Lay Down My Sword and Shield [Paperback]

James Lee Burke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2003

'As I stood there on my front porch that hot, breathless July day, leaning against the column with the six bullet holes, now worn and smooth, I could see Hack's whitewashed marker under the pin oaks in the Holland family cemetery ...Four generations of my family were buried there.' Hack Holland is a product of the South, both old and new. Hard-drinking ex-POW and wealthy, progressive Democrat, he stands in the long shadow cast by his ancestors. When Holland's candidacy for a congressional seat brings him increasingly into conflict with those around him, his almost unwitting involvement with a violent civil rights conflict forces him to reassess his future - and his past...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

BACK IN PRINT AT LAST -- THE MUST-READ NOVEL THAT INTRODUCES JAMES LEE BURKE'S TEXAS SHERIFF HACK HOLLAND

The hero of James Lee Burke's recent bestseller Rain Gods, cousin to lawman Billy Bob Holland, and a genuine product of the South, both old and new, Hackberry Holland makes his first appearance in this early gem from "America's best novelist" (The Denver Post). Against the backdrop of growing civil rights turmoil in a sultry border town, the hard-drinking ex-POW attorney yields to the myriad urgings of his wife, his brother, and his so-called friends to make a bid for a congressional seat -- and finds himself embroiled in the seamy world of Texas powerbrokers. And when Hack attempts to overturn an old army buddy's conviction, and crosses paths with a beautiful union organizer who speaks to his heart in a way no one else has, he finds both a new love and a new purpose as he breaks free from the shackles of wealth and expectation to bring justice to the underserved.

Read the first chapter for Lay Down My Sword and Shield. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Hackberry Holland—a Texas attorney, Korean War vet, and candidate for Congress—is haunted by memories of his days as a POW and driven to finding relief at the bottom of endless bottles of alcohol and in public displays of potentially career-ending behavior. Stuck in a loveless marriage and a law practice he cares little about, Hack is given a shot of redemption when a fellow vet is thrown into jail on trumped-up charges. Hack's decision to help his former brother in arms and his subsequent involvement with a beautiful union organizer leads him on a journey of self discovery and a shot at personal redemption. Will Patton delivers a soulful, world-weary reading as bleak as the Texas landscape, a performance that expertly captures Burke's multileveled characterizations and rich descriptive passages. Patton's narrations of Burke's novels are the perfect marriage of writer and reader. A Gallery paperwork. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Orion Paperbacks (September 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752842692
• ISBN-13: 978-0752842691
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,791,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Lee Burke, a rare winner of two Edgar Awards, is the author of twenty-three previous novels, including such New York Times bestsellers as Bitterroot, Purple Cane Road, Cimarron Rose, Jolie Blon's Bounce, and Dixie City Jam. He lives in Missoula, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most welcome reprint, February 12, 2010

By 

Lynne Perednia (Washington State) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lay Down My Sword and Shield (Paperback)

Hackberry Holland came on the literary landscape in 1971, talking about the bullet holes in his porch left by John Wesley Hardin when the outlaw confronted Hack's grandfather before relating how an up-and-coming politician ended up far from the corridors of power.

In 2009, Hack was seen again in Burke's brilliant RAIN GODS. Now, Hack's introduction, LAY DOWN MY SWORD AND SHIELD, has been reprinted.

Son of a congressman, Hack is on the verge of becoming one himself. All he has to do is live through endless cocktail parties, meetings with donors and pretending to be happily married to his ice queen wife. Anyone who survived being a Korean prisoner of war should be able to put up with a few wealthy Texas housewives and a senator, right? Instead, Hack is drinking himself into oblivion.

When an Army buddy calls from jail after being arrested walking a picket line with Mexican workers near the border, Hack hightails it to help. It's the end of his old life and the beginning of his new one.

This isn't just Hack's story. Burke uses his questing, honest hero not only to show Hack's personal journey to make his life meaningful. He also shows what it meant when the song would soon be "The Times They Are A'Changin' ". Whether it's non-white people trying to make the American dream come true, whites who brutally try to stop time's progress or an opportunistic politician and someone who scares even him, Hack crosses their paths.

Their combined stories provide a fascinating and important glimpse into what life was like for some people during the 60s. LAY DOWN MY SWORD AND SHIELD is a stirring remembrance of a time when people's actions made profound impacts. That Burke brought Hack back in RAIN GODS only makes the original story more powerful.

Those who have read RAIN GODS will want to see where Hack came from, while those who are introduced to him through this first novel will want to pick up the later book right away. Even though they are set decades apart, they are connected by a character who remained true to himself throughout the years. That's the kind of power James Lee Burke brings to his stories.

80 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To this day, my favorite of all the Burke books, July 30, 2000

By 

Mike V. (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lay Down My Sword and Shield (Mass Market Paperback)

This will be a departure in some way for people that have read the series about Dave, but for those of us that simply love his written word, this is a stunning piece of work by Burke. I have read this book twice, something I don't do too often because there are just too many things stacked up in my "to read" pile. Hack is a good man plagued by demons of his own making, something that is NOT a departure in a Burke novel and is what makes this book one that is not easily forgotten. I think that the struggle we all make in our lives to do what is "right" is just rife with areas of grey. This is what makes reading this (and any) Burke novel an experience rather than several hours to kill time with a story. Just my opinion, I've been wrong before, as someone much wiser than me once said.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No Dave Robicheaux, but not bad, February 10, 2000

By 

C. Cronk (Somewhere in New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lay Down My Sword and Shield (Mass Market Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Hank Holland. The JLB style remains the same with the tough, rough main character, plagued by his own demons,but ultimately righteous in the end. It was enjoyable (and available in Mexico in Paperback, so not thoroughly out of print...) I'd read another book about the same character and I've read all but the most recent one of the Dave Robicheaux collection.