Shades of Gray

Book Description

COURAGE WEARS MANY FACES

The Civil War may be over, but for twelve-year-old Will Page, the pain and bitterness haven't ended. How could they have, when the Yankees were responsible for the deaths of everyone in his entire immediate family?

And now Will has to leave his comfortable home in the Shenandoah Valley and live with relatives he has never met, people struggling to eke out a living on their farm in the war-torn Virginia Piedmont. But the worst of it is that Will's uncle Jed had refused to fight for the Confederacy.

At first, Will regards his uncle as a traitor -- or at least a coward. But as they work side by side, Will begins to respect the man. And when he sees his uncle stand up for what he believes in, Will realizes that he must rethink his definition of honor and courage.

Customer Reviews:

Bob's Shades of Gray Review.......2006-02-11

This book is a book about a young man named Will he lived in virgina with his parents when one night his parents didnt return so he left to live with his anut and uncle. when he got there the they were there with opens arms and they hade a big dinner and the next day the work began in the morning he left with his uncle to go walk the trap line when he got back this uncle took a shower as Will help this anut make dinner after about 3 weeks of the same thing he met his cousin Cindy and she didnt know how to read and when he got a letter from his dad and Cindy was cleaning the house and pick up the note to clean and Will thought she was readin the note and he fliped out on her and then he figured out that she couldnt read. Well 2 weeks later his dad came to pick him up and he live happy ever after then died

Quirky Reviews Inc........2005-05-14

In school when we first started reading Shades of Gray I was bored from the start. It's plot is uninteresting and dull followed by events that make you feel strong dislike towards the main character. Will (the main character)is unlikable even by the most accepting of readers and will make you want to cry at him in frustration. This book takes place after the Civil War when had North won the war.Will is a boy that has no parents or relatives except his uncle and his family who didn't fight in the war at all. Will believes his uncle is a traitor and be's rude and unaccepting to him. The ending in very predicable after even the first few chapters of the book. Will eventually warms up to his uncle and stays with him and his family. A truly disappointing read.

Shades of the Civil War.......2004-05-18

Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reder is a wonderful book of learning how to respect people. Will's family has died. His mother died of a sickness, as did his sisters. His brother and father died in war. He moves in with the closet relatives he has, his Aunt and Uncle Jed. Will doesn't respect his uncle because he wasn't in the Confederate Army, but he wasn't in the Union Army either. Will thinks of his uncle as a traitor and doesn't want anything to do with him. As time goes by, Will learns that just because you weren't in the war, doesn't mean you aren't brave.

good book for boys or girls.......2004-05-18

Shades of Grey is an excellent book. It is about a boy whose dad and his brothers go to fight in the war and end up getting killed. Also his sisters died because of malnutrition and his mom died of depression. So Will had to go live with his aunt. But he doesn't want to because his uncle refused to fight in the war. One element that I noticed a lot was flashback. Will kept remembering how his life was so different when he lived in Winchester.

Shades Of Gray.......2004-05-13

When Uncle Jed glanced up, Will reddened guiltily and stepped inside the toolshed to look for a hoe. Since he had often watched Fred tend their small garden while he listened to the tales and fables the old slave loved to tell, he didn't think he'd have any trouble working around the roots of the plants and chopping out the weeds.
In Carlyn Reeder's novel Shades of Gray, Will, a boy around twelve years old, is left with his Uncle Jed, his Aunt Ela, and his cousin Meg. This is the only family Will has left because his father and Charlie were killed by the Yankees and his mother and sisters died of a disease. There, Will must learn how life is as a country man with no slaves and must except the fact that his Uncle had refused to fight for the Confederacy.
This book would be great for people that live in a rural area. This is because Will has to learn to live the life of a farmer. After the Civil War ended, Will had left to go to his new house, he later received a letter and must decide if he wants to stay with his Uncle or live with a man named Doctor Martin.

Average customer rating:

Shades of Blue made me Yellow with glee
"An Uplifting Novel"
Those Gray Areas
Except The Lord Build The House, They Labor In Vain That Build It.
Awesome....Fresh....original....

