Andersonville: The Complete Original Screenplay [Paperback]

David W. Rintels (Author), James M. McPherson (Introduction), John Frankenheimer (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1996

In 1864, deep in the heart of the Confederate South, 33,000 Yankee prisoners-of-war suffer the horrors of imprisonment at the notorious Confederate prison of Andersonville. Original. TV tie-in.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Based on personal journals and historical records, this is the intense story of the brutal Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, in which thousands of captured Union soldiers suffered and died. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080712088X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807120880
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #827,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Simplistic rehash of a television program, June 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Andersonville (Paperback)

Normally, I wouldn't bother with a book that was based on a television screenplay. However, I bought this one by mistake (thinking I was getting MacKinlay Kantor's Andersonville) and decided to punish myself for carelessness by reading it.

It must be admitted that the book reads quickly. This is because it is written at about a third grade level. Unfortunately, this picturesque effect is spoiled by the language and content, which seem to indicate that Vaughn thought he was writing for adults.

The characters are invaribly one-dimensional; the noble ones are totally noble, the evil ones purely evil. About the only one who seemed even remotely human was the commandant Wirz, who seemed to at least have some inkling that the prisoners were being mistreated. But he was able to excuse himself because he was just following orders, and, besides, if the prisoners would just show some discipline and obey the rules, everything would be fine.

Wirz's dialect is a scream, as is the accent of the Confederate soldiers. Oddly enough, they seem to be unaware of it; when one Union soldier (Gleason) escapes and makes his way home by temporarily joining up with the Confederates, he continues to speak his good unaccented Pennsylvanian and nobody seems to notice.

This whole Gleason adventure, by the way, is totally irrelevant to the story, seeming no more than an excuse for a sex scene with a Confederate widow.

There are many moral and philosophical issues arising from the Andersonville experience that Vaughn does touch on briefly, for example, to what extent does our environment excuse our actions? But the development of these ideas never scratches the surface, and there is no closure; the ending is incredibly weak and unsatisfying.

One never really gets the sense of what Andersonville was really like, but then, it would be impossible to make a really true film about it. Get a history book with some pictures of Andersonville captives, and you'll see why.

If you want to read a good novel about Andersonville, get Kantor's. It's not as easy to read as this book--and you'll probably have to skip a television show or two to get through it--but it's well worth the effort.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewer from Detroit needs to realize............., January 12, 2004

By 

Max Inman (holland, mi. U.S.A) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Andersonville (Paperback)

Mr. Vaughan was not attempting to write a text book to be used in Colleges or Universities. His writes to give readers a brief but intertaining, good story for those of use who read for pleasure. Mr. Vaughans books are very well written and are always fun to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 13,000 man ordeal, June 20, 2003

By 

M. D. Smiley "gencptcsa33" (Hanover Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Andersonville (Paperback)

Robert Vaughan's Andersonville brings to life the horrors that the union prisoners had to deal with on a daily basis. This is not meant to be a historically accurate novel telling the reader all the events that took place in the prison. The book shows the reader what the average prisoner had to go through. Vaughan does a good job showing the savage attacks of the Raiders, a group that attacked new prisoners and robbed them of their supplies. Vaughan also does a great job showing the boredom that filled the prisoners lives. The conflict that man has with himself by not drinking the water and by going a couple of days with out food. This book is a quick read and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat with unique twists in the story line. I recommend this book to Civil war Buffs and anyone who is looking for a good book to read on an airplane or a train.