Philip K. Dick wrote over forty novels, most of them science fiction. Often churning out books with the expectation that the paperback editions would have the shelf life of lettuce and then vanish from the earth never to be read again, he often repeated himself and took huge leaps of absurdity, sometimes for the sake of laughter, sometimes to work himself out of a painted plot corner. Galatic Pot-Healer is one of his lesser novels, a fast read and almost comic book in its imagery and characters. It recycles some names and concepts from earlier works (his children's story "Nick and the Glimmung" comes to mind) and contains some unexplained absurdities, but it shines out from his other lesser works with its deep use of Gnostic theology and metaphysical ideas couched in science fiction narrative.

The Glimmung is a Jabba-The-Hut-like creature, weighing 40,000 pounds, living on a remote planet but being capable of physical projecting himself by unknown means to other planets where he appears to a select group of humans sometimes in the form of an albatross, sometimes in the form of a hoop of fire and a hoop of water intersected with a paisley carpet and a teenage girl's face floating in the middle. This is clearly a comic composite of Zeus and Jehovah with a heavy dash of Judeo-Christian mysticism thrown into the mix. The Glimmung bundles up his small group of artisans from Earth (including Joe Fernwright, the Pot Healer of the title who can restore antique ceremaics) to come to his home planet to raise the ruins of the ancient temple of the Fog-Things, known as Heldscala, from the ocean floor to restore the ancient way and bring peace back to the planet.

The planet itself is controlled by the Kalends, insect-like wraiths who have written a book in changing script that is a pre-recorded history of the planet. The history (the text of the book) keeps changing as people take different courses of action. As soon as Joe reaches the planet, he gets a copy of the book of the Kalends, and reads that the Glimmung will fail in his raising of the temple and that joe himself will take a course of action that will lead to the Glimmung's death.

Much of the novel has the feel of a comic book, but the gnosticism that was so dear to Philip K. Dick shines through. The Glimmung appears in different form to different people and his raising of the temple from the ocean depths directly reflects the artisans (pot healer, engineers, psychokineticists) attempts to actualize the depleted talent of their own lives. The Glimmung tells Joe early on, "There is no life too small." Their Jabba-the-Hut-like God has entered their lives to restore them to themselves. The novel spirals towards a whacked out confrontation with the Black Glimmung who stirs from the ocean depths and the artisans fight their nemesis by mering their minds with that of the Glimmung.

Philip K. Dick was just years away from the writing of his most gnostic works (Valis, Divine Invasions, etc.) and here we can see a science fiction pot boiler having loads of fun with religion, mysticism, metaphysics and gnostic theology. A strange hybrid. An odd novel. But also a fun and quick read.

This is one of PKD's more obscure titles, and in some ways, this status is warranted. Of all Dick's novels, I found Galactic Pot-Healer to be the most unconstrained and it is certainly not for the uninitiated. Even though I've read almost all of his other works, the convoluted plot and the always transient identity of the Glimmung was very confusing. But, as Dick's career attests to, just because it's unconventional doesn't mean it can't be successful in a quirky sort of way. And I think because of this, Pot-Healer is one of Dick's funniest books. I just love the part where Joe is trapped in the box and calls in to the radio talk show, asking where he is. But the focus of the book is a very serious exploration of metaphysical interplay between the Glimmung and his (her?) antithesis the Black Glimmung. Strangely, there was something about Joe's investigation that I found terrifying. Even more than The Game Players of Titan, the paranoia is tangible and omnipresent, and it makes Pot-Healer a very dark book. It is NOT light metaphysical comedy, and Dick never provides the reader with sure footing or any character that can truly be trusted. I recommend checking out a few of the more straightforward PKD books (The Man in the High Castle, Now Wait for Last Year) before reading this, because, though it is one of his shorter works, it can be daunting for someone unacquainted with PKD.

