Kentucky Books

I thought this was a very interesting book that painfully illustrated what greed and a thirst for power can do to a family. It was a bit choppily written but the subject matter was so interesting it didn't matter. I would recommend this book to any fan of Hollywood legend and lore. Jack Warner was a selfish, thoughtless, power hungry man who forsook his own son for a shrew of a woman, and he took a few of his brothers down on his power trip. So interesting to see how difficult life was for immigrants, how hard they worked, how imaginative they were, so far-seeing and daring int he risks they were willing to take. It might explain some of the greed and need to be in control---but it doesn't explain why one brother could be a good man, and the next brother a man without a conscience. A very fast and entertaining read.

"Hollywood Be Thy Name"is a well documented, well-written story of the incredible accomplishments of the four Warner brothers, who, from immigrant beginnings, with almost no money and no education, got into the beginnings of movie business. They rose to the incredible challenges that business presented, and gave us, over the years, an amazing number of award-winning stories, pictures, and performances that were a big part of the back-bone of the industry during the golden age of movies and movie studios.

It's an inspiring, exciting story of four men with very different personalities and temperaments, who worked together to make Warner Brothers a money making studio that gave us quality pictures. They changed the industry by creating the first talking picture (in conjunction with Western Electric) and mesmerized audiences with this innovation as well as the list of quality pictures that followed. It's also a story of how the four of them worked together until the power they created caused them to lose sight of their family ties in favor of infighting and personal sabotage over that power.

The book presents the authentic voices of many of the people who worked for the Warner brothers, and of members of many family members on both sides of what became the great divide. The fictionalized dialog is well within the scope of the personalities involved, and only serves to soften the dramatic facts that form the basis of this book. It's a very human story, and essential reading for anybody interested in the history of the movie industry.

I highly recommend it.

This is a hard to put down book! I only learned about it because my husband and I just had a book published unknowingly with the same headline title. Having worked at Warner Bros mainly through the 60s, I found all this background on the brothers extremely interesting and very well written. In fact, I couldn't put it down! I do believe the title of another chapter in their book would have made a better title for their book though: BUILDING THE DREAM, because that is what it really is all about. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in movies since their inception. I have read many books on the subject, and besides our newly published book - which is quite different from this one - this is the most enjoyable and informative one of all. Shirley Lawrence

I read "Hollywood Be Thy Name" with great interest and curiosity. Author, Ms. Cass Warner Sperling has kept her unspoken "promise" made to Grandpa Harry (patriarch of the Warner brothers) at his deathbed when she was a ten year old girl, to convey to others his deep beliefs and ideals.

I rate it 5 stars because the story and writing style paints an incredible picture of not just another "rags to riches" story but one of tragedy and great sacrifice leading to an enduring legend of the motion picture industry directly because of the "can do and make it go right" attitudes of the Warners.

From the family gold watch (later to be hocked in order to secure payment for the brothers first projector) placed in 1883 into the secret pocket of Benjamin Warner for his immigration to America into New York and the arrival of wife Pearl and children less than a year later, to a realization of a movie empire that had as its motto "Educate, entertain, and enlighten" which is a Hollywood legacy.

A must read for movie buffs and those interested in the beginnings of Hollywood. This is a book that has "all the right stuff" for the making of a fascinating mini-series as told by granddaughter Cass and others.

Shelley Abate, movie buff and avid reader.

I read "Hollywood Be Thy Name" with great interest and curiosity. Author, Ms. Cass Warner Sperling has kept her unspoken "promise" made to Grandpa Harry (patriarch of the Warner brothers) at his deathbed when she was a ten year old girl, to convey to others his deep beliefs and ideals.

I rate it 5 stars because the story and writing style paints an incredible picture of not just another "rags to riches" story but one of tragedy and great sacrifice leading to an enduring legend of the motion picture industry directly because of the "can do and make it go right" attitudes of the Warners.

From the family gold watch (later to be hocked in order to secure payment for the brothers first projector) placed in 1883 into the secret pocket of Benjamin Warner for his immigration to America into New York and the arrival of wife Pearl and children less than a year later, to a realization of a movie empire that had as its motto "Educate, entertain, and enlighten" which is a Hollywood legacy.

A must read for movie buffs and those interested in the beginnings of Hollywood. This is a book that has "all the right stuff" for the making of a fascinating mini-series as told by granddaughter Cass and others.