Shades Of Gray
Jacquelin Thomas
Manufacturer: Steeple Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0373785534

Customer Reviews:

Shades of Blue made me Yellow with glee.......2006-05-15

Thomas delivers a great story. This book is a page turner. The plot is fresh although it becomes predictable after the foretold death of the main characters husband. What makes the book so beautiful is the depth of revelation into the main character Sela as she deals with the situation at hand. The moral and spiritual lessons are priceless close to exceptional but not quite still run out and buy this one it's a keeper. Shades of Gray could receive nothing less than a Silver rating.

"An Uplifting Novel".......2006-05-13

I always shed a tear when I read Ms. Thomas' novels, and this one is no exception. Her books make you think about things we take for granted. Everything about this novel was excellent. Ms. Thomas keep up the exceptional work.

Those Gray Areas.......2006-03-22

Title: Shades of Gray
Sela Barnes and her husband Rodney enjoyed a wonderful marriage, good relationships with their six children and a beautiful home. The only thorns in their side were Rodney's parents who refused to accept Sela as part of their family because Sela is African American and Rodney is White.

The book opens with Sela and Rodney renewing their vows for their
twentieth wedding anniversary at their new big, beautiful home
surrounded by family and friends. This would be their last milestone together as Rodney is soon diagnosed and succumbs to a condition called congestive cardiomyopathy, a disease that is hereditary.

Knowing that her life will forever be changed due to the death of her husband did not stop Sela from trying to make peace with her in-laws because she promised Rodney she would. Sela was constantly having a battle of words, wits and wills with her in-laws until her oldest daughter and son sat down with Sela and their grandparents to voice their opinion about how they treated each other. Ultimately it was Sela's decision to return to the God of her youth and depend on His strength so that she was able to make it each day after the passing of her husband and to finally make amends and become a true family.

I enjoyed this beautifully written novel by Jacquelin Thomas, but I still had questions when I was finished such as what was it really like to be an African American woman married to a White man in the South? The book takes you through the emotional struggles of dealing with grief from Sela's point of view, what her children did to cope and how she helped them, but it was not until the end of the book that I found out that it is not about race. It was about those gray areas in our lives that transcend the color line and is covered in a multitude of love.

Reviewed by Sharel E. Gordon-Love
APOOO BookClub

Except The Lord Build The House, They Labor In Vain That Build It. .......2006-02-27

In Shades of Gray Ms. Thomas' portrayal of the challenges of the Barnes family brings the reader face to face with the magnitude of the power of unresolved issues.

Throughout the pages you will come to know the love and trust Rodney Barnes has for and in God. The same reverence is seen in his children who range from five to twenty years in age. It is his wife Sela who worships from afar.

After twenty years of marriage and six beautiful children the gap between Sela and her in-laws has only widened. When tragedy strikes it is the truth of Psalm 127:1 (Except the Lord build the house), that is put to the test. Beset by pressures seemingly unbearable Sela initially reacts out of her pain. Words of love and truth spoken by her children and those from the journal of her husband are tools used to chip away at the cell walls holding her hostage to the pains of her past and present.

The story is not one unfamiliar to us whether it is a personal encounter or one experienced by those we know. It is the manner in which Shades of Gray is written that causes one to examine where they are at in personal relationships, (with God and others).

I commend Ms. Thomas for gifting the reading world with a novel that speaks to the truth of what a godly family should be and our responsibility to stand firm and to fight to retain the legacy for future generations.

Linda F. Beed, D.R.Ed
On Assignment Reviews

Awesome....Fresh....original...........2006-02-23

Jacquelin Thomas is a phenominal author. She has definitely crossed over to show that Love is not black or white, but shades of gray. She has written a riveting story of how we all have to make changes and that GOD is in control of our lives whether we think so or not. Sometimes we wait too long to see the error of our ways and through children, Adults can also learn.
Proverbs 22:6 states to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Sela Barnes has and is raising some wonderful children and she should be very proud, from the youngest to the oldest, they know who GOD is and they are strong and more help then she actually can imagine. Her and Rodney have been married 20 years and you would think that by now her in-laws would be used to her, but see whenever you allow things to go on and you don't consult GOD years fly by and lost time is just that,you never know who you will need in your life. Rodney is the love of Sela's life and the apple of his mommas eye, but I think Rodney could and should have done more to decrease the gap between the family. Sela and Ethel have to deal with difficult situations and Sela realizes that once she has released the past and allow to GOD to work, he will use who and what he wants to bridge the gap and find a common ground for all involved. This story has some great moments, some sad moments and some angry moments, but it all has to come together, because you don't get to choose who is in your family and who you love. You also see where a lose can also bring about a gain. Rodney is a sweetheart though, planning so far ahead and he just prepared so much for his family, his love for Sela and the children was genuine. Ms Thomas can do a sequel with the children and also it is going to be time for Sela to move on - she is still young. Also Jay and Ayanna will have a story to tell I am sure and it is great that they are grounded and in the LORD! Excellent writing...

