This is a good, first hand account of the life of a Confederate soldier. Fletcher writes of only what he seen during the war. The only judgement he cast is upon his leaders actions at Gettysburg. This book will definitely change your perspective on the life of a common soldier.

William Fletcher isn't different from other soldiers be it outstanding or horrible, but he is the average Confederate soldier from Texas involved in many conflicts. When it comes to soldiering, he is brave and daring but not afraid to admit being scared as he is very honest in his chosen words. The best part of this book isn't the fighting as much as it is the daily life. For the person looking to gain further knowledge, Fletcher writes about his experiences firsthand. Coming up from Texas Fletcher is involved in the Seven Days Battle, 2nd Manassas, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Chickamauga campaigns. It was interesting to read about fighting in the 5th Texas, Company F and the thoughts that ran through Fletcher's mind at Gettysburg. The uncertainty, the horrors and the patriotism all wrapped into one was very rewarding to read about. His escape from Union hands was inspiring as he did what he could do to get back to Texas. This book is a must have for those seeking further knowledge and input from a soldier account. 5 STARS!!

William Fletcher isn't different from other soldiers be it outstanding or horrible, but he is the average Confederate soldier from Texas involved in many conflicts. When it comes to soldiering, he is brave and daring but not afraid to admit being scared as he is very honest in his chosen words. The best part of this book isn't the fighting as much as it is the daily life. For the person looking to gain further knowledge, Fletcher writes about his experiences firsthand. Coming up from Texas Fletcher is involved in the Seven Days Battle, 2nd Manassas, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Chickamauga campaigns. It was interesting to read about fighting in the 5th Texas, Company F and the thoughts that ran through Fletcher's mind at Gettysburg. The uncertainty, the horrors and the patriotism all wrapped into one was very rewarding to read about. His escape from Union hands was inspiring as he did what he could do to get back to Texas. This book is a must have for those seeking further knowledge and input from a soldier account. 5 STARS!!

The Voices of 1776 by Richard Wheeler is a
great reference book. The book begins with the out
brake of the Revolutionary War on April 19th
seventeen-seventy-five. The book has a collection
of different accounts of the major battles and campaigns of the war. It is an easy book to read and
entertains the reader. The book also has maps that are useful in seeing the layout of the battles. This
book is recommended to any American history
buff, or some one who just loves good reading.

This book is captivating even for non-"history buffs". I was so impressed by it that I ordered copies for several family members and friends and they rave about it. If the history books used in schools were even half this interesting we'd be a nation of history scholars. Having those who lived through it "tell" you what happened and how in such detail makes it a hard book to put down. It's the best 12 bucks you'll ever spend.

This excellent volume is yet another compendium of primary source material coupled with the excellent commentary and summaries by the author. It is enlightening, accurate, lively, and just a plain good read. It is also an excellent research resource for further study of the period.

The war is covered through a continuous drum roll of accounts of the participants, ranging from a lively description of a hanging, which, failing the first time because of a faulty rope, the unfortunate party was 'launched into eternity' on the second go round, through the accurate description of the worthless militia that 'ran like a torrent' at the first clash at Camden in 1780, leaving the stalward Maryland and Delaware Continentals to slug it out alone and outnumbered under their respected commander, Baron de Kalb, who, after finally falling with his eleventh wound of the action, saw his faithful Continentals ground to destruction by overwhelming numbers of enemy infantry and cavalry. Finally, in one of the best quotes in the book, a Virginia officer saw and heard Washington relieve Lee at Monmouth, in the midst of the retreat, and that the Commander-in-Chief 'swore till the leaves shook on the trees' and that the language used on Lee was both 'charming' and 'delightful.' It is also noted that the Virginia officer himself was a master of the profane.

What this volume does provide is an authentic record of the men who fought and won the Revolution, through incredible hardship and long odds. What they won can be captioned simply by what a British officer told a Quaker in Philadelphia, 'You have got a hell of a fine country here.'

We should all take that comment to heart. Reading this book will give the reader a renewed aprreciation both for what we have and what these soldiers and statesmen wrougt by their dedication and sacrifice. This book is highly recommended.

I discovered Richard Wheeler a month ago. What a great discovery! He's an intelligent novelist who develops rich characters and weaves his narrative into the history of the old west. He educates and entertains.