Shelley Abate, movie buff and avid reader.

Kentucky Chances was a very enjoyable book to read. It also carried a very positive Christian message. I would highly recommend it.

I liked this book, along with the other Chance family stories. Reading them all together was a real treat!

I loved this Book! I very much enjoyed reading it. So much! that I bought more books like it! I hate to read. But find myself not willing to put books like this down! 5 stars!

I loved this book - so much that I read it twice within 3 weeks. Lovejoy was my favorite character! Cathy Hake writes with humor, great love, and perfect doses of scripture. Absolutely ADORE this book and would recommend it to any of my friends who LOVE happy endings. All the stories in this book have heavenly endings and that's what pleased me the most. This book is Enchanting!

If you like Cathy Hake's books you will love this one. I waited anxiously for this one to come out to find out about the three remaining Chance bachelors. Was not disappointed. Am looking forward to more books by this mother-daughter pair.

Although perhaps some of the grand Kentucky scenery is missing, there are some wonderful pictures in this book. Barnes best photographs are perhaps in the subtle colors of the prairie, the Pennyrile and Barren. flowers and insects. Some of the snow dusted scenery, such as Rock Bridge in Daniel Boone National Forest is also well done.

Sometimes the writing tries to be too antidotal; for example he writes that he forgot the price that a five pound mussel would fetch in the commercial market; but I would have preferred knowing the price rather than his forgetting of it. The chapter on biodiversity provides an introduction to each of the regions, but a good map of each each of the regions would have helped me relate to the preserves he discusses.

I might be a little biased as Tom Barnes is my uncle... ok, ok, so I'm really biased, but I have read it all the way through and looked at the pictures on numerous separate occasions, and it never ceases to amaze and inspire me. It makes me wish I lived in Kentucky. :) He truly is a skilled and passionate photographer/writer. Buy this book!

I bought this book to show friends here in Germany how lovely my home state is, since so few of them even know it exists. I was very disappointed. The photography is okay, but far from inspiring, and does not really capture the "great" places of Kentucky, nor why they can be so lovely. The response from people who have looked at the book at my house is just a shrug -- no "ooohs" or "aaaahs". It really doesn't do Kentucky justice.

I thought the photography and composure of this book was well done. The pictures are beautiful and make you want to explore the unknown places. I live in Kentucky and love to travel. My logo is: Simple Life~~~Simple Books. This falls into that category- simple yet breath-taking. Please get this book. Travel to Kentucky!

This author's photographic work is gorgeous but this is not only a "picture book". It is a book of nature, ecology and environment and is worth exploring. I love Kentucky and grieve for the assaults and damages it has suffered for so long. It is my hope that if Kentuckians can see their home state as this book shows it, they will be more protective of it. Greed and exploitation have harmed Kentucky as have poverty and ignorance. The state and the nation need to protect Kentucky's natural environment. One complaint about the book: it needs a state map showing the regions the author writes about! There was no way to refer to the regions because there was no map of that sort. (There was a very limited map but not cross-referenced to the regions covered in the book.) This was an annoying omission from the book, but the book still merits high ratings for its beauty and information.

This book paled in comparison to The Glass Castle [which I could not put down].
I did not find the individuals very interesting and I did not think they were developed to where they became complex, real characters.
I found myself skimming through the last chapters waiting for something dramatic to happen.
And I found the swimming metaphors too constant and annoying.

I enjoyed reading the author's story and thought the writing was great. It really took me to the time and place. And very clever how she tied so much into water, emotions, etc. Hard to articulate my thought there, but it was brillant in places. Those that have read the book will know what I'm referring to. I will recommend this book to my book club. In reading the back flap about Ms. McCall, it appears she's settled and happy and that's nice to see.

This book stands a part from other family stories for me because of the author's ability to discuss her family's strengths AND shortcomings with such honesty and such tenderness. So often authors who share family stories are skilled at detailing either the tremendous adversity of their childhoods or the greatness of the characters they have known. McCall does an excellent job of sharing the simple humanity of her family members, making them real to the reader, not simply characters to admire or villianize. I also appreciated the honesty with which McCall shared her coming out process and the deep understanding she seems to have of the role of her partners and their importance to her life. A tender, meaningful, and enjoyable read.

