Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2009
Pages: 342
Rating: Recommend
Synopsis (from the book jacket): An explosive novel of the Civil War about one man’s escape from a notorious Confederate prison camp---and his dramatic return to save his men.
July 1864. Union officer Nathan Parker has been imprisoned at nightmarish Andersonville prison camp in Georgia along with his soldiers. As others die around them, Nathan and his men hatch a daring plan to allow him to escape through a tunnel and make his way to Vicksburg, where he intends to alert his superiors to the imprisonment and push for military action. His efforts are blocked by higher-ups in the military, so Parker takes matters into his own hands. Together with a shady, dangerous ex-soldier and smuggler named Marcel Lafarge and a fascinating collection of cutthroats, soldiers, and castoffs, a desperate Parker organizes a private rescue mission to free his men before it’s too late.
Exciting, thoroughly researched, and dramatic, Escape from Andersonville is a Civil War novel filled with action, memorable characters, and vividly realized descriptions of the war’s final year.
Review: Explosive, this is not, but it is interesting. I wanted more of the book to be about the actual escape and less about details that I'm not convinced added to the storyline (ie LaFarge's gambling habits). The plot and characters kept me interested, but I found myself reading a chapter or two and then setting it down to return to later.
If you like history or like reading about the Civil War, this probably won't be the best book on the subject you will ever read, but it is worth checking out.
I would estimate that Gene Hackman is a better actor than writer.
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