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Williams brings the stories and the experiences of many Gettysburg residents to life through this novel treatment of history.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AWESOME,
By A Customer
This review is from: Days of darkness: The Gettysburg Civilians (Mass Market Paperback)
A must read for all those interested in the Human interest factor during the battle of Gettysburg. This book is easy to read and keeps your attention throughout. William G. Williams has done a masterful job of bringing the horrors of this magnificent Battle to life. I've already read it twice and have given several copies to my Civil War buff friends.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could Be / Should Be Better,
By
This review is from: Days of Darkness: The Gettysburg Civilians, an Historical Novel (Hardcover)
What a super idea - take the information from the many diaries, journals, and first hand memories and turn it into a novel of sorts. With all of the facts and documentation at one's fingertips - and that is NOT including the computer/internet - one would think that this book would be an engulfing read filled with the sort of descriptions to literally take the reader back in time.
Unfortunately, Mr. Williams did not do his historical homework. Pretty much all he did was embellish a bit on the original words of the diarists, with an accent on 'A BIT'. To have the idea turned opportunity, as Mr. Williams did with literally hundreds of books readily available, I must say I was sorely disappointed in the outcome. First off, DESCRIPTION. There is very little to be found. He writes of the citizens entering their homes with little thought of what the rooms of their homes may have looked like; the kitchen, bedroom, cellar, even the houses themselves. There is also very little insight to how these folks might have looked - what they wore, how they carried themselves. I mean, if you're going to write it out in story form then give us a mental picture. And there seems to be more telling of, rather than playing out, the scene. Pretty simplistic. The other thing that really bugged me was the language usage. Again, how folks spoke at that time is readily available in a multitude of books, including original period novels as well as writer's guides for those who write period stories and novels. For example, in 'Days of Darkness' Mr. Williams writes, "...I recognized him as a recruit in Bell's Cavalry whom I knew, so I said, 'Hello, Bill, what's up?'" Hmmmm. Hello, Bill, what's up??? I don't think so. If one were to jet back in time and greet someone in that manner they would surely have been looked upon quite queerly (in the 19th century sense of the word). 'Hello' was not a greeting as we know it to be. That did not come around until a number of years after the invention of the telephone. And "what's up" is from the latter half of the 20th century. Maybe it's because I avidly study social history that I notice these sort of blunders, but if one wants to write an accurate historical novel, then one should do their homework. On the plus side, Mr. Williams does a good job in the telling of the events of the summer of 1863 in Gettysburg, which is why this book received a "3". And, as another reviewer commented, it would make a wonderful movie. For those of you who would like to read the story of the Gettysburg civilians as told by those who were there, may I suggest "Firestorm At Gettysburg" by Slade and Alexander, and "Days of Uncertainty and Dread" by Gerald Bennett. Both books are as gripping as any period novel out there.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Reading and very interesting!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Days of darkness: The Gettysburg Civilians (Mass Market Paperback)
This book had great eyewitness accounts.I enjoyed it alot and would suggest it to any Civil War buff or anyone who would like to learn what it was like to be a civilian in the Civil War.
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