Love and War (North and South Trilogy) [Paperback]

John Jakes (Author)

Book Description

Series: North and South Trilogy | Publication Date: June 1, 2000

The Hazards and Mains are wrenched apart by battle and swept together by passion during the searing years of the Civil War. 2 cassettes.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1088 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451200829
• ISBN-13: 978-0451200822
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Family Saga
  • #37 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > War

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the time, April 13, 2001

By 

K. Morgan (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love and War (North and South Trilogy) (Paperback)

Love and War is an excellent book. It picks up where North and South left off. From the moments before the Civil War to the days after the South's surrender this book takes a close look at the Mains and Hazards and their trials throughout the four years.

This book, while rather long, is fantastic. It definitely is thought provoking. Mr. Jakes writes from the male standpoint and also the female standpoint. I also thought he conveyed the thoughts and dreams of the slaves in a realistic way. There were characters I loved, such as Billy and Brett and ones I hated, like Ashton and James Huntoon. The ever-evil Bent pops up in the story from time to time wreaking havoc everywhere he goes.

While Gone with the Wind (one of my all time favorite books) is a great book in itself it romanticizes the Civil War. Love and War in absolutely no way romaticizes the events of the war. This is a very realistic book with very believeable characters. One can almost believe these two families did exist.

Any fan of North and South will enjoy Love and War. It is a rather long story but well worth the time reading it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simply outstanding, January 30, 2007

By 

Elizabeth Clare "author, To the Ends of the E... (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love and War (North and South Trilogy) (Paperback)

Love and War is just as exciting as North and South, with romance, lust, and amazing action sequences straight out of an old-time movie serial. But compared to North and South, this novel is fresher, more surprising, and much, much darker.

The book is massive--over 1000 pages--and includes at least 10 major storylines, almost all of which are skillfully rendered and emotionally compelling.

George and Orry are now men in their maturity, grappling with the viciousness and folly of politics in both Richmond and and Washington. Other storylines take you inside the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wade Hampton's South Carolina cavalry, the C.S.S. Hunley submarine, a Confederate prison, the Union nursing corps, a schoolhouse for black orphans, and even an assassination plot against the president--Jefferson Davis, that is. By ferreting out lesser-known episodes of the war and then peopling them with passionate and realistic characters, Jakes brings the Civil War to life in remarkable degree.

The aspect of the book that struck me the most was how unpopular the war was on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. There is no hint here of the idealism of Glory or Gone with the Wind. Instead, Jakes writes of a cold, hard, brutal slog in the field, terrific blunders, greedy profiteers, and peace-at-any-pricers wearing both blue and gray. To the participants in the war, there was no hint that anyone would ever regard it as anything other than a disaster that should have been avoided.

Love and War isn't perfect. The book, like the war itself, gets off to a slow start, and a couple of the storylines are clinkers. One of the key villains, an old classmate of Orry and George's, is tiresomely evil, yet seems far too incompetent to pull off the mischief he creates here. And the one major African-American storyline is awkwardly drawn, with a saintly couple squaring off against a slathering villain straight out of Birth of a Nation.

Overall, though, I was very impressed with Love and War both as an amazing feat of storytelling and as an insightful and original look at the Civil War, with obvious relevance to today's political and military dramas.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for "North and South" fans!, June 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Love and War (Hardcover)

This continuation of Jakes' "North and South" is well-done and an absorbing read. The book flings the reader into the Civil War, as seen from various vantage-points: Charles, in the Southern calvary; Billy, a Northern engineer; Orry and George, working desk jobs in their respective capitals; Madeline, Brett, and Constance, as "war widows." Bent continues to wreak havoc in the lives of the Mains and Hazards, but despite him, the war and other trying events, the 2 families remain in contact and even help each other during the war. An excellent follow-up to Jakes' wonderful "North and South."