According to the author's biographer, Laurence Sutin, Dick didn't much care for this book. I can't imagine why, except that in his more determinedly resolute moments he may have considered the ending too patly pessimistic. I agree with Sutin's rating: Pot-Healer is a gem. Rarely for Dick, it has only a single point-of-view character, the pot-healer (not mender), stranded in a Stalinist USA of the 2040s, who is somewhat circuitously approached by the Glimmung - a possibly divine, certainly whimsical entity of faraway Plowman's Planet. The Glimmung is putting together a collaborative enterprise of life-forms from around the galaxy in order to raise a sunken cathedral, and along the way our hero meets with some spectacular inconveniences, including his own corpse and a book in which his future (or one of them) is inscribed (possibly), occasionally in language he can understand. This is one of Dick's funniest and most enjoyable books, putting a light touch to many of his favourite issues. It's as packed with energy and invention as any of his more famous works and, perhaps because of the single point of view, feels more focused and coherent than many - and this in spite of the fact that its epic plot and impressive special effects all take place within the space of less than a hundred and eighty pages.

Who has'nt seen the classic movie starring George Peppard(a fellow Michigan boy)? So you've got to read the book too! However, it is much different than the movie. In the book Bruno Shtachel is an alcholic for one thing, and most of his problems stem from that. I had to look long and hard to find a copy of this book and when I did I was suprised to find how different it was from the movie. Actually I would say that the movie is better but I would still highly recommend the book. It was finally reprinted again in 1996 in limited quantities so is more easily available. All WW1 aviation fans must and probably do have this book. Thats why its so hard to find.

Jack D. Hunter meticulously researched his WW1 novel about German ace pilots, their airplanes, and the fierce competition they employed in their quest for the country's highest military award, the "Blue Max." Vastly superior to the film by the same name, the novel features superb characterisation of its hero, Bruno Stachel, the alcoholic fighter-ace whose arrogance spells his undoing in the story's ending. Aviation buffs will delight in the wealth of detail about planes and tactics. The dialogue rings true and the plot is fast paced.

I felt the book was very well written by Jack Hunter and his WWI aviation sketches in the book were a very nice companion to the story. The movie of the same name is completely different from the book. In the novel Bruno Stachel is a moody alcoholic who quest for the medal of his dreams. He is even more ruthless and unpredictable than the actor George Peppard portrayed as the character in the movie. The Willie Von Kulgermann, Otto Hiedelmann and Katie Von Klugermann chcarcters are all there but have a different twist on them than the movie. The ending is (as you might expect) completely different from the film. If you are a fan of the movie and WWI aviation then definately buy and read the book for a perspective. I have always looked at the movie and story as a snapshot of what the Germans must have been going through in the Jastas in WW I. It is an easy read at 280 pages.

Tim Wendel's "Castro's Curveball" scores one for originality.

Taking either a common myth or a known fact about Fidel Castro's prospect as a baseball player, Mr. Wendel puts his readers into the heart felt journey of an old man's past; a past full of regret, remorse and lost love. A past, that with the help of his daughter Cassy, Billy Bryan may finally be able to put to rest.

As a old man, Billy Bryan will regret ever meeting the famed revolutionary Fidel. Especially when he has to revisit his memories of a lost love named Malena, and his glory days of playing "America's favorite pastime" in a country that is the antithesis of all that is pure, and free. But soon a change occurs. It is a change, much like real life, that comes with the help of others. Mr. Wendel makes us see that the things we most often dislike and oversee in life awake us to the good times we failed to enjoy and observe.

Mr. Wendel's goal for writing this book was, "What if?" What if Castro did try and go on to become a major league baseball player in the United States? Given that we have little or no information about him doing so, I think Mr. Wendel does a good job of offering us a possible outcome.

With lucid prose, a strong plot and intriguing characters, Tim Wendel makes "Castro's Curveball" a good catch!

Mr. Wendel has certainly driven one deep. This book is a great read, both in its storyline and also in Mr. Wendel's depiction of the Cuba that was, a delicious mix of beauty, deception, and unrest that would soon boil over and destroy the nation. Mr. Wendel does a great job in giving us Billy Bryan's perspective- a seventy-plus year old man, educated by the world and its cruel lessons. His narrative is simple, yet very insightful, and it struck a nerve. The baseball scenes are on the money, and Billy's true love, Malena, shows just enough of herself to make the reader want to know more. Castro,despite what others have said, gets about as much character analysis and development as he needs. Can anyone say "opportunist"? We see his type every day in the news. Again, Mr. Wendel has done a great job.

