John Ransom's Andersonville Diary: Life Inside the Civil War's Most Infamous Prison [Paperback]

John L. Ransom (Author), Bruce Catton (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1994

John Ransom was a 20-year-old Union soldier when he became a prisoner of war in 1863. In his unforgettable diary, Ransom reveals the true story of his day-to-day struggle in the worst of Confederate prison camps--where hundreds of prisoners died daily. Ransom's story of survival is, according to Publishers Weekly, "a great adventure . . . observant, eloquent, and moving."

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

9 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From AudioFile

Union prisoner of war John Ransom filled several books with his accounts of life in Andersonville, where 13,000 prisoners died, and other Confederate prison camps. David Thorn reads those accounts with a genteel calmness, even when recounting the most horrible experiences--a stint on a brutal chain gang, the uncertainty of coping with illness, or the suspense of watching a prisoner play dead to make his escape. At times Ransom seems astonished to note that prisoners would kill for a ration of bread or amused by "wormy and musty" bean soup, which he imagines as coming from some cookbook's "new edition." Thorn's consistency helps tie together an account that, from circumstances, rambles at times but amply preserves a record of war's inhumanity. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 281 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425141462
• ISBN-13: 978-0425141465
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > History > Military > Prisoners of War

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Civil War atrocity, March 22, 2004

By 

Rocco Dormarunno (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Ransom's Andersonville Diary: Life Inside the Civil War's Most Infamous Prison (Paperback)

When one considers that John Ransom, at the time of his interment at Andersonville, was not a professional writer, and that much of his recounting of his horrible experiences was censored, this diary is compelling, gritty, gruesome, and all too credible. This unblinking look at a part of Civil War history that is often overlooked, captured my attention as few diaries have. (The diary of Anne Frank, of course, being the most engaging and heart-rending of the genre.)

The stories of mistreatment of the Union soldiers abound--by other Union soldiers as well as the Confederates! But no scourge was more frightful than the natural ones: the weather, insects, and contaminants were just as unfeeling and effective in their decimation of the prison population. This is not a diary for the weak-hearted. The constant tales of humiliation, hunger, and brutality, along with the growing list of Ransom's associates who were dying all around him, are incessant. Just when things get to their grimmest, the reader is treated to the suspense of Ransom's breakout and escape, which you have to read to believe. Whether you are a devotee of Civil War stories or not, John Ransom's "Andersonville Diary/Life Inside the Civil War's Most Infamous Prison" is a fabulous story of toughing it out in the worst of situations, and a thorough examination of one of the Civil War's darkest times and places.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding personal history, May 26, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Ransom's Andersonville Diary: Life Inside the Civil War's Most Infamous Prison (Paperback)

This is simply the best Civil War personal history I have ever read. It is at the same time depressing and uplifting. The struggle, humor, and horror of the situation is amply described. John Ransom lived an entire lifetime in a little over a year spent as a prisoner. It is history presented as it should be.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Civil War POW story, but . . ., June 25, 2000

By 

Mark Fordham (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Ransom's Andersonville Diary: Life Inside the Civil War's Most Infamous Prison (Paperback)

QUICK REVIEW: An adequate record of the horrors of the Andersonville POW camp during the Civil War. This is not as descriptive as it could be but it still captures the story of a POW's live as a prisoner in an interesting way.

FULL REVIEW: This account of one soldier's life as a prisoner is good as a story of the events that occur during his imprisonment. However it is not a great account of life at Andersonville specifically. He is only in Andersonville for six months and spends the other half of the book telling us about the other situations he was involved in. He tells us first about life as a prisoner in Richmond, then later about his escape attempts, life in the hospital, etc. He admits, in the diary, that he is not good at writing discriptively, so there are some important details that are left out which other books on Andersonville would describe. But the events he records do reflect the conditions that existed there. It is an interesting story of a prisoner in the South during the Civil War, and is worth reading.