Treading water, deciding whether to sink or swim, Catherine McCall's "Lifeguarding" is a stunning memoir and well worth the read.
"Lifeguarding" is about a middle class family leading a country club life but what appears to be real is false. Her father, a mediocre insurance salesman, drowns himself in booze and debt. To keep their lives afloat, Catherine's mother gets a job teaching. As she hides their family secrets, Catherine hides one of her own . . .
She is gay.
Catherine's struggle to understand her sexuality, her unconventional desires in a conventional time, makes "Lifeguarding" an unusual story. Her feelings and frustrations flow from pen to page. It is beautifully written, poignant and moving. Going into bars to remind her father to come home, or waiting for him to arrive for a day at the state fair, the reader is right there with the writer.
Catherine McCall takes us back to the agonies of adolescence, when life was supposedly simple. It reminds me of trying to win in the wrong lane. I'm happy to report . . . Catherine McCall is victorious!

Laurie Ames Birnsteel
Kahala

I thought i was burned out with memoirs and along comes "Lifeguarding." Congratuulations to Catherine McCall for an honest, truthful memoir written in a straightforward manner, without the strident, over-the-top, self-proclamation and heavy-handed confessionals that have dominated the genre. This story flows gently but strongly and is a blessed change from the norm in this genre. Read it!

I moved to KY a few years ago and wanted to garden for the first time in years. This book (and the companion one about what plants grow here) really helped. I am constantly flipping through it's mud-stained pages for reminders. I agree with another reviewer, though, that I wish it were organized by month instead of category (bulbs, annuals, etc.). However, if you only grow roses, say, the organization makes sense. I would recommend this book to any new gardener in KY or TN.

I bought this book when we moved to TN 4 years ago. I think I've used every single section except for the vegetable section, which I plan to use for next summer when I finally set up a gardening area. The climate and soil in TN are unlike any other place that I've lived at in the US and this book is worth it's weight in gold for all the wonderful advice! We now have one of the nicest yards in our neighborhood thanks to this book and our hard work!

Excellent advice for all times of the year, even in the winter months, when you might be wondering how to make yourself useful. There are chapters in all the areas involved: trees, shrubs, lawns, bulbs, etc. And of course it is specific to our area.

Honestly, I'd love to give this book more than 2 stars, because it so clearly covers material needed by gardeners in our area (especially beginning to intermediate gardeners like me). Having lived on the West Coast, where the Sunset Western Garden Book is the definitive gardener's bible, I looked high and low for an analog here in the South.

This is not it.

Don't get me wrong: this book has some good information and what's there is written in a highly readable, friendly voice.

But it is not a reference book, and it will not answer every gardening question you may have. And it may even leave you with some new questions after you try to make sense of some of the overly simple descriptions. And maybe that's OK, because it's not billed as that kind of a reference guide.

What is IS billed as, though, is a month-by-month guide to working in the garden. And it's here that it actually fails the most.

Organized into sections by different types of plants (bulbs, shrubs, trees, etc), this book is then further organized within each of those sections by month... ALPHABETICALLY! If that's not the craziest thing you've ever heard, just try to imagine actually using this book to try to understand what you need to do this weekend. You would need to flip through each section for each type of plant in your garden, and then flip around the counterintuitive listing (since when does April come before February, which comes before January?) to find the appropriate month. Lather, rinse, and repeat for each type of plant in your garden.

Why the author and publisher of this book didn't realize it would have made immeasurably more sense to group all the information together for each month and sort those months in CALENDAR order, I have no idea. But I'm here to tell you, it ain't worth it. Stick with the Southern Living Garden Book and you'll be a lot less frustrated.

This book lives up to its title. I have been gardening for years and learned quite a few new tricks. The book has editions for all parts of the country so buy the right book.
TennesseeGardener.....

Recently I spent an extended vacation exploring Mammoth Cave National Park. I was amazed at the vastness and calm of the place. It has a grandeur and a haunting quality. Amidst it all I made another discovery: the powerful, in truth--the GREAT--poetry of Davis McCombs.

Somewhere in his evocations of place and suggestions of identity McCombs finds a beauty much like that of the caves. For the most part it isn't flashy. It is solid. It calls. It is true.

I'm not a huge fan of "narrative" poems. Most such literary beasts should become brave and full enough to stand as short stories. The language and, God help us, rhymes are more torture in such cases than poetry. Yet here in McCombs we have a master of narrative not seen on these shores since Poe.