Tim Wendel is an excellent writer. I am not a baseball fanatic, but I certainly had more of an appreciation for the game after reading this well written, intriguing book. The writer's passion for baseball oozes out of every page. He also gives the reader an interesting tour of Cuba --its culture, history, politics, landscape and love of baseball. The whole premise of the book is creative and imaginative. Wendel is successful in making the reader believe that Fidel Castro really did had a wicked curveball that could have landed him in a major league baseball career if he hadn't been such a die-hard revolutionary. It was interesting to see an author tackle the challenge of writing a book of fiction about a current political figure like Fidel Castro. I will closely follow Tim Wendel's writing career and will be eager to read his next book.

"Promise of Glory" is a highly illustrative novel in many aspects. Moreau is particularily adept at character description and development and battle scene descriptions. It's almost as though he has battle experience himself. His accuracy and thoroughness are to be admired. Moreau's approach to describing the battle - the novel switches gears from one side to another and from one general to another - is particularily effective and keeps the reader turning the pages.

This isn't exactly a minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow description of the battle; it isn't meant to be. Rather it examines the vaious generals' thoughts and decisions - or lack thereof - all the while giving the reader what he needs to know about how and why the battle took place. For that alone it is worth the read. Moreau's dialogue - some fictional, some historically documented - is great and adds depth to the characters and battles.

A note to the tools who deride Moreau for his "similiarity" to Shaara: Instead of wasting your time writing hundreds of book reviews, of which at most *tens* of people will read, try and write a novel yourself and come up with a completely unique and new genre of writing style. Comparisions of Moreau's book to other Civil War writings are to be expected. But to more or less accuse Moreau of copying Shaara's writing style and characters shows you for what you really are: Trekkies who spend your time trashing others' work because you yourselves are more than likely failed authors.

If you are looking for a historical account of the Battle of Antietam this is not the book to read. If you are looking for a minute by minute, unit by unit account of this book, you are looking at the wrong book. This is a great novel on the men that fought the battle and the horrors of the battle. You see the battle through the eyes of many prominent civil war officers such as Lee, Longstreet, Jackson, Hood, McClellan Porter, Hooker, Burnsides and both the Hills. Moreau gives great descriptions of the battles and the men that fought in them. The nice thing is that this book isn't bias toward one side or the other. It's not another book written with the Lost Cause in mind, it shows the battle from both sides. There are similarities to the Killer Angels, Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, which is fine because those are all great books too. This book can squeeze into the trilogy as a good account of the battle of Antietam. I recommend this book to civil war buffs and anyone who is looking for a good book to read.

Moreau's command of the language is amazing. Few authors can so ably portray battle in such vivid detail. His depth of description offers the reader a front row seat to the scene. As an avid reader of historical fiction, I highly recommend this to fans of that genre. With all due respects to other authors of similar novels, I think it fair to say that this work is equitable in all respects. It would be quite unreasonable to claim one work more accurate than another since neither author actually was present at the time of the event. Rather different perspectives of one historical moment offers a variety of viewpoints, thus creating a more accurate composite of what took place in that setting. Enjoy!

THE UNDERGROUND MAN is my favorite Ross MacDonald novel. Lew Archer reaches his highest stage of development in this novel as he investigates a multigenerational mystery amid the southern California fire season. In my humble opinion, there has never been a finer mystery author, and THE UNDERGROUND MAN is MacDonald's finest book.

MacDonald is a master of the detective novel. His hard-boiled narrator Lew Archer talks the reader through a confusing tangle of relationships in a southern California setting. Fictional detectives tend to be a self-pitying lot, and Archer is no exception to this rule, but MacDonald makes him more of a philospher than a reader might expect. Yes, he is more complex than an ex-cop private dick is supposed to be, but that is why we love to read about life through his eyes. Grab this book, put on your hat, find a nice retro diner, buy a pack of Luckys, order up a strong cup of coffee, and be prepared to be amazed.

The Underground Man was the first Lew Archer novel I had ever read. I was 12 or 13 and was looking for something other than the Stephen King and Michael Crichton potboilers that were so popular at the time . Reading this book was an epiphany. Now, nearly 15 years later, and hundreds of PI novels later, I have discovered nothing that surpasses this series.

The thing I liked about what MacDonald did is he took all the traditional Hammett/Chandler plot points and character traits (later to become tired cliches when grabbed on by dozens of lesser writers) and made them fresh and relevant. All the authors that came after him, from Parker's Spenser to Grafton's Kinsey Millhone (who sometimes resembles a female Lew Archer) owe their livelihoods to MacDonald.