Peacekeeping on the Plains: Army Operations in Bleeding Kansas (Shades of Blue and Gray)

Average customer rating:

Highly recommended

Peacekeeping on the Plains: Army Operations in Bleeding Kansas (Shades of Blue and Gray)
Tony R. Mullis
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0826215351

Book Description

In Peacekeeping on the Plains, Tony R. Mullis details the military concerns associated with peace enforcement in Kansas and the trans-Missouri West. By drawing on diverse sources, including official army correspondence, personal papers of key military and political leaders, and local accounts of army activities, Mullis shows how peace operations were conducted by the U.S. Army long before the second half of the twentieth century. He also presents a thorough analysis of the professional dilemmas confronted by army officers, as well as the delicate command and control issues associated with the different types of peace operations.

Customer Reviews:

Highly recommended.......2004-08-08

Peacekeeping On The Plains: Army Operations In Bleeding Kansas by Tony R. Mullis (Assistant Professor of History, United States Air Force/Air Command and Staff College, Montgomery, Alabama) examines a violent microcosm of American history that served as a precursor to the civil war. Examining the useage of the army to conduct police and peacekeeping duties in the newly formed Kansas and Nebraska territories, Peacekeeping On The Plains offers a meticulous analysis of facts and records, regarding the true story of human greed, desperation, ruthlessness, and military efforts to contain potential riots with a strictly scholarly tone. Highly recommended, especially for American history and reference shelves.

Average customer rating:

My first Ashley book.
Could have been really good.
The devil's in the detail...
Save Your Money!
Didn't like it.

Shades of Gray (Paranormal Romance)
Amanda Ashley
Manufacturer: Love Spell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0505522438

Customer Reviews:

My first Ashley book........2007-08-05

I found Shades of Gray to be extremely marginal. I found myself skipping over sections, which I rarely do. The Grigori was yet again another typical vamp, a gorgeous mysterious dead old guy falling for a sweet young thing, in this case Marissa. There was nothing about Marissa that explains why she was the one to evoke his long dormant passions, unless it was that she didn't immediately fall in bed with him. On top of that, when the wife that he's grieved for and tried avenge for centuries ends up being still alive, he picks Marissa. I was hoping that Marissa would smarten up and choose the vampire hunter instead. I admit I may be a little bit jaded since I read 5-6 books a week, but there are definitely much better vampire romances out there. Save your money on this and use it to buy one of those instead.

Could have been really good........2006-08-05

I really liked the way this book started. I was hooked with the 2 vampires pitted against each other, but as I read, I began to realize the heroine, Marisa, had some problems. For me, anyway. It seemed that this book had two perspectives. It would be zipping along and was a pretty good vamp novel. Then out of the blue, Marisa would do something that made the book seem like something out of Sweet Valley High. Example, even though she goes on and on about not getting close (you know what I mean) with him because Grigori is one of the Undead, she does what every 12 year old girl has done. She imagines herself as Mrs. Grigori whatever or Marisa Chiavari. I had to laugh. Marisa also decided to become a vampire, but only after she did a whole list of stuff first. Stuff like going on vacation, visiting mom and the relatives, etc. What's with that?? My other big complaint was that she had a family that she was close to. Usually, in books where the heroine joins her beloved as one of the Undead, she doesn't have any ties or family. This one did and as I mentioned before, wanted to visit them one more time. She really liked Christmas, too. I think that probably isn't a big holiday in the vampire world. These 2 even got married in church. Come on, he would have fried if he had even tried to enter the door. Let's be realistic. Marisa was just to schizy to be a believable heroine in a serious vampire book. Now, a comedy she would be perfect for.
I did like the vampire hunter, Ramsey. He was neat and his outcome made me smile.
This book would have been good if the author had ramped it up a notch and made up her mind. Either it's a vamp novel with all the bad stuff that goes along with that or it's a teen novel. You can't have it both ways.