Sun Mountain is an excellent read and strongly recommended. Learn about Virginia City, Nevada during its heyday. And what a heyday it had! Its roots are solidly in the pre-railroad days when everything had to be hauled hundreds and hundreds of arduous miles over the Sierras from California during the early days of that state. Then came the railroads and transformed Virginia City, as they transformed every town they touched. Wheeler instructs the reader on the Comstock Lode and the technological innovations developed there that changed mining around the world. He deftly covers the full gamut of human nature and existence in such a place at such a time.

If you have yet to read a Richard Wheeler novel, Sun Mountain is an excellent place to start.

The book says the author was Richard S.Wheeler. The real Author was a man by the name of Dickey Dey. For many years he was the private secretary of Mr. John Mackay.

This really an interesting report on the working of Virginia City and more about the people and characters that lived there than it is about mining.

A must read for all fans of the Comstock Lode.

At last: a historical novel with a sense of humor. Undeniably acknowledged as a master storyteller and flawless in his knowledge of the historical West, Wheeler fully unveils yet another talent from his already amazing repretoire: humor. While the real stars of Sun Mountain are the Virginia City's silver mines, narrator Henry Stoddard nearly steals the show with his sly perceptions of the city's inhabitants and his inept campaign to leave bachelorhood in a near womanless town. His search to find true love and the city's innovations to unearth its riches made me smile-one with affection, the other with admiration.

This is by far the best Fender book I have. It is very well written, and it makes for some good reading. He doesn't only describe the great things about Fender but the bad things and mistakes as well.

This is a very un-biased book and it's very nice to read. The pictures in this book are awesome, and this is only one of the books I have that I trust the facts on. Kudos to Mr. Smith!

I have a half dozen books on the Fender company and this is by far the best. The typical vintage guitar book serves two functions. It gives information on the history of the instrument - guides to production dates, etc. In addition there are usually lots of pictures for lovers of vintage instruments to salivate over ("guitar porn" as I've seen it described before). This book delivers in that regard, but does not stop there.

It goes on to serve as an excellent study of a small business struggling to survive and then coping with its own success. I found it hard to put down. Even though I knew the outcome, I found myself carried along with the story. Enough "insider detail" is provided to reveal character and move the "plot," but not enough to bog the book down. The book also serves as the best biography of Leo Fender that I have read. He is revealed as an inspired man with significant flaws. Importantly, "revealed" is the operative word here. Smith generally does not preach or make pronouncements. He describes actions and quotes interviews. The reader is left to his own conclusions.

Smith does a great job of telling us who Leo Fender really was: a simple man with a complex mind. The pages of this book are loaded with lots of interesting stories and facts about the man who developed the solid-body electric guitar. Not always complimentary, yet never vicious. An honest presentation of the man who provided the tools that helped create rock-and-roll. Obviously well-researched with many great photos of Fender and his "offspring".

This book is an excellent collection of research papers on mobility, and it serves as a good introduction on the topic as well as a reference for new work. It stands out for three reasons: (1) Its breadth - it covers all important aspects of mobility in a single volume. (2) Its depth - it pulls together papers from many different sources, including major conferences, but also hard-to-find, yet ground-breaking papers. (3) Its commentary - both by the authors and by the individual researchers (in the form of afterwords).

1) The three areas covered - although they have similar problems with similar solutions - are rarely presented together. 2) The editors have selected a nice cross-section of papers from the three areas, and 3) The editors make some key points about and draw some key parallels between the three areas in the introductions and summaries.

This book presents an excellent collection of papers describing various forms of mobility. It would be useful for a wide variety of technical professionals. This would also be an invaluable resource for students and researchers who plan to work in this increasingly important area. The unique feature of this book is the width of its coverage. It covers all the important papers I can think of.

Richard S. Wheeler's Skye's West: Rendezvous and his character Barnaby Skye...eh, make that Mister Skye! offers a reading treat for anyone who wants something out of the ordinary with their adventures.
Besides providing a good story Wheeler's writing is grown-up good as it leads us into an historical realm and offers a well- crafted look, convincing dialogue, and characters who breathe.
It's easy to see why Wheeler has won the SPUR Award for his western writing and easy enough for a reader to be spurred on with his stories.
There's only a handful of talented writers in this genre out there and Wheeler is one of them.