The Underground Man is particularly interesting. In it, the author combined a natural disaster ( a devastating wildfire in the Southern California hills) with the turmoil that has enveloped the family whose members he is investigating. Like most of the later Archer stories, he serves not so much as the investigator of wrongs than an emissary to untangle the complex and poisonous relationships of the characters and try to avert impending tragedy. He is not so much interested in "who did it" as much as finding out what circumstances caused the situation he is now mixed up in.

Please disregard the previous negative reviews of this book. It doesn't sound to me like they even read the bookvery carefully. They totally misinterpreted the character. Lew Archer is not the stereotypical hardened tough guy of zillions of pulp paperbacks. He is actually a sensitive softie, perhaps too soft for his own good on occasion ("down these mean streets this weeping man must go" as one wag put it).

The other characters, the female ones included, are neither overly virtuous nor utterly weak as the negative reviewers seem to believe. They are simply ordinary people caught up in a bad situation. Politically Correct (even though the term didn't even exist when the book was written) platitudes give way to a realism never seen before in a detective story. MacDonald transcended genre.

Lew Archer is above all a flawed romantic who tries to make sense of a senseless world. I think the world could use a few more Lew Archers. Both this character and his creator have been inspirational to me in more ways than I can count.

Highly recommended.

... I was required to read this book in school. Being biased against the tedious, coming-of-age novels that always seem to find themselves on my reading list for English class, I immediately labeled Cold Sassy Tree under the "dragging, bland, slow-moving" category. My viewpoints have changed since then. Cold Sassy Tree is a fast-paced, interesting novel about the coming-of-age of a fourteen-year-old boy named Will, who grows up in Cold Sassy, Georgia. A major family conflict sets off the cruel, small-town gossipers of Cold Sassy in the beginning of the book. As the books progresses, several smaller plots take place, which support the theme and thus complicate the story. There are some points in the novel where it seems that Will's family's reputation has gone to the dogs. In the end, however, everything works out and Will learns lessons about life, love, and dignity. For the romantic, Cold Sassy Tree covers the acceptnace of so-called "odd couples." For the religious, Cold Sassy Tree questions theological issues. And for teenage boys also coming of age, Cold Sassy Tree views life from the eyes of a fourteen-year-old (as well as comments on the opposite sex).

I read this book for school over the summer. Now that I've finished, I am so happy it was assigned. This was one of those books that you miss when your done reading.
It takes place in the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia in the early 1900s. The story is told by a 14 year old boy who has recently lost his best friend and his grandmother. Three weeks after his grandma's death his Grandfather announces that he is going to marry a young woman who is half his age. The family is embarrassed and the town is shocked. After almost a year the town and family starts to accept her the way she accepted them.
I wrote this review as a response to other reviews that I read on the site. Frankly, I was outraged by what some people had to say about this book. Someone claimed that the Grandfather raped his granddaughter and one of the boys friends raped his own sister. I don't know what version he read but that was not at all a part of the story!!! The woman the grandfather married tells that she was raped as a child but that was the only raping that went on in the book, and it was needed to explain why she was so afraid of marring and men. Another person said that a child getting whipped is "HORRIFYING" but that was part of the culture back then. People do not agree with it now but back then it happened all the time. There was also a touch of racism in the plot but again it was needed so that Olive Burns could accurately portray southern life in the early 20th. century.
This book was a joy to read and I cannot wait to get the 2nd. part Leaving Cold Sassy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Cold Sassy Tree is about a boy, his family, and a town growing out of the narrow-mindedness prevolent in society in the early 1900's. The talent of this writer to describe characters and their feelings is unparalleled. You can picture Grandpa's ranting and raving, as well as Will's mischevious face. I would not recommend this book to everyone. If you have never lost someone close to you, don't read it. You just won't understand. There is racism in this book, but it serves a purpose. The people of that time period felt that way. It was necessary for Burns to portray people in that manner to present a believable story. The odd thing is small towns today still have the same basic hierarchy and people's reactions to scandal aren't different from those of people who lived century ago. For Southerners who have strong family ties, or wish they did, this book is a must read. It is filled with tragedy, love, wisdom, and acceptance. Don't miss out.

