Valor's Measure [Paperback]

Thomas Wade Oliver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2003

This is the story of one of America’s truest heroes. From his legendary bayonet charge down the slopes of Little Round Top hill during the battle of Gettysburg, to the startling calling of Union troops to salute as the defeated Confederate Army surrendered their muskets and flags to him at Appomattox, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain redefined the scale of greatness in this country. Wounded six times in battle, twice assumed to be a fatality, the volunteer officer from Maine continued to lead gallantly until the final shot was fired during the Civil War. Valor’s Measure tells the death-defying tale of this Medal of Honor hero and captures his spirit as no autobiography can.

Product Details

• Paperback: 195 pages
• Publisher: PublishAmerica (September 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592868983
• ISBN-13: 978-1592868988
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,018,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Move over, Custer, Here's a real American Hero, November 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Valor's Measure (Paperback)

Here's one for every library, school, personal, or otherwise. We ought to have a book we can pull off our shelf and shove in a friend's hand with a snappy.."you wanna talk leadership? This is leadership!" or instead of the word "leadership" you substitute "character" or "hero" or just plain "American". Today's leaders, military, political, factory supervisors, anyone entrusted with peoples' well being should enjoy this book with a highlighter at the ready. An easy read in 2 or 3 evenings will have you standing beside one of our truly genuine American heroes. Joshua Chamberlain is pretty much visualized for most of us by the Jeff Daniels acting job in the movies, "Gettysburg" and "Gods and Generals". I'd say it's okay to carry that picture in your head as you take up this book. The author puts us shoulder to shoulder with Chamberlain from the days just before he volunteered for service in the Civil War until his emotionally moving gesture of respect for Southern Soldiers in their surrender at Appomattox. The author tells this story in the best tradition of those books' authors, the Shaaras', whose classics like "Killer Angels", "Gods and Generals", and "Last Full Measure" bring our history to life in "novel" form. This story focuses on one man with the same engaging effect. Within the first ten pages, the story sucks you in, and only a harsh interruption will make you put the book down.. temporarily.
On rare occasion, the author seems to forget he's taken us back in time, and lets slip a historical footnote, that jerks you back to the present before you're ready. That's forgivable given the author's background as a genuine devotee of his subject, and not an academic. Even so, the story keeps you hooked. If period pieces again become trendy in Hollywood, I'd bet we see this one on celluloid in a few years. Chamberlain's story is that good.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Left with lump in my throat., December 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Valor's Measure (Paperback)

If you love American history but like hearing it or reading about it from a story teller and not a stuffy old professor, this is for you. I've taken up to a month to finish your typical long-winded popular American Hero biographies before and when I finally closed those books, I could appreciate the main character's endeavors but I've never literally sat in a chair afterward with a lump in my throat. This book gathers momentum quickly and because it's only a few hundred pages, it's simply almost impossible to put down. I challenge you to read this book and not want to run out and shake every American war veteran's hand.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons for us all, November 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Valor's Measure (Paperback)

Valor's Measure is a quick read which should appeal to non serious students of history who are curious about our heritage and those who made their mark along the way. It's about a remarkable man who rose to enormous challenges and who set a high standard for courage, dedication to his duty, and compassion for others. His mannerisms and methods of leadership should be a standard for all leaders in and out of the military. The author has an ability to make the reader sense the horror of war, physical discomfort, fatigue, hunger, cold, the stress of danger and the unrelenting fear. I closed the book with a renewed awe of my forebears who demonstrated so many virtues of bygone days.