult children. The reader is made increasingly aware that no clear cut answers are in view, but the unexpected joys of people overcoming emotional baggage, make for a positive and generous novel on the extended family model.

Josie Carver marries Matthew Mitchell. However, his three children (fifteen-year old Becky, twelve-year old Rory, and ten-year old Clare) from a former marriage and his mentally imbalanced ex-wife cause problems for their relationship. In contrast, Matthew gets on well with her child (eight-year old Rufus) from her former marriage. Can this couple survive the storms of an extended family?

Josie's ex-husband architect Tom Carver becomes engaged to client Elizabeth Brown. His oldest son Lucas (from his first marriage to the deceased Pauline) hopes his dad finds happiness. His other adult child from Tom's marriage to Pauline, Dale, causes major friction between them. Can this couple survive the storm of one individual?

Renowned for her novels set in England, Joanna Trollope writes an excellent and timely contemporary drama on the impact of various related step-families. The story is extremely complex, enjoyable, and poignant. The motivations of the numerous characters are comprehensible and allow readers to deeply look into the varying dilemmas confronting adults and children with the modern ultra-extended family. OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN demonstrates that Ms. Trollope knows how to dig into the psychological heart of the modern world.