In my opinion, Trail of Tears is five star. The book is finely crafted with a vivid, poignant picture of a wonderful heroine, Laurel, who is caught in one of the most terrible events in our nation's history -- the forced removal of the Indians to the West. Showing the level of the Cherokee culture at New Echota and the hazardous journey of survival, Statham makes the events so real I had to wipe the dust from the soles of my feet, once I reached the west with the Cherokees. I have read this book 3 times and have gained new insights with each reading!

-the teaser on the front cover had it right. This was a wonderful novel. At first though, I hated the Bryon. He was so domineering and cruel to Aimee. And she just took it. She was so meek to him. However, she had this real inner strength about her and while I never really warmed to Bryon. I really felt for Aimee. I cried when I thought she should and her pain was mine. Don't let the fact that the heroine supports the Confederacy deter you. She is an alive and sympathetic character.

Romantic and sexy! If there is one fault, it's the cover art. Somebody didn't do their homework there! Brian Garrard, a UNION Army officer, is depicted in a CONFEDERATE uniform! The story itself is great! I highly recommend it!

I first read this book as a pre-teen and instantly fell in love with the characters. I read this book several times, before it was finally lost (who knows how!). As an adult, I spent years looking for this book before finally coming across a copy in a used bookstore just one block from where I was living. The story is that great that I spent so much time looking for it (before we had access to the internet!). This is a true gothic romance - Romance, Intrigue, Drama, Thrills, etc. etc. I highly recommend reading it if you can find a copy!

In this lively memoir, Buddy Stegall recalls his boyhood in a dirt-poor South Carolina community where men carried guns and frequently used them. The only child of a share-cropper, Buddy learned from his father how to plow a team of mules and shape a crosstie from an oak tree. But it was his mother who scrounged around for a way to send him on to college. She found a two-year college in the mountains of Georgia where he could work for his tuition. And after a stint in the Army (winning a Purple Heart) he continued his education on the GI Bill and eventually owned and operated a prosperous Heating and Air Conditioning Business in Birmingham, Alabama. Buddy tells his story with humor and humility. The last chapters deal with his love of golf, traveling, and his church. Although less appealing than the early chapters, they convey a true sense of a man who loved life in all its wonderful complexity.