Following in the tepid footsteps of Rebel is Cornwell's equally disappointing second tale of Nate Starbuck-a young Northerner who fights in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Starbuck is a very weak hero for Cornwell to hitch his Civil War series wagon to, and it's hard to care very much about his adventures. As in the previous book, comes across as more of a reflexively rebellious teenager than a heroic man of action. While it would have been interesting to see Starbuck really struggle with himself about the morality of his actions in joining the rebellion, the bulk of such internal conflicts are actually left to his best friend, Adam, who is a Southerner born and bred, and bullied by his father into uniform.

In this installment, Nate is drummed out of the "Faulconer Legion" by its commander, the vain, inept, and rich Gen. Faulconer, who hates him. This leads him to a Richmond prison cell, accused of being a Northern spy, all of which gets him enmeshed in the spycraft between the states. This rather conveniently dovetails with the activities of Adam Faulconer and Nate's own straight-laced brother. The spy material is rather interesting, with the appearance of real-life Alan Pinkerton as Union spymaster. The South's attempt to deceive the North as to its true manpower is particularly fascinating, and is portrayed by Cornwell as an element in their avoiding early defeat, along with Gen. McClelland's timidity.

While these semi-historical asides and speculations are interesting, the best part of the book is the walk-on cameo by a French Army observer Patrick Lésawn. Yes, he is the son of rifleman Richard Sharpe (hero of Cornwell's infinitely better Napoleonic series), and a vastly more compelling character than Starbuck. Indeed, one wishes Cornwell had decided to show the Civil War from within his eyes instead! Over the course of the book Starbuck displays a moral cowardice that makes him more and more unlikable, especially his pathetic treatment of his brother, when his brother reaches out to him. I'll continue the series in blind devotion to Cornwell, but these first two in the series are pretty weak.

'Copperhead' is the second in the 'Starbuck Chronicles' and it provides the reader with all we have to come to expect from author Bernard Cornwell. If you know Cornwell's writing, this novel will not disappoint, similarly if you have never heard of the name, I would encourage you make his acquaintance.

During the Civil War a Copperhead was generally held to be a Northerner who sympathised with the Southern cause. Within the pages of this book, although he is the son of a Boston abolitionist minister, Nathaniel Starbuck fights for the South. If you know your Civil War history - and that is no way a requirement for this novel - the action depicted within the pages of 'Copperhead' takes us from Ball's Bluff near Leesburg in Virginia to Gaines Mill close to Richmond. However, the main part of the novel takes Starbuck away from the battlefield and into the arena of espionage and deceit. The book also gives us an insight into the insecurities of the Northern generals, in particular McClellan and his 'spymaster' Allan Pinkerton.

There is no doubt that in Nate Starbuck, Cornwell attempts to create the heroics of Richard Sharpe (for those who don't know, Cornwell has written a whole clutch of novels about English rifleman Richard Sharpe who served both in India and the Napoleonic Wars). To some extend he has succeeded in this, although at times 'Copperhead' lacks the pace of some of the Sharpe novels. Nevertheless, I enjoyed 'Copperhead', it is in the main well written and informative and is without a doubt an entertaining read.

As a point of interest, although I'd recommend the reader to work his/her way through the series in order, it is not vital that you do this as each novel is self-contained.

As this book opens Starbuck is in trouble. He has just beem drummed out of the regiment on(false) charges of incompitance. So he travles to Richmond seeking help and too make matters worse he is frammed.

This is my favorite book in the serise. We are introduced to several new chacters
1. Gordon Swinyard(he grows on you)
2. Patrick Le'sawn(Richard Sharp's son)

I really enjoyed this book, you can always trust Cornwell to give you a good battle and to question your outlook on life as you are reading his books.

The Adventures of Auggie March is a difficult book to read, but when read slowly, it rewards your effort more than most books do.

Auggie is an odd character who meets a lot of other odd characters. During the course of his adventures, he learns a lot about the world, or says he does, but he's not good at applying what he learns to his own life, and he ends up in about as big a mess as he begins in. This is a little disappointing, but Auggie is not that sympathetic a character, so it's not as disappointing as it might be.