The devil's in the detail..........2006-07-07

When I started reading this book I thought I was going to enjoy it. I really liked the author's style of writing. It was light, breezy, friendly and easier to digest than a spoonful of honey. The dialogue between the characters was natural, too, lending an air of reality to what might have been an implausible storyline. However, I soon discovered that although the writing had style and appeal, the story and plotline were severely lacking. There were two major problems that stood out: excessive excruciating, pointless detail, and credibility gaps.

Unfortunately, the author felt the need to describe every irrelevant feature in PAINFUL detail. Everything every character ever wore, right down to socks and shoes, was described. I am not exaggerating. Every time the characters got dressed or changed, which was once or twice a day, we learnt exactly what clothes they put on. Every time a character entered a scene, their attire was described. Even the person who greeted customers at the door to a restaurant, who was in the book for one paragraph and was irrelevant, had her clothing described in painful detail. And then there was the food and beverages. The characters in the book almost never stopped eating or drinking, and every single morsel or millilitre that they put in their mouths was described. Even in the middle of the action scenes (which were few and far between) they would stop to eat and drink, or to take note of what everyone else was wearing in full detail. No matter how urgent the situation, there was always still time for gluttony or clothing inventories. I was glad when the characters travelled back through time to 18th century Italy, without taking food or a change of clothes with them, because I thought, finally, they'll stop eating and changing clothes every five minutes. WRONG! Even in the middle of a rural peasant farming field they managed to find a cafe serving coffee and pastries and stopped to eat there, even though three of their number were missing, possibly dead, and there was a killer on the loose. Then, next thing you know, the hero had found them all a change of clothes, which we got to hear all about, and they all went out to yet another cafe. And everything else in the book was described in unnecessary, boring detail too. Every time someone did housework (which was surprisingly often) it was described in great detail, right down to the folding of clothes and carpet scrubbing methods. Housework is boring enough to do...it's even worse to read about! Furthermore, at one point you are literally given the entire life story of one of the office girls the heroine works with, for no valid reason. That character had maybe one line in the whole book, and had no bearing on the plot, so why tell us everything about her life and family? Everything the heroine bought when she shopped was also detailed, and it was all dull. And when people weren't eating, changing clothes or shopping, they were sleeping, or talking on the phone about nothing much at all, and not a detail of this was left out. I wanted to tear my hair out, it was so boring! And the heroine drunk coffee on almost every page. I am surprised she ever slept at all, and wasn't climbing walls. And then there were the furnishings and floorplans. Every item of furniture, every lamp, every architectural nuance of every building the characters entered, was described in full, for no reason. Aargh!

Then there were the logic gaps, the things that made me go "Huh? What? Why?" Like when the heroine denied that vampires existed, then suddenly and for no apparent reason changed her mind. Or when, within half a page of the hero Grigori finding out that his beloved wife Antoinette, whom he thought died 200 years ago, was still alive, he completely forgot about her and made a move on the heroine, Marisa. Or when Antoinette woke up from a trance she had been under since Grigori last saw her 200 years ago, and even though the last thing she remembered was being happily married to Gregori, she took the news that he had moved on and found a new lover, and had become a vampire who had also turned her into a vampire, and that time travel existed, all without arguing, acting surprised or asking questions. In fact, she accepted it all with no more reaction than a nod of her head. Say what? Or when Antoinette, who only ever lived in rural Italy and had no education, spoke only in perfect English. Then there's the way that every time anyone switched on the tv or opened a newspaper, it was always coincidentally to a story about the 'vampire killer'. Did they subscribe to the 'Vampire Killer Channel' or something? It was too coincidental. And there's the fact that Gregori, who was a vampire, was said to have cold flesh, and yet later on was described as having warm skin and a warm embrace. Also, even though he only slept during the day, this was said of him: 'he had dreamed of her last night'. Night? And then there's Ramsay, the vampire hunter. He was said to have over twenty years of experience in killing vampires, and yet he was weak and wimpy and useless at it. He was so inept it was pitiful! And on the day that Grigori's wife was killed, Grigori did not seem upset, but went out to dinner and the ballet with her killer, and a fun time was had by all. Say what? And as for Grigori, well, he's supposed to be irresistible to women, but I could have resisted him. He was dull, dull, dull. Another thing that didn't make sense was when Marissa was deciding who to invite to her wedding, and seriously contemplated inviting Ramsay, who had just tried to kill her fiance not once but twice. What lengths does a person have to go to NOT to be on her invitation list? Was she that hard up for friends that she had to invite mortal enemies? Also, Grigori had the power to read Marisa's mind...but if that's the case then why did he need to ask her as many questions as he did, or any at all? And if the villain was as wicked and powerful as he was made out to be, why was he so ineffectual, and so seldom encountered? Furthermore, if vampires are affected by crosses and holy water and the like, how is it that Gregori could marry Marisa in a church with no problems? And so the list goes on...