More powerful than his narrative skills is McCombs's spareness of language. He communicates picture perfect verbal images with the dead-on certainty of phrase of a John Ashbery. He also does it without having to resort to Ashbery's often droning, lengthy verbosity.

My favorite thing about Ultima Thule is the sense of camraderie in McCombs's poetry. We journey into candlelit depths and to solitary gravesites. Yet we are not alone. The sense of brotherhood in these poems rivals the best of Whitman and Baudelaire.

Poe, Ashbery, Whitman and Baudelaire--these are some of my favorite poets. They are some of the greatest who ever lived. With Ultima Thule Davis McCombs joins their number.

Davis McCombs's poems vividly evoke a strange and fantastic landscape. Kentucky's Mammoth Cave and the world above it are so fundamental to the narrator's voice and the poet's that it is as if all these elements are of a piece. What a tremendous debut!

McCombs chiseled away at the cave rock and came up with an edifying, gorgeous metaphor. Formally rigorous but not mincing, the book even uses a historical voice for a third that doesn't clank. I'm from KY, but I don't know this poet as other reviewers may: still impressed, still remember the awe I first felt reading these, the cold drop, three years ago.

It seems to me that Davis McCombs's Ultima Thule has something particularly and refreshingly American about it. His writing shows a real craftsman's touch and sureness of hand. This remarkable book of poems is more than a reflection on the natural wonder of Kentucky's caves, it is a rare and mysterious exploration of the human spirit past and present.

How beautiful to listen to slave/cave guide Stephen Bishop reflect on life through the continued metaphor of the cave. Yes, the voice belongs to a contemporary white university man, but the words are so real and the thoughts as deep as the bottomless chasms he describes. Thank you to WS Merwin for choosing such a poet, who does not dwell on the vulgar and the ugly as so many do, but instead drinks in beauty.

Reviewed by Michele Heather Pollock

Some folks say there are only a handful of stories in the world that get retold again and again in different guises. If that is so, then surely the coming-of-age story would be one of the most frequent: child meets trouble of some sort; child deals with the trouble and, in the process, grows up. What can make these stories interesting, what can keep us reading them again and again, is the nature and character of the child, and the nature and character of the trouble he or she runs into.

In With a Hammer for My Heart, that child is Lawanda, fifteen years old, growing up in a poor community in Kentucky. She wants to go to college, so she gets a job selling magazines. Her sales lead her up "the hill" to where Garland, an old WWII veteran lives in two old school buses. Garland is ostracized by the community because he drinks too much, and because he'd driven away his wife and kids. But Lawanda finds him and his bus, filled with books and old maps, interesting, and she finds herself befriending the old man.

The trouble comes in when the local community learns about Lawanda and Garland's friendship, which they neither understand nor want to tolerate. A rumor leads to an arrest, and Lawanda finds herself on a bus, headed across the state alone, looking for the one person she thinks can help her sort out the situation.

This is Lyon's first novel, though she has written more than 30 books for children and adults. It is a lovely book, full of great characters who each, while acting in what they believe is the best interest of Lawanda, alternately help and thwart her efforts to make the world right again. The cover is gorgeous, and while the typeface used in this paperback edition is distracting and odd, the story is capable of rising above that distraction to discuss ideas of hurt and healing, and the responsibilities we all have to the people we know and love.

Armchair Interviews says: Strong first novel from an established children's author.

If you like a good story told straight from the characters' mouths, then you will enjoy this book. As a Kentuckian, I enjoy stories with a decisively Appalachian flavor, and in With A Hammer For My Heart, Ms. George Ella Lyon (yes, the author is a SHE) weaves a deceivingly simple, yet powerful, story about family, friendship, and forgiveness. Told through the voices of its many characters, the story centers around the friendship between a young girl, LaWanda, and a war-ravaged veteran, Amos Garland. Determined to make her way to college, LaWanda charges into Garland's life selling magazines. Although he does not welcome company, Garland finds that he has become (somewhat unwillingly) a friend to LaWanda. However, through a series of tragic events, LaWanda's loyalty to her family and Garland are tested. Yet, in the end, LaWanda's strength and courage brings about powerful changes in the people around her. Ms. Lyon's first attempt at adult fiction is a success and I look forward to reading more of her adult work. She is truly one of Kentucky's treasures!