We learn a lot too. Saul Bellow studied sociology and anthropology, and he tells us a thing or two about the poor, and people who are down on their luck. At one point, Einhorn, Auggie's mentor, tells him: "Young fellows brought up in bad luck, like you, are naturals to keep the jails filled - the reformatories, all the institutions. What the state orders bread and beans long in advance for. It knows there's an element that can be depended on to come behind bars to eat it." Similarly informative passages, about business, love, the training of wild animals, etc., can be found by opening the book at random to almost any page. (In fairness, a good part of what's said is over-generalization or just not true, but still you're going to leave this book feeling pretty impressed by what the author knows.)

So why not five stars? For one thing, the writing doesn't exactly propel you from one page to the next. For another, the book is not very uplifting. You've heard of Man's Search for Meaning? This book comes very close to telling us that there isn't any. That's pretty hard to take.

"The Adventures of Augie March" is a coming-of-age story about a young man who grows up in a working-class Jewish neighborhood of Chicago in the first half of the 20th century. Augie is intelligent and articulate, but he seems to wander through life passively with no definite goals and not many interests. As the Depression hits, he is forced to postpone his academic pursuits in order to make a living, taking a wide variety of odd jobs, including stealing books, organizing labor unions, and working as a research assistant to an eccentric wealthy man writing a book about wealthy people. Eventually he decides to become a schoolteacher, but even this profession is relatively short-lived. The novel culminates in Augie's discovery that he must align himself with the "axial lines" of his life.

Augie's "adventures" consist mainly of his getting entangled in various affairs of his relatives, friends, girlfriends, and employers. These episodes range dramatically from his nearly getting caught by the police in a stolen car, to his accompaniment of his friend Mimi to an abortionist and her subsequent grave illness (probably a bold thing to write about at the time), to helping his girlfriend Thea train an eagle to hunt lizards in Mexico. (Thea finds, to her frustration, that she can train neither the eagle nor Augie.) This is a bizarre assortment of events, but the depiction of each is strangely realistic and unique.

The narration is masterfully constructed with Bellow's erudite prose and penchant for rich description. Reading this novel is challenging but ultimately rewarding.

As an author with my debut novel in its initial release, I am a great admirer of Saul Bellow. I think highly of all of his works, and I consider his ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH among his finest novels. To some degree, I suppose because of its title, I've always considered this book Bellow's 20th Century version of Mark Twain's 19th Century THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. Augie March has also consistently reminded me of Tom Jones (the Fielding character, not the Welsh singer). Bellow's novel follows the picaresque adventures of a young man searching for a worthwhile fate. His adventures are believable, honest, and often hilarious. THE ADVENTRUES OF AUGIE MARCH is a landmark of 20th Century American literature.

Dashing, one-dimensional, yet able to survive war AND a dysfunctional family, Starbuck guides us through the civil war. The action is gripping, fast and frequent (okay, even well written at times); however, it isn't enough to offset wooden characters and dialogue. The history and facts seem accurate and real; but the story is mind-candy. One is reminded of a TV-movie like "War and Remembrance" in which the character's superficial romances and personal tragedies serve as a rest stop between "Important Events." I nominate Chuck Norris for the TV-movie version of this book and series. A "4" for historical accuracy and above average action.

I continue to read and enjoy Cornwell's Civil War series. I do however, have problems with these books in two areas: 1) the same themes recur to the point of monotony; and 2) Cornwell is not all that competent historically.

With respect to the latter, he makes several errors in _Battle Flag_. These seem not so much due to ignorance, carelessness, or convenience, as to a desire by Cornwell to re-characterize history to fit his own prejudices.

For example, he attributes to Jackson an active role in troop management during the battles at Cedar Mountain and Second Manassas. The truth is quite the opposite; Jackson remained largely passive during both of those battles. That was one of his few notable weak points during the entire campaign.

Cornwell's treatment here is odd, in that he supposedly based the historical portions of this novel largely on John Hennessy's fine history, _Return to Bull Run_, which details Jackson's passivity during those battles at some length, calling his performance "mediocre".

If a bit of gratuitous generosity on Jackson's behalf can be excused, the unnecessary swipe Cornwell takes at Longstreet in the Historical Notes section is not so easily forgiven. Cornwell makes the statement that "Lee's victory might have been more complete had Longstreet attacked [sooner]." Hennessy explicitly expresses the opposite opinion: Longstreet and Lee independently choose the exact same moment for the attack, and it was at that precise moment when the Union forces were at their most vulnerable.