If you like monogamous couples, you're probably going to dislike the hero and heroine, since the hero has a wife for half of the book, whom he cheats on (I don't care if she was a revenant, she was still alive and married to him) and the heroine goes out on dates with Ramsay and even kisses him in between seeing Grigori. However, if you don't like smut and you don't believe in premarital relations then this may be the book for you. The couple do nothing more than occasionally kiss until the last twenty pages. Several times you think they're about to go further, but then they always just end up going out to a cafe and eating instead, or something like that. They finally get it on after they're married, right at the end of the book, but it's dull and brief, so brief that if you blink you'll miss it. If you're a Christian you might well approve of this, because the characters have very Christian values and often go to church. But if you don't like boring, overlong books, you might not be so keen after all. This writer has a lot of potential, if she can just learn to get to the point, cut out the filler, and think through the logic flaws. But until then, I ain't reading any more of her books.

Save Your Money!.......2006-02-09

I was disappointed with this book:

In my opinion, Marisa wasn't a believeable person. She was a person with no physical flaws, a 20-something year old VIRGIN, and an icon of the "good girl". Grigory was too nonchalant. Even though he loved her, Grigori hardly any showed jealousy or aggression when he knew Edward wanted her. The ending was awry: Alexi, enemy of Grigori and a seemingly all powerful vampire, is killed in one stab by a mere mortal mortal.

How powerful is that?

Didn't like it........2005-02-21

This had to be the worst vampire romance i ever read, but then again i am use to Christine Feehan and Linda Lael Miller or "Dark" series, Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Dark Hunter books, so maybe im wrong it just wasn't a book i sat down and got interested in i found myself skipping pages and when you got to do that it's not really worth reading there was way to many fillers in it, i wont go into all the things i did not like or i would have to tell the whole story.

Shades of Gray: Memoirs of a Prussian Saint on the Eastern Front

Average customer rating:

Don't waste your money
Open your eyes to a different view of events
People should be baptized
MORMON PROPAGANDA
Response to Review

Shades of Gray: Memoirs of a Prussian Saint on the Eastern Front

Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0974015822
Release Date: 2005-02-23

Book Description

This book is the memoirs of a German caught up in the events of World War II. As an artillery spotter on the Eastern Front, Art Naujoks survived Stalingrad, and the horrors of being trapped behind enemy lines. As a Mormon, he was subject to ridicule and contempt from the German public. But when it came time to serve his country, right or wrong, Art stepped up to do his duty. In this remarkable memoir, Art Naujoks details his battlefield engagements, injuries, and his tremendous will to live through the nightmare of the Eastern Front.

Customer Reviews:

Don't waste your money.......2007-08-01

This book is worthless as a history of the battles of the eastern front. There is no real descriptions of what the author experienced as a soldier. The book only talks about his retreating from the front. I can't believe this book has such a high rating.

Open your eyes to a different view of events.......2007-05-09

This book should make you question sterotypes about the German physche at the time of World War II. It's way too easy to judge the past using the values of the present. This book provides a different view of history, in that it tells the story of a poignant period of history through the eyes of someone who was there, and wasn't on the side of the victor. Arthur Naujoks is clearly not so different to you and I and his story forces you to think about what you might have done had you been born into that place and time. Very moving. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

People should be baptized.......2007-04-11

People who are enthusiastic about the dogs of war should spend time in the kennel. This work of non-fiction, while not preachy or sententious, opens the gate to the kennel wherein the dogs of war are savagely tearing each other to bits. It is not a judgement or a sermon. It is, rather, an insight into reality--sans drums and flags and glory (presumptive).

