Escape from Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War [Paperback]

Gene Hackman (Author), Daniel Lenihan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2009

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For their third collaboration, two-time Academy Award–winner Hackman and Lenihan (Justice for None) competently mine Civil War lore to dramatize a prison escape. Southwest Georgia's Andersonville, aka Fort Sumter, was as bad a Confederate POW stockade as the gut-wrenching descriptions here (an Old Testament nightmare) attest. Union Capt. Nathan Parker, commanding the Michigan 5th (aka Parker's Rangers, famed as a mounted infantry unit), is captured along with 23 of his men outside Washington, D.C., during Jubal Early's July 1864 Confederate raid. Two months later, Nathan breaks out, vowing to return and save his soldiers. Between the violent clashes undertaken with his hired guns, Nathan copes by reciting Thoreau and fondly recalling his lover, Darien Crosby. He presses his noble if not reckless mission despite his raiders' slippery loyalties, and the result is a rousing take on familiar territory. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Hackman and Lenihan competently mine Civil War lore...gut-wrenching descriptions...a rousing take on familiar territory." --Publishers Weekly

"Deserving of a prominent spot on any historian's bookshelf...A meticulously researched and easy-to-read book." --The Meade County Messenger (Kentucky)

Praise for Justice for None:
“Absorbing . . . recalls classic American courtroom thrillers from To Kill a Mockingbird to Intruder in the Dust.”---Kirkus Reviews
“Interesting plot twists, well-drawn characters . . . and a rich, detailed evocation of rural America in the late 1920s.”---Library Journal

Praise for Wake of the Perdido Star:
“The authors do a fine job of blending historical and technical details into their narrative.” ---Publishers Weekly
“Always entertaining . . . characterization is well done . . .  interesting, well-drawn cast [of characters]”---Library Journal
“An adventure story that earns its place in the esteemed company of such seafaring sagas as Moby Dick and Mutiny on the Bounty.” ---The San Diego Union-Tribune
“A robust seafaring yarn that is equal parts Jack London and Robert Louis Stevenson --- with a touch of Steven Spielberg thrown in.”---Winston-Salem Journal
“A swashbuckling sea story of nautical derring-do . . . salted with plenty of action and some fine sea battles.”---Stephen Coonts

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (September 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312587597
• ISBN-13: 978-0312587598
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,048,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting book, September 3, 2008

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Escape from Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War (Hardcover)

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," wrote Henry David Thoreau, and one such man is Captain Nathan Parker, Captain of the Fifth Michigan, dubbed "Parker's Rangers." And just when he thought that the insanity of war could not get any worse, he and his men are captured and sent to the dreaded Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia. Now, Captain Parker's situation becomes truly desperate - he must escape from Andersonville, and free his men. He finds himself making alliances with men whom he never would have considered before, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and these are indeed terribly desperate times!

Overall, I found this to be a very interesting book. Just when you think that it is over, or at least should be, the book actually picks up speed, with the action and suspense reaching higher and higher. Plus, I must say that I liked the development of the characters, particularly Marcel Lafarge, a man of infinite complexity and searing pain.

Yep, I really liked this book; it kept me interested all the way to the end. Now, is this book 100% historically accurate? I can't say, but I do agree that you should realize that this is fiction, rather than pure history. And, as far as fiction goes, it's great. I really enjoyed this book and do not hesitate to recommend it.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story of honor and dedication with some history, July 31, 2008

By 

W. Wirtanen "Wild Wil" (St. Louis MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Escape from Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War (Hardcover)

Gene Hackman and Daniel Lenihan have written another great book, probably their best to date.
A dedicated officer after escaping from Andersonville tries to come back and rescue his men.
Set in the turbulent last year of the Civil War, the authors have successfully mixed a not too glamorous part of our history with a "Dirty Dozen" type adventure.
They have captured the flavor of the confusing times and highlighted the honor of two different types of men.
Definitely a good read and the authors have gotten better with each book. I am looking forward to their next.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Death and more death, January 13, 2010

By 

Art King (College Place, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Escape from Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War (Paperback)

This novel of the civil war is hard to put down, but in the end it left me feeling empty. There's a whole lot of blood and hate and not much redemption here.