Helpful Score: 1
A graphic, fast-paced amalgam of good, evil, love, lust, war, violence, and Americana.
Helpful Score: 1
if you like united states history this is the book for you. great historical points on the civil war era, along with romance
From Amazon.com
Reviewer: Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States)
Jakes' "North and South" trilogy is a well-written, entertaining, and historically insightful series dealing with America from about 1845 (Mexican War period) through the post-Civil War period. This novel deals with the Civil War from its outset to the conclusion.
The story traces the activities of the Hazard and Main families, great families deriving from North and South respectively and bound by friendship and marriage, through the nation's bloodiest conflict. This is an engaging and entertaining story. Jakes does a good job of showing the reader that the Civil War was probably inevitable given the intractable differences between the North and South, and the stubborness on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. The story also shows how it came to be that despite the North's numbers and industrial might, it took years for the North to successfully overwhelm the South.
This is not a perfect novel. Despite the overall taut storyline and good prose, Jakes has a tendency to produce exaggerated characters who are almost caricatures of the way people really behave. While there are doubtless real-life examples of Elkanah Bents, Victoria Hazards, and Justin LaMottes (three principal characters in this series) such exaggerated personages abound in Jakes' world. Well, it is after all a novel.
Overall, this is the second best novel in the series; perhaps not as good as "North and South" but better than "Heaven and Hell" which is the third installment. This novel is well worth reading, and provides an entertaining and insightful look at the Civil War and how it affected ordinary people and the nation as a whole.
Reviewer: Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States)
Jakes' "North and South" trilogy is a well-written, entertaining, and historically insightful series dealing with America from about 1845 (Mexican War period) through the post-Civil War period. This novel deals with the Civil War from its outset to the conclusion.
The story traces the activities of the Hazard and Main families, great families deriving from North and South respectively and bound by friendship and marriage, through the nation's bloodiest conflict. This is an engaging and entertaining story. Jakes does a good job of showing the reader that the Civil War was probably inevitable given the intractable differences between the North and South, and the stubborness on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. The story also shows how it came to be that despite the North's numbers and industrial might, it took years for the North to successfully overwhelm the South.
This is not a perfect novel. Despite the overall taut storyline and good prose, Jakes has a tendency to produce exaggerated characters who are almost caricatures of the way people really behave. While there are doubtless real-life examples of Elkanah Bents, Victoria Hazards, and Justin LaMottes (three principal characters in this series) such exaggerated personages abound in Jakes' world. Well, it is after all a novel.
Overall, this is the second best novel in the series; perhaps not as good as "North and South" but better than "Heaven and Hell" which is the third installment. This novel is well worth reading, and provides an entertaining and insightful look at the Civil War and how it affected ordinary people and the nation as a whole.
Part of my personal collection. John Jakes takes you into the heart of the civil war through his characters and passion. My favorite!!
Haven't had a chance to read it, but looking forward to it. I've read it before and it's a very good book.
John Jakes books are excellent. If you read the first North and South book, this book leads you right into t he second part :)
I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are as engaging as in the first installment, and the plot takes some unexpected turns. The author weaves in backstory of the political wrangling & underlying issues surrounding the Civil War that is fascinating. Looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy.
A wonderful civil war story. For those who like this era of American history this is a must read.
Book 2 of the North and South Trilogy: Continues with the lives and friendship of Orry Main and George Hazzard, great detail about the Civil War.
The New York Times rated it as a book of major proportions. If you are interested in the Civil
War period you will find this engrossing.
War period you will find this engrossing.
Book 2 in The North and South Trilogy. John Jakes is a GREAT story-teller!
Next Saga from the North and South series trilogy. Continue following the Hazards and the Mains as the nation is led over the brink into the civil war.
immerse yourself in the passions of the civil war...
2nd in the North and South series.
This is the second book in the North and South Trilogy. Excellent american history story.
This is the second book of the series. The first focused on the turmoil before the civil war broke out. In this one we follow the Mains and Hazards throughout the war. I must warn you that hardly anything good happens to anyone,and if it does it is shortly taken away. This book is sad, but what book about war isn't? The author is able to weave just the right amount of history into the story without it being a too wearying.
The second novel in the North and the South trilogy by John Jakes.