Just blood and guts (spilled) and pain and misery and, oh yes, hunger and lice. And lest we forget, stupidity of the IIC (Idiots In Charge). There are always, it seems, at all times in all climes, Idiots in Charge, at the higher or highest levels.

Maybe, at most times, in most climes, a prerequisite for being in charge is idiocy. And a heartfelt disregard for those who bleed.

MORMON PROPAGANDA.......2007-01-20

I have relatives and friends who were on both sides of WWII - including
a real East Prussian veteran in New York state - but this book has to be unique in a quirky sort of way. Mormonism has acquired the numbers to be
(to some degree) acceptable in the US, but in Europe it is still regarded
as a non-Christian cult (perhaps anti-Christian is a better term, since
the founder, Joseph Smith, regarded the Christian denominations around him as an "abomination"). So I feel for the author. He got suckered twice -once by the Nazis and once by American "missionaries."
Those who are interested in this new approach to proselytization may want to see the movie, Saints and Soldiers, which depicts the superior
spirituality of the Mormons in a western front setting.

Response to Review.......2006-08-09

Mill Creek Press is a micro-publisher that publishes books manufactured by BookSurge, an Amazon.com company. Recently, BookSurge has been undergoing a move to a new location in Charleston, SC. The move was necessary to cope with the explosive growth of BookSurge in the last two years. Occasionally, during this move, a POD book as been shipped that didn't meet BookSurge's normal quality control standards. Please be patient, and if you do happen to get a book with pages falling out, kindly return it to BookSurge for a replacement. The new address will be available on the BookSurge website shortly (www.booksurge.com), if it is not already posted. Thank you for your cooperation and patience during this move. Mill Creek Press

From Home Guards to Heroes: The 87th Pennsylvania And Its Civil War Community (Shades of Blue and Gray Series)

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My Review of From Home Guards to Heroes
Untold Story

From Home Guards to Heroes: The 87th Pennsylvania And Its Civil War Community (Shades of Blue and Gray Series)
Dennis W. Brandt
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0826216803

Customer Reviews:

My Review of From Home Guards to Heroes.......2007-09-15

From Home Guards to Heroes is a thoroughly researched, creative, and engaging history of the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry and the primary location from which its members came, Adams and York Counties, Pennsylvania. (Reviewer's disclosure: my great-great-great uncle, Daniel P. Reigle, was a member of Company F of the 87th, leading to my personal interest in this unit.)

The foundation of this book is Brandt's extensive research: U.S. census records, nearly 2000 Compiled Military Service Records, and over 1000 pension files for 87th Pennsylvania members, in addition to those records for over 800 men from the Adams/York areas who enlisted in other units in 1861. This study yields descriptive data on the 87th and comparative data relative to men in other units on factors such as their professions, age, physical characteristics, age at death, life expectancy, American-born and foreign-born, and their personal worth in personal property and real estate at the time they enlisted. The data on 1861 enlistments (both 87th and other units) is presented with the 1860 Lincoln vote for each of the fifty-five townships and boroughs in the two counties.

The quantitative research is complemented by extensive use of newspapers, including not only major city newspapers, but the local newspapers in the Gettysburg, York, and Hanover, important for understanding the political landscape and personalities in the area. For example, in addition to the rich contemporary information yielded by those newspapers, this research also yielded the valuable recollections by Michael Heiman in the York Gazette in 1891-1892. Further, Brandt has made use of any available manuscript sources, such as the George Blotcher papers at the excellent library of the York County Historical Trust, the Thomas Crowl papers at the U.S. Army Military History Institute and Penn State University libraries, and other materials provided by 87th descendants. He uses this information to create "sketches" of each company in the 87th, and the primary officers who were instrumental in its formation and its four years of service. I have seen many of these names "on paper" in years of reading about the 87th, but I found Brandt's sketches to provide an entirely new level of perspective on the men themselves.