This is a good read, with a lot of historical facts mixed in with the fiction. It describes life in the wilderness of the Northwest in what is now the United States, and the struggles people faced just to survive. Has a good story line and keeps your interest. This is the first of the Barnaby West novels I have read and I would like to read more books about this character, if I could just figure out which one I should read next. I can't find anything that gives me any indication of which book in the series comes next.

From the time that Skye deserts the British vessel holding him captive to his meeting with the mountain men and Indians, I was held captive and felt as if I took each step into this new world with him. Mr. Wheelers use of historical facts and people, ie: the Hudson Bay company, Jim Bridger etc. just added to the overall effect of the story. I feel as tho I have gained a little more insight into the way the early trappers lived and faced death on a daily basis.

I will look forward to reading his previous novels on Mister Skye -i backward order to see just where he went from this point on. Anyone who enjoys the historical novel will enjoy this one. Thanks for a trip into the past!

Once again Richard Wheeler thrusts us into the turbulant world of Mountain man, Barnaby Skye and his two Indian wives, Victoria and Mary only this time the story takes a more familiar twist. All's not well in the Skye household and change for the worse and better is afoot.
Victoria has had enough and leaves the morose Skye and like the other books in this series that's only the beginning of an epic adventure.
There's enough action and adventure for any man while offering something substantial for the ladies as well. This book's about salvaging their lives and expectations and finding some scarred redemption in the hard fought process.
Wheeler tells a good story. You won't be disappointed.

Richard Wheeler, who has created some of the most memorable characters in all the literature of the American West, has outdone himself--and everybody else--with Barnaby Skye, Rocky Mountain trapper, guide and adventurer and late of His Majesty's Royal Navy. In Skye, Wheeler has outdone Frederick Manfred and Vardis Fisher and giving us a mountain man to remember. There are a dozen novels in the Skye series--beginning with SUN RIVER in 1989--so the reader who has yet to discover this Horatio Hornblower of the early West has an enviable treat in store. And, thankfully, DARK PASSAGE is not the last in the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, very classy. The book is a story of courage, decency, and integrity. It's nice to finally find an author who can write an adult story without having "adult" material. I intend to read more of Wheelers' writings. I trust his other novels are as brilliantly written.

This was the first book I read by a male author. I usually read Historial Romance by women authors. This book was very well written with good discriptions of characters, made you feel like you knew them. It was a book that i could not put down. I can not wait to read the rest of the Sam Flint series. Although I would not consider this an actual Romance novel it was filled with all the things of the West and how courage over came problems and how one mans love for a women had him doing what was in her best intrest instead of his own.

This book was a very quick read, as I have found all of Mr. Evans' books to be. While at times the writing did seem a little lengthy and the plot contrived, I very much appreciated the message behind this book (and all of his books, for that matter). This latest work was indeed a quick read, as I finished it in two readings. The story is quite enjoyable although at times I kept mentally picturing Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal (albeit in reversed roles) as Faye and Michael. The book gave me pause as I reflected on Esther's comments on old age and how certain decisions in one's life can indeed be pivotal experiences.

This is a must-read for fans of Mr. Evans and it shall receive a place of honor in my library next to the "Christmas Box" series I own. Read and enjoy!

I have heard of Richard Paul Evans, but have never read his books until now. I recieved The Locket in a fed ex package from my step-daughter. I read it in one night. Start to finnish. The Locket is a story of a longing heart and a yearn for love. It is a story of valuing every moment of your every day life. Is about the enduring qualities of hope and forgiveness. When I read the last page I was left in awe. The book has changed me. For anyone who has experienced the redemption of love, you will identify with this book. The Locket is the best book I've read in years, and since reading it, I have put all of Evans' books I've missed at the top of my Christmas list.

This is the only book I've read by this writer, but I will definitely read more of his books. It is a very well written and beautiful story. I couldn't stop reading it once I started. It is also a very quick read because of the brief chapters and the way that it is organized. Although it was a quick book to read and a fairly simple story, I still felt I had been challenged in thought by the time I finished the book. I also had a good cry in the end. Can't wait to pick up another of his books.