With a Hammer for my Heart was one of the greatest novels I've ever read.It was passionate,poetic & just a really lovely book.I gave it five stars because it was so greatly & beautifully written. George Ella Lyon is a literary genius. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel & hated to see it end.I would absolutely recommend this novel to anyone looking for a really great read.The plot is fantastic & I just loved the story.

This book is about a little girl named Lawanda. She starts out trying to sell magazines and earn money for college. It's by selling these magazines that she meets Garland. Garland is an older man who lives in a bus, he is generally known as the town's hermit. He chases all strangers away until Lawanda comes along. As Garland and Lawanda get to know each other better, they each encounter conflicts that will forever change their existence. I found this book to be quality reading, but I really couldn't get into the characters. They had such fictional personalities, that it was hard to identify with some of their feelings. The descriptions are exceptional, and I think that's why the book is a Young Adult Book Award Nominee. Somehow I just don't think that Mr. Lyon did his best though. Perhaps another book would help him to create realistic characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sometimes I read books just for the plot, sometimes for the characters, and occasionally for the writing itself. I enjoyed all three aspects of this book.

Highly recommended.

The Young Trailers presents a very romanticized view of the world. Good guys are good, and the red savages are, in general, very threatening. Written 100 years ago (1907), Altsheler's views might not be politically correct in some circles today. The setting is Kentucky circa 1775-1780. The teenage boy hero, Henry, is heroic and never suffers from cowardice, indecision, poor judgement or any other character flaw. He basically goes native, is captured by Indians of an unnamed tribe, lives with them, then returns to his white settlement to defend it from Shawnees and put food on the tables.

There is a romantic interest between Henry and a teenage girl, Lucy, but they never do more than admire one another from a distance. The other characters, particularly Paul, Tom, Sol and Jim, are developed more fully in later volumes (mostly out of print) as they roam the woods fighting savages and protecting white settlements. Henry's boyhood enemy, Braxton, becomes a traitor in later volumes (see Scouts of the Valley), helping the Iroquois make war on whites. In the current volume, Braxton's character is not developed.

The simplistic nature of the characters makes these books suitable for pre-teens but probably not of interest to most adults. I did enjoy the series when I was much younger.

... I read the series by Joseph Altsheler when I was in grade school. I loved the exciting adventures the young men and women were having. My dad loved them as a kid also. I recently purchased the book from Amazon and read it - in fact, I had a hard time putting it down. I loved it in grade school and I enjoyed it again (I'm 57). I wish the publisher would make it available in paperback at a reasonable price. For [the hardcover price], I can't afford to re-live all of the memories. Why doesn't the Amereon Company take a chance and publish more!!

My best friend and I, both now 75 years old, read all the Altsheler books about the eastern US frontier, the American Indians, and frontiermen. They are great stories. We think they will be good reading for our grandchildren, something of the past to show a simpler way of adventure from modern movies and TV. I fully agree with another reviewer that Atlsheler's books should be republished for the youth of today. I tried other book sellers who say they can get older books. It was a waste of time, I should have used Amazon first.

Excellent writing and taut plot formation make this book a real treat to read. Altsheler is the best of his genre.

I was introduced to this series 14 years ago - I was 12 at the time - and have since purchased the series for myself. I have read each book numerous times and still enjoy them all and hope to introduce my children to them someday. This is definately a timeless classic for all ages, easy to read yet highly imaginative.

Although a little dated (originally written circa 1969) this is still one of the great inside stories about what goes on (or more precisely did go on) in the old Hollywood. Written about the time that the old studio system finally collapsed, it collects some great anecdotes for film buffs. Besides, it is well written.

If you like reading about "inside" Hollywood, this is a book I
highly recommend. Dunne goes inside 20th Century Fox and tells all. Actually quite funny.

This is a terribly funny and telling documentary. Mr. Dunne, who had a considerable reputation and experience as a screenwriter, somehow convinced the powers at Twentieth Century Fox to give him carte blanche and complete access to every peculiar nook and sneaky cranny at the studio. Sitting in on major meetings with the Zanucks,writers, producers, agents, stars, attending gala openings and hanging about sets, Dunne was the ultimate fly-on-the-wall. The movies in production during the year (1967)he spent soaking up this rarified atmosphere included "Dr. Doolittle," "Star," and "Hello Dolly," which means we get great dish on Rex Harrison, Barbra Streisand, Anthony Newley, Gene Kelly and Walter Matthau, to name only a few.

