Customer Reviews

Poet of the Lost Cause: A Life of Father Ryan

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I agree with the highly favorable reviews of this book in academic journals, such as Louisiana History, which states: "Beagle and Giemza have produced a definitive and well-written biography of one of the most important literary figures of the Lost Cause ideology that dominated southern thinking about the Civil War well into the twentieth century." The Journal of Southern History [Dec. 09], states that the authors (Donald Robert Beagle and Bryan Albin Giemza) "delve deeper into Ryan's life, providing a more complete narrative and addressing...events and controversies not noted by previous biographers...the authors weave into the narrative a critical analysis of the artistry, rather than just the content, of Ryan's poetry." The review states that Poet of the Lost Cause catalogs Father Ryan's participation in the Civil War, and "convincingly establishes" the case that Ryan was at the battle of Lookout Mountain. The review concludes "This highly readable volume should be perused by anyone interested in the Civil War, the Lost Cause, the experiences of the Irish in the South, southern Catholicism, or southern literary history." Meanwhile, the Religious Studies Review [Dec. 09] states that this book "...is a welcome addition to the increasing interest in examining the nexus between religion and the Civil War...the authors provide students in history, literature, and religious studies a comprehensive account of a complex individual whose influence resonated with a host of later southern writers...this is a superior study that resurrects the leading architext and apologist of the Lost Cause." I would add that the book's thirty illustrations and numerous excerpts from Ryan's poetry add greatly to its impact.