Robert M. (shotokanchef) reviewed on + 813 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
In the early 1960s I was stationed (for the first time) at Fort Benning, GA. It was then that my commander and I made a trip to Andersonville, GA. He had read Kantors book; somehow I delayed doing so for 40 years. Back then, to get to Anderson one had to travel over back red clay roads. Little seemed to have changed in the 100 years since one of our most notorious prisons stood just outside this quiet village. Little remained of the prison; all had long since been removed. Stakes indicated where the structures once were; where lightening had opened the spring; nothing was rebuilt; no visitors center; wander on your own. So this is the story of that infamous prison: a long series of vignettes of typical prisoners, their wardens, and the local populace. A great deal of Christian scripture is intermingled with each chapter. Thus, it is not only a history, but also a long drawn out novel. Reading it is nearly a sentence in itself. Stop when you become sickened with the stories; skip to the end, but, to use the title of another of Kantors Civil War novels, Long Remember the ignominy of the prisons existence.
