Customer Reviews

The Boys from Kalamazoo: A Novel

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Highly recommended! The book is well balanced providing interest for Civil War fanatics, and an enjoyable easy read for those just looking for a simple but action packed story. For historians, and Michiganders in particular, it provides an entertaining drama to supplement the factual course of events for this band of home grown sharpshooters. The battle scenes are brought to life without being overly gruesome and the fast paced action moves you quickly from event to event. It has the feel of a TV mini series and leaves you wanting to carry on with the next book - bring on the sequel!

The Boys from Kalamazoo is a very good book. It provided a vivid description of what happened during the beginning of the Civil War. I am 12 years old and I was never interested in historical fiction until I read this book. I didn't think it was possible to like a type of book so much after reading it only once. My dad got this book for me and he read it too. T.J. Johnston is a very talented writer and I can't wait until he makes another book.

Johnston covers the less historically focused Western Theater of the American Civil War with the same battle detail and accuracy as Bernard Cornwell covers the Eastern Theater in his Starbuck Chronicles. Johnston captures the true essence of the men that fought and suffered in the Civil War. As with all U.S. wars, ordinary young men who were farmers, shopkeeps, mill operators, etc... from small towns across the country like Kalamazoo, MI did extraordinary things. A great story set in accurate historical context, I hope there's a sequel!

This book is very well written and the description of battle and encampment life is very accurate. I loved the beginning of the book, the Battle of Shiloh, and then the flash back to the prior 6 months. I had a hard time putting the book down, and the ending was brilliant. Bring on the sequel!

Set in 1862 during the American Civil War, The Boys from Kalamazoo by t. J. Johnston is a fictional account of the famous Kalamazoo Sharpshooters. Lending a vibrant freshness to a yesteryear world of American history peopled with the heroes, villains, ordinary soldiers, and citizenry who fought and died in the toils and turmoils of a bloody civil war, The Boys From Kalamazoo is entertaining, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and quite vivid in its portrayal of a war-torn America.

Tremendous! This is by far the most vivid account of a soldier's view of a Civil War battlefield I have ever read. The author clearly is an expert.