Naked Blade [Paperback]

Tamara Taylor-Leigh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 23, 2003

In 1833 fifteen-year-old George Taylor leaves his family home in Macon, Georgia, and enters the Military Academy at West Point with nothing more than the clothes on his back and the strong will to succeed. Through the adventures of this young man, the reader experiences life in the strict confines of the Academy, and then his life-changing experiences as an officer in the United States 3rd Artillery. The painful "Trail of Tears" relocation of the Cherokee Indians is the young officer¿s first assignment, then a march into the miasmic swamps of the Florida Everglades to round up the elusive Seminole Indians. When these military missions are complete, George and his comrades are called to "Defend the Rio Grande," a move that propelled the United States into the bloody war with Mexico. This tightly woven story is based on fact and also explores the lives of soldiers who went on to stellar careers in the Civil War, men such as Grant, Lee, Early, and McClellan. America became an ocean-to-ocean national empire as a result of these valiant soldiers¿ efforts. The eighteen original images etched by soldiers of the period provide an intensified experience of military life before the Civil War. General Dave R. Palmer, Past Superintendent USMA at West Point "The story of George Taylor is one well worth telling...full of adventure and human interest...." Colonel James F. Schnabel, ret. US Army Chief Historian "...a significant look at a most important period of United States expansion... I read it twice in one week..." Lt. Colonel R. L. Sullivan, Commander 5th Bn 3rd Field Artillery, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. "Thorough research... it shows!" "The intensity of storytelling rises off the fever chart. . . What becomes striking evident is the adaptability to a screenplay." Roland Barber, Author/Pulitzer Prize Nominee, Professor UCLA

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a significant look at a most important period of United States expansion... I read it twice in one week..." -- Colonel James F. Schnabel, ret. US Army Chief Historian

"...a significant look at one of the most important periods of United States expansion... there is strength in the details..." -- Colonel James F. Schnabel, ret. US Army Chief Historian

"The intensity of storytelling rises off the fever chart. . . What becomes striking evident is the adaptability to a screenplay." -- Roland Barber, Author/Pulitzer Prize Nominee, Professor UCLA

"The story of George Taylor is one well worth telling...full of adventure and human interest...." -- General Dave R. Palmer, Past Superintendent USMA at West Point

"The story of George Taylor is one well worth telling...full of adventure and human interest...." General Dave R. Palmer, Past Superintendent USMA at West Point "...a significant look at a most important period of United States expansion... I read it twice in one week..." Colonel James F. Schnabel, ret. US Army Chief Historian "Thorough research... it shows!" Lt. Colonel R. L. Sullivan, Commander 5th Bn 3rd Field Artillery, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. “The intensity of storytelling rises off the fever chart. . . What becomes striking evident is the adaptability to a screenplay.” Roland Barber, Author/Pulitzer Prize Nominee, Professor UCLA -- Review

"The story of George Taylor is one well worth telling...interesting, and easy to read..." -- General Dave R. Palmer, Past Superintendent USMA at West Point

"Thorough research... it shows!" -- Lt. Colonel R. L. Sullivan, Commander 5th Bn 3rd Field Artillery, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.

"Thorough research... it shows!" -- Lt. Colonel R. L. Sullivan, Commander 5th Bn 3rd Field Artillery

From the Publisher

NAKED BLADE by Tamara Taylor-Leigh is a prime example of the ability of a creative mind to reconstruct history in a way that captures readers. The author took bare facts uncovered by a genealogist's research and brought to the printed page an exciting life. Starting with an entry in a family scrapbook that gave an obscure clue: "George Taylor, lost at sea" the author and her editor discovered the individual's important participation in major events of Americana. The American Civil War was less than a decade away when George Taylor fought side-by-side with Bragg, Early, Grant, Lee, McClellan, during the "War with Mexico." Those leaders gained experience to wage war with each other less than ten years later. This book belongs in your collection.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Beehive Press, Beverly Hills CA (May 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967853036
• ISBN-13: 978-0967853031
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,034,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Step back in time and enjoy this historical novel !, June 4, 2008

By 

Jonathan D. Taylor "LuvRealHistory" (East Tennessee near the Appalachian and Smokey Mountains) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Naked Blade (Paperback)

Tamara Taylor-Leigh has the ability to take you back in time, to a not-so-well-known part of American history. She makes you smell the air in the halls of West Point in the early 1800's. She makes you cry when you read the entrancing tale of the last Seminole Indians to leave their native homelands in Florida, at the point of an American blade. Follow the story of a young man who entered the army in the time before the civil war, a time of Indian wars. The starry-eyed idealism of this young man as he becomes an officer crossing the continent culminates in the exciting but dark reality of the Mexican war. These are chunks of important history not often discussed, but should be, and the author's story is based in fact around an authentically documented geneology. She will make you duck to avoid the next musketball. You'll drop to your knees and weep as the Seminole Indians look back at their native homeland for the last time. You're going to feel, breath and ride this history, and when you get back you'll have lot's to think about. I very highly recommend it. This book would be a great addition to elementary school and high school history classes too!. If you like historical fiction that is well grounded in facts, then Naked Blade is a real treat! When it's over, you're going to want more - and Tamara has much more of this geneology and this history to tell. I want to follow her as she takes us across time to have us live thru some exciting periods in our great Nations growth, thru decades and centuries of a geneology filled with incredible stories. Get Naked Blade and you'll want to read it in one sitting and then go back later and read it again. Enjoy!