Cornwell is, in essence, another Jackson/Lee groupie who thinks all faults belong to Longstreet -- and he's willing to re-write history in order to advance his prejuduces. Stuff like that is fine for arguing about over beers, but it's dishonest.

Corwell's books are fun to read though.

"I think I died and went to hell. Maybe that's it Colonel. Maybe none of this is real. We're all in hell"

I cannot rate this book without talking about the brilliance of the whole series. Cornwell takes you from your reading room, and teleports you back to a simpler time. And you find out that it's not so simple. Set against the backdrop of the Eastern Theatre in the American Civil War, he portrays the massive carnage and greatest bravery in minute detail. You actually hear the cannons, and smell the rotting flesh of the wounded. Yet, the main plot does not take place amongst the gunfire outside. But, rather, within. It is a story of a soul, and his struggle with God, man, who he is, and what he stands for. Amidst the shouting, crying, blasting, and dieing...is a poor heart, searching for peace. I found Cornwell's protrayal of Nate Starbuck to be no less than perfect. I found myself rooting, questioning, hoping, and praying for this fictional character. For, I saw myself in Nate. The same questions, fears, and desires. When done, I walked away from this story with a different outlook on life, liberty, and what's truly important. As will you.

Hi am an eleven year old who has read this excellent novel titled "The Acorn People". The reason why this book was so good was because it gave you a chance to read about the struggles a handicapped kid has to go through everyday. This novel also makes you deep down inside cheer for one of the characters in the novel and it makes you feel like you too have to overcome all the obsticles the kids in the novel had to overcome as their camp days slowly came to an end. Even though the book had some happy points it also had some sad points. To me the ending was a little disturing. Yes, this novel is a true story which in some ways is very sad. Personally once I picked this book up I could not put it down. My favorite character was Benny because he was a speed demon just like me. He had no legs therefor his wheelchair took their place. Here are some names of the characters that you will learn to love: Dominic, Thomas Stewart (Spider), Benny, Martin, and Aaron Gerwalski (Arid). I advise people of all ages to read it so you to can live life through the eyes of a disabled child. One other thing that a personally did not like about the novel was that it was based on a boy's camp cabin. Yes, once or twice they talked about the girls but, not as often as I would have preferred but, do not let a minor reason like that shy away from the novel. I advise you to pick this bok up this book today at your nearest book stor, the library, or right here at Amazon Books online

After recommending a book called SEEDFOLKS to a colleague, she recommended THE ACORN PEOPLE to me. Though written many years back and almost impossible to find in most libraries or bookstores, it's one of those hidden treasures that can make you laugh and cry at the same time. It tells the story of a college stuent turned summer camp counselor who gets a job working with severely physically handicapped youngsters and, almost immediately, feels like going AWOL from this job because of the overwhelming odds. However, he soon discovers that they can teach him far more about life than he ever learned in a classroom. Just as a blind person usually has a far keener sense of hearing, these physically handicapped youngsters have a way of sharing their true personalities and strengths, producing some mini-miracles (actually maxi-ones) for each other as well as themselves. Wording in the book is superb, realistic, and not the least bit maudlin. When I finished reading it and noticed something I had previously missed--that the story was actually true--it made this book even more meaningful to me. Though a short work, it's impossible to read it without feeling its strong, positive impact. It helps all of us to be grateful for what we have and to also see how we can compensate for what we do not have. THE ACORN PEOPLE depicts a summer that none of the group would ever forget in their short lives and that will stay with the reader as an inspiration for what people can do when they bother--and have fun doing it at the same time. With the exception of one word that won't be found in the dictionary, this work is one that should be read (or at least heard) by everyone over the age of ten. It would make the world a better place.

Short but powerful. If you think that Ron's thoughts at the beginning of the book are stereotypical and negative, you are right. But this is a true story about the author's experiences, and that is actually what he thought. Contrary to popular belief, as time passed, he improved rather than got snotty. And just to clarify: the people at the camp did not make up Arid's nickname, he brought it himself, and he didn't mind it. If you expect the author of a non fiction book to change the theme to the happy and chipper one it never was, you should go read a third grade level fiction book. Thank you.