This is a "real people" approach to the regiment's people and history, and it does not hesitate to share information that is delicate or uncomplimentary. For example, in the unit's rush to organize, there was no attempt to make any pre-enlistment physical examination of the potential enlistees. Brandt presents data to show that this resulted in more than 11% of the 1861 enlistees leaving the service for illness or injury; by comparison, the 7th PA Reserves' Company H, recruited in the same area, conducted full physical exams and experienced less than half that level of attrition. At another level that paints a less-than-heroic picture of some of the 87th's men, the unit was chartered and recruited primarily to provide security on the important Northern Central Railroad between Harrisburg and Baltimore. Although this was critically important to the Union effort in the first year of the war, such duty was not expected to involve major combat, long marches, or significant hardships at great distances from home. As a result, there was significant consternation among some parts of the 87th when their mission changed to becoming a fighting unit in the Union Army. Brandt examines the subject of desertions in detail, both real and on paper only, especially those occurring in the aftermath of the 87th's loss of 293 men captured at 2nd Winchester during the prelude to Gettysburg in June 1863. Drawing on Ella Lonn's classic Desertion During the Civil War for perspective, he provides many details on the individual cases of some men who intended to desert and did so, but also includes cases that illustrate how men could be tagged as "deserters" unfairly due to cumbersome administrative processes,. Finally, the chapter on "South-Central Pennsylvania and Race" will undoubtedly leave readers with roots in the 87th's home territory with a better understanding of the complex views of the community on race, slavery, emancipation, and the meaning of citizenship, but also with some embarrassment in accepting in our 21st Century the opinions of our ancestors in the 19th Century. These are difficult subjects to tackle objectively and fairly, and I commend the author for doing so. It provides additional perspective for the 87th's solid performance as part of the VI Corps in 1864 and 1865.

A difficult choice for the author of any regimental history is how much detail to include on the battles in which the unit participated. Brandt made the choice to not attempt to relate in detail the battles at 2nd Winchester, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, 3rd Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, the Petersburg Campaign including the Breakthrough on 2nd April 1865, and the Appomattox Campaign. He does include a more extensive analysis of Monocacy because of the 87th's pivotal role there in slowing down Early's advance on Washington D.C. This is clearly the right choice, in my opinion, because it enables Brandt to use the space of his book to focus on the 87th, while the reader interested in more depth on the 87th at the major battles can readily turn to other excellent studies.

This book will be of value to anyone studying the genealogy or local history of the York/Adams County area. However, I also believe this book to be of significant value to anyone interested in an indepth understanding and history of a Union infantry regiment. Although the 87th was, of course, a set of specific individuals and events, the themes, dynamics, and patterns likely have a high degree of similarity in other units. I will not only be re-reading this book more than once, but will use it as a valuable reference in my own Civil War genealogy and history research.

Untold Story.......2007-02-10

If you are looking for a Civil War story that is new and different this is the book for you. I was held captive from start to finish. Dennis Brandt tells, after 10 years of research, the story only he can tell. The story of the 87th Pennsylvania. It is a story about the lives of the boys from York and Adams county. Yes, Gettysburg is in Adams County but this is not another tired tale of that great story. It is instead about how the boys started their Army life rather dull, guarding railroads ect. as many battles raged on in other parts of the U.S.A. But our boys get taken captive, they escape, they die and in the end we ponder over whether The Grand Old Flag would still fly over those states south of Mason-Dixon if not for these HEROS.

Shades of Gray (Recorded Books Presents, 4 casettes)

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Shades of Gray (Recorded Books Presents, 4 casettes)

Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 0788717936

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Left an orphan by the Civil War, 12-year-old Will Page has to leave his ruined home in the Shenandoah Valley. He must go to live with his mothers relatives, whom he has never seen before, on their tiny farm in the Virginia Piedmont. To make matters worse, his uncle refused to fight the Yankees. In fact, Uncle Jed stayed safely at home throughout the whole conflict between the states, while his neighbors were risking their lives for the Confederacy. How can Will stay under the same roof as a coward? Teacher and author, Carolyn Reeder vividly portrays an angry Will gradually overcoming his own loss and developing tolerance for his uncles opposing views. The far-reaching consequences of the Civil War become dramatically clear to young people with John McDonoughs sensitive narration.

14 Shades Of Gray (Authentic Guitar-Tab Edition)

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14 Shades Of Gray (Authentic Guitar-Tab Edition)
Staind
Manufacturer: Warner Bros. Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0757914667

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This matching folio, edited by Staind's guitarist Mike Mushok, incorporates his actual tunings and fingerings exactly as he plays them, without which many of the guitar parts would not be playable. This folio includes four pages of full-color photos. Titles are: Price to Play * How About You * So Far Away * Yesterday * Fray * Zoe Jane * Fill Me Up * Layne * Falling Down * Reality * Tonight * Could It Be * Blow Away * Intro.

