Masters and Savages [Hardcover]

James M. Dawsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2009

A saint who despises slavery yet traffics people. A Southern hero, but also a coward. A runaway aching for home. Civil War survivor Witfield Stone totters on the brink of insanity. Entrusted with transporting contract laborers from Africa to Brazil where his father and members of the Southern Land and Immigration Society plan to reconstruct their lost fortunes, Witfield takes special interest in the fate of eleven-year-old Fatima. On the eve of embarkation, disease breaks out, and there is pressure to sacrifice the child for the sake of the cargo. Witfield resists and even as the clipper ship sails and disease takes hold of all on board, Witfield protects her. But why does he stake the last vestiges of his crumbling humanity on saving this particular child among so many? What leads him to think she is the road to redemption? There is more to Witfield’s past than first meets the eye. And there is more trouble ahead than he can imagine.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 225 pages
• Publisher: Mercer University Press (June 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881461415
• ISBN-13: 978-0881461411
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,387,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drama on the High Seas, August 6, 2009

By 

Corinthian (Auburn, Al United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masters and Savages (Hardcover)

Masters and Savages is a novel that will grab you by the throat and not let go. Set in the period immediately following the Civil War, the drama plays out aboard the clipper ship Isabel which is loaded with a cargo of contracted laborers from Angola destined for new colonies of American emigrants settling in Brazil. The excitement begins as the vessel runs a blockade of British war ships, and the action escalates as conflict, disease, and Mother Nature mark the transit across the Atlantic. Characters reminiscent of those created by Herman Melville or Jack London violently confront each other and their predicament. The tale is told by a former Confederate officer, Whitfield Stone, son of one of the leaders of the settlement colonies. Obsessed with protecting an 11 year-old girl suffering from Ophthalmia, Whitfield plays a crucial role in the conflict between his former commanding officer and the ship's captain. As events unfold, Whitfield recalls episodes from his earlier years as a soldier and citizen of his beloved Virginia. Dawsey, a recognized author and scholar of religious studies, has created a gripping account, and along the way he weaves into the narrative fundamental questions about survival, sacrifice, and redemption. As one might expect of a story about people dealing with very harsh circumstances, the narrative is not for the faint of heart. Violence and suffering are very much in evidence, but in no way is their presence gratuitous. Nor do they mask the nobler virtues of love, kindness, and loyalty also on display. In summary, first-time author Dawsey has done a superb job of characterization and storytelling. The book is highly recommended.

2.0 out of 5 stars Master and Savages, April 17, 2011

By 

RomanFW - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Masters and Savages: A Novel (Kindle Edition)

I read a lot of historical novels, I am a history buff. This book, Master & Savages failed to gain my interest. It remains in my Kindle library only partly read. There is just something about the writing style that is not very appealing, it is slow and uneven almost as if the writer is unsure what to do or add next. I will go back to it at so point and see if it improves.

4.0 out of 5 stars Swashbuckling Adventure With Some Serious Thought To Boot, June 1, 2010

By 

Big D (Auburn, AL. USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Masters and Savages (Hardcover)

Starts slow, but finishes with a bang! A real bang!!!

Worthy of the bet seafaring/pirate/mutiny stories ever told.

Though names, locations and tribes are hard to follow at first, once Whitfield's secret is revealed (about half way through), its one helluva story. It sizzles from midpoint on.

As in golf, it's not how you drive, it's how you arrive, and this book, in its ending, arrives very, very well.

And some good theology in here, too, though not overly done. Who are we, and what do we really beleive, what do we really stand for, those kind of universal questions. Whitfield finds out in the course of this book, and it's fun and enticing to learn along with him.