The stories are told in a droll, straight-ahead manner, which makes the gags even funnier. One can scarcely believe the kinds of things that Hollywood Heavies utter, apparently unashamed and on a fairly regular basis.

For the record, Mr. Dunne, also the author of a number of first-rate novels, was the late husband of writer Joan Didion, whose current memoir about dealing with his death - "The Year of Magical Thinking" - is deservedly at the top of the charts these days.

Excellent, casual writing style. Great stories of the Zanucks and others, their gut-based and fact-less decision making and egos. An easy read on that quick plane trip from Hollywood to your Napa hideaway.

Absolutely brilliant-people in Hollywood still refer to "AD" (After Dunne), and you know a book like this won't happen again. The attitude is "Where you find clowns there is usually a circus", and the level of amaturism on display here is astounding. The best section has to be the one on the making of the legendary flop "Dr. Dolittle"-you are there as they read the disastrous preview cards. A $18 million investment is on the line, and all the producer's girlfriend can think of is stealing a silver tray from a restaurant and what dress to wear for the premiere. Hilarious, and still required reading at film study courses today.

I find three books of this author, Richard Carvel, The Crossing and The Crisis loosly in a series. Carvel during the Revolution, The Crossing about the time Louisanna Putchas and the Crisis during the Civil War. These are three very good books and I believe I have all three but cannot locate The Crossing.

My dad was born in 1921 in the farmlands of Edgar County, Illinois, and the Crossing by Winston Churchill (not the British leader) was his favorite book as a young boy. It is a tale of US western expansion, especially the crossing over the mountains into Kentucky, and much of the story is told through the eyes of a rather wide-eyed young man. I would recommend this book to parents who want to develop a love of history in their children and who want to spend time reading books together -- the rhythm of the author's writing is especially wonderful when read out loud. I would imagine boys would especially love this tale; however, I loved it, also, and I'm about as girlie a girl as you can get!

This book was not written by Sir Winston Churchill but a different author with the same name. I read this book as it was mentioned in my family history as a good description of the frontier in Kentucky around the Revolution. I rarely read novels but this book captured my attention and was a great read. It transported me back to a much tougher time in American history and in the area where my ancestors were located. It gave life and meaning to the hardships of my ancestors lives.

This is an excellent book about frontier days.

There is a common misconception about this book that many (including one other review) commonly fall into. This book was not written by the Brittish Prime Minister Sir Winston S. Churchill but rather by an american authour called winston churchill who was very popular at the turn of the century but who is sadly forgotton today. This other Winston churchil wrote several novels at the turn of the century. The way to tell the two apart is that the future prime minister always used the inital s. as did the early editions of his books. Unfortunetly reprints may not follow this rule.

THE CROSSING was American novelist Winston Churchill's third and last historical novel, and deals mainly with the settlement of Kentucky and the winning of the Old Northwest by George Rogers Clark. Davy Ritchie is the main character; he runs away from his uncaring aunt (who had been raising him since his mother's death) and in the Virginia mountains joins up with the Ripleys on their way to Kentucky over the Wilderness Trail. With Indian troubles brewing in the Ohio/Illinois territory thanks to British agitation (the year is 1778), George Rogers Clark leads an expedition there to destroy the British forts; Davy goes along as drummer boy. Part 1 of the book, the best part, ends with Clark's victory at Vincennes.

Unfortunately, the book continues and the story deteriorates. Many years later, Davy gets involved in the Wilkinson plot - a plan to seize control of the Spanish lands in Louisiana and set up a separate country (Davy is opposed to it). He goes to New Orleans, falls in love with an aristocratic woman, Helene, converts her to Federalism, and brings her back to Kentucky.

As in his earlier two historical novels, the best things in this book are the historical incidents - Churchill had researched thoroughly before writing and was careful to get the historical details correct. The chief fault is likewise the same as in the past: his inability to draw believable, true-to-life characters; they are cardboard figures, all of a type. Also the plot is too drawn out; the book is actually two or three novels all clumped into one. The book was published at the tail end of an historical fiction craze that had influenced the public's reading preferences over the last ten years or so, and the book was not as popular as his earlier books. Churchill had planned two additional historical novels for his series, but never wrote them. Part 1 (The Borderland) of the book can still give much pleasure to the reader today, though much of the rest is lost to stiff characterization and too much incident. It's a shame Churchill didn't write straight history - it's definitely his strong suit.