Look Away [Hardcover]

Harold Coyle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 1995

From the author whom Tom Clancy calls "the best natural storyteller I know", comes the first book in a major new Civil War saga. James and Kevin Bannon, sons of a prosperous New Jersey businessman, see their fierce loyalty to each other abruptly shattered by their rivalry over a woman . . . and her shocking, violent death. Illustrations. Map.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The grand drama of the American Civil War provides the setting for Coyle's seventh novel, the first volume of a projected multibook saga. Spanning the years 1856-1863, it tells the uninspired if lively story of two New Jersey brothers, Irish immigrants, who are driven apart by their heartless and profiteering father. When his brutality finally forces them to flee home and each other, James and Kevin Bannon separate, James going south to the Virginia Military Institute while Kevin, remaining in New Jersey, attends Rutgers. With the onset of war, each brother is unwillingly drawn into the struggle, James for the Confederacy and Kevin for the Union. From Bull Run to Gettysburg, the two fight anti-Irish discrimination, political favoritism, personal enemies?and each other. As expected, the narrative builds to a dramatic confrontation amid the carnage of Gettysburg, but the conclusion is unsatisfying, an ill-disguised setup for the sequel. Coyle brings the ferocious and bloody battles, as well as various real-life characters and events, to vivid life, but this novel, his first historical, isn't on a par with his techno-thrillers (Code of Honor, etc.). (June) 1968
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA?In this Civil War novel, the motif of divided loyalties between brothers is made even more poignant by the fact that the young men are victims not only of historical circumstances but also of the unscrupulous political ambitions of their cruel father. James and Kevin Bannon have always been close. Their tyrannical father, a belligerent New Jersey businessman, takes advantage of his sons' tragic predicament?the accidental death of the girl they both love?by sending them away. James goes to the Virginia Military Academy and Kevin enters a Northern college. Both find love, friendship, and self knowledge as they go their separate ways, and both are caught up in the events of the tumultuous times. Alternating chapters follow each young man as he experiences the horror and futility of war as well as the cohesiveness of men in battle. In a suspenseful, heart-wrenching climax, the brothers are reunited at the Battle of Gettysburg. Notes corresponding to each chapter provide lengthy historical information that sorts out fact from fiction.?Jackie Gropman, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1St Edition edition (June 2, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684803925
• ISBN-13: 978-0684803920
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,052,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fictional account of the war as it might have been!, August 12, 2004

By 

Fruit Loop (Down South) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Look Away (Mass Market Paperback)

Coyle uses documentation of real events and people to create this fictional account of "Brother vs Brother" in the War Between the States. This tale of Kevin and James Bannon, who are both manipulated into fighting by the machinations of their greedy father, is an excellent story of soldiering on both sides of the war as it might have happened. An entertaining read for the fiction fan AND students of the War.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, August 17, 2001

By 

Always looking for a good book... (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Look Away (Mass Market Paperback)

Phenomenal. I got so involved with the characters that it was like being a part of history. This novel depicts the horrendous rift that separates two brothers and a family as they pick sides in the American Civil War.

It was emotional, gut-wrenching and beautiful all in one. The second installment was even better, if that can be believed.

This is a must read for all civil war buffs or even everyone who loves a great read. Pick it up, you won't be sorry!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can almost smell the gunsmoke, March 2, 2005

By 

Dee Cee "Buckeye Book Worm" (South America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Look Away (Mass Market Paperback)

You can almost smell the gunsmoke of the battlefield while reading this book. It's one of my all time favorite novels about the Civil War. I've bought copies and given them to my friends- that's how much I liked it.
Coyle has a gift for making you feel like you are right on the battlefield with his characters. I didn't always know exactly where the action was taking place or why, but that's just about how the soldiers lived it then, I'd say.
Terrific!