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Sweeping observations with false connotations
An excellent brief military history of the Civil War.
An excellent overview of the American Civil War.

Shades of Blue and Gray (Harvest Book)
Herman Hattaway
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156005905

Amazon.com

Herman Hattaway analyzes the Civil War with an emphasis on contemporary advances in military technology and their effects on behavior in the field. Ulysses Grant was speaking nearly literally when he wrote, "the iron gauntlet must be used more than the silken glove to destroy the Confederacy"; in the end, Hattaway demonstrates, it was superior iron and steel that won the Union cause. He examines the development and use of submarines, mines, automatic weapons, balloons, and especially rifles and artillery, which became so accurate in time that contending armies took to trench warfare. Battle by battle, Hattaway retraces the grim course of the war, yielding a helpful introduction to its history, complete with abundant notes and suggested readings.

Book Description

With its penetrating analyses and masterly synthesis of current scholarship, this “wonderfully clear and concise” book gives readers “the best brief military history of the Civil War available” (George Rable, author of The Confederate Republic and Civil Wars). Black-and-white photographs; maps.

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Sweeping observations with false connotations.......2005-02-14

Really it deserves a 2.5, but that's not possible so I rounded up. I have read a number of books on the military history of the Civil War, and I bought this book as a brush up to keep my finger in it, one could say. The authors greatest error, in my eyes, was his tendency to make sweeping observations which were not always true. He claims that the South just had to hold out and keep holding out to win, whereas it has been the general opinion of many historians, as well as Robert E Lee, that the South had to win quickly, or be doomed to a gradual loss.

Alright, so maybe Hattaway did say that - it's only one thing, right? Well, it is always "The North," "The South," like everyone in those two areas thought about the war the same. Ok, so he was trying to keep his history short. And yes, he did keep it short, at the expense of misrepresentation. Many people generally regard the Civil War as a battle of generals, and I don't see a reason to disagree with that, and neither does Hattaway. So he mentions the generals, and this general, and that other general, and soon even I, someone who has studied the Civil War before, don't even know whether he's talking about a Confederate or Union general, never a good thing to be confused about.

I could recommend this book only as the most elementary introduction to the military history of the Civil War, someone interested in learning a little more about it and not having any prior knowledge. Otherwise, I would go for one that was a little less pro-North (as Hattaway has a very Northern point of view. I know, it's the timeless problem about writing about the Civil War - it's hard to keep objective. He just tends to tell the point of view of the Northern generals a lot more than the Southern generals. Except mentionning their names, of course, see above comment).

An excellent brief military history of the Civil War........2001-10-05

Hattaway's Shades of Blue and Gray is an excellent introduction to the military history of the Civil War. While brief enough for the amateur historian to enjoy, this book is also suitable for scholars and features many valuable insights into the period. Hattaway adequately explains many of the complicated and technical aspects of the war in a way other works have failed to do. Shades of Blue and Gray gets to the heart of the military science involved in the war, and relates the Civil War to the world-wide development of modern warfare. This book is also excellent for anyone interested in Confederate General Stephen D. Lee, one of Hattaway's specialties. For anyone interested in the way the war was fought, this book is a must.

An excellent overview of the American Civil War........1998-07-02

Prof. Hattaway, a student of T. Harry Williams of LSU, has the most eloquent and clear style of writing that the concepts that he communicates are very easily understood. Having had Prof. Hattaway for Am. Hist. in college, I must say that his writing technique is truly genuine--he acts and reacts precisely in the way that he presents himself in the work. The work itself gives a very broad overview of the Civil War with enough detail to surpass elementary study but in moderation enough to keep easily distracted readers from finding it laborious. I highly recommend Prof. Hattaway and his works.

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A great addition to the Orpheus line

Shades of Gray (Orpheus)
Kraig Blackwelder , Brian Campbell , Chris Hartford , Michelle Lyons , Dean Shomshak , and Lucien Soulban
Manufacturer: White Wolf Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1588466027

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A great addition to the Orpheus line.......2003-12-09

Shades of Gray is a great supplement. Whitewolf gives us a new shade, the Phantasm, as well as more horrors for all six we've gotten so far. This is a great addition to a great game line, and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next.

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