Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Our Simple Gifts: Civil War Christmas Tales

Our Simple Gifts: Civil War Christmas Tales
Our Simple Gifts Civil War Christmas Tales
Author: Owen Parry
ISBN-13: 9780060013783
ISBN-10: 0060013788
Publication Date: 10/2002
Pages: 160
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 13

4.1 stars, based on 13 ratings
Publisher: William Morrow
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

2 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

SGTBob avatar reviewed Our Simple Gifts: Civil War Christmas Tales on + 156 more book reviews
Owen Parry has compiled four heart warming Christmas themed short stories and one short poem that were a pleasure to read.
The stories have a double theme of Christmas and soldiers during the Civil war (from both sides, North and South). He brings into view the human side of soldiering and illustrates the bright side of the people who fought this terrible war.
Its a good read, during or not during the holiday season. I would recommend that you put this book on your want list or your TBR list.
reviewed Our Simple Gifts: Civil War Christmas Tales on + 125 more book reviews
A Union officer struggles homeward through a Christmas Eve snowstorm, haunted by loss and doubtful of the future. Paroled from a brutal prison camp, a young southern soldier yearns to find the one person he loves most in the world--and worries over the devastation rumored to have reached his family's mountain. An immigrant private plans a startling Christmas surprise for his comrades. And a newly freed slave must choose between the desire for revenge and his longing to be a better man than his master....

From northern colliery towns to ruined Old South plantations and the divided loyalties of the Appalachian Mountains, Owen Parry casts his storyteller's spell with a collection of unforgettable tales celebrating the enduring spirit of Christmas. Moving from darkness toward the light in the grand tradition of holiday tales, these stories are bound to become classics of the American yuletide season. Whether whispering an old-fashioned Christmas ghost story or reminding us that not all who suffered war's losses wore uniforms, the author always leads us back to the joyous beauty--the miracle--of Christmas. Moving and heartfelt, Our Simple Gifts revives the tradition of Christmas tales for grown-ups.

As quietly as snow falls on holly, these Civil War Christmas tales will insist on being read again, year after year.