Customer Reviews

Where I'm Bound: A Novel

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I've just finished it and can truly say that it is among the best works written on the African-American experience in the United States. As a matter of fact, its one of the best novels I've read in years. It's also a great Civil War novel, right up there with "Gone With The Wind" and "Killer Angels". It is the story of a Black calvary soldier down in Mississippi during the Civil War who is fighting to free his family from slavery. It is also the story of the soldier's wife,

Zenobia, who tries to lead her family to freedom through swamps and encounters with bands of Army deserters. The battle scenes are striking--you really feel that you are there. Ballard seems to have gone out of his way to show all sides, including the Confederates, to have their say. He portrays their views in a way that is faithful to the times. The characters are not stereotypical. And the encounters between the ex-slave, now a calvary Sergeant called Joe Duckett , and his ex-master, now a Confederate Colonel named Kenworthy are powerfullly written. This is a well paced war novel and fantastic love story. The characters are real people you live, love, hurt, and die with them. It's a great read and will make an excellent gift for Christmas or Kwanzaa for all lovers of fiction, but especially for any Civil War buffs or lovers of African American history or just plain historical fiction.

"Where I'm Bound", is a work of historically-based fiction by Mr. Allen B. Ballard documenting the 180,000 African American Men who fought for the Union Army during this Nation's Civil War. Like the "Buffalo Soldiers" who served this Country in its Western Frontier, the 1,000 commissioned officers in World War I, the 370,000 "Doughboys" of World War I, or the Tuskegee Airman of World War II fighter pilot fame, these men and women fought and died for ideas and beliefs for which they have never been fully rewarded.

Rewarded may be the wrong word, perhaps recognition was all they sought. The tragedy of what they sought was something that their white counterparts took for granted, or in some cases took away from them. These African-American Soldiers were in some instances freedmen, in other, slaves who had escaped and then joined the Union Army to march directly back and fight those who enslaved them. They fought to reunite their families, they fought for what they were told would be waiting for them if the Union won, they fought for what the white men they fought and died with had enjoyed under the words, "we hold these truths to be self evident". The truths were self evident if you were white, male, and owned property. If you did not meet these criteria the words were as meaningless then as they are today.

Mr. Ballard recreates the horror of hand-to-hand fighting that was often a part of any given battle in this Country's Civil War. His story is fiction, however it is based upon real individuals that lived and fought, and the battles they fought and gave their lives in. His story contains all that was insidious in this war, however he also brings balance by depicting events that this reader did not expect to have actually happened. The events resolved themselves as one would hope they would, and that was why they were surprising to read, and an even greater surprise to read they are historically accurate.

Those who believed he was their savior refer to President Abraham Lincoln repeatedly in this book. They believed he was going to make them citizens a century after they had been excluded from the populace unless counted as property. What would they have felt, and how would they have fought if they knew this same President, "did not believe blacks and whites could live together"?

There were 180,000 black soldiers in the Union Army. How many African Americans do you see when the reenactments of some of the battles take place? How many paintings by those who chronicle that period of History celebrate the blood that was shed that was as red as any, but valued less because of its source?

If there were a vantage point from which those who have died can see what has resulted from their sacrifice, what changes would they see and what it is they died for, how would they feel? Their decision to fight and in their moment of death they may have indeed been free. But did their deaths bring the freedom they thought they were dying for? The answer is pathetic, as any cursory review of the century following the end of the Civil War will show.

This is an important book that I hope will cause the writing of many more. History is only as worthwhile as it is complete and accurate. African Americans, Native Americans, and other minorities have fought and died for the freedom we all enjoy. Because of books like this History becomes more valuable, for if you were to judge the contributions of African Americans by the number of monuments that have been raised to honor them, you would think they were barely present, much less a powerful positive element in the history of this Country.

In his magnificent novel, "Where I'm Bound," Allen B. Ballard demonstrates an uncanny ability to virtually create life. His characters leap off the pages, enabling the reader to observe them firsthand as they encounter crisis after crisis in this suspense-packed Civil War drama. The author demonstrates also an unceptionally well-tuned ear for dialect; his language at times reaches poetic stages. The logical next step for Sgt. Joe Duckett, Zenobia, Major Richard Kenworthy and others is the "big screen." Millions of Americans then will be able to join readers in appreciating this exciting book, and what Allen B. Ballard has to offer is boundless.

i have been having good luck picking good black books lately, and "where i'm bound," continues my hot streak. the protagonist, joe duckett, is a runaway slave in mississippi, who joins the union army and becomes a trusted soldier and war hero; we also get to see two views of of blacks fighting in the war: one, from the yankee side and two, from the confederate side. what i loved about this story was that mr. ballard not only throughly reasearched his subject, but he told his story in a way that even a newcomer to u.s. civil war history could easily digest. the battle scenes are picturesque; you can see the blue and gray troops on the field charging at each other, the madness and blood flowing in the name of war. i loved the way mr. ballard penned his characters: all of them were multi-faceted and human and were just as much a part of the story as joe. kenworthy, the confederate captain, was the most interesting character because ballard showed through him what war does to a man's mind. kenworthy beacme so caught up in killing, that the line between right and wrong became blurred. captain stiles, the union soldier, valued his black troops and showed his admiration for their feats in battle. i loved ballard's use of quotes from black gospel songs: they seemed to forecast to the reader what was going to happen next. joe was an easy character to like; he seemed larger than life, but his slight drinking problem and knack for mischief made him human, thus believeable. my only complain about the book was that several of the likeable characters: zenobia, pauline, etc die. i know ballard wanted this story to reflect reality, but i was so engrossed in their lives, i wanted them to overcome their adversities and succeed. but this book gets a five star rating. ballard has written a wonderful "thank you" to black men and women who fought in one of the bloodiest wars in u.s. history and also strove to prove themselves worthy to be called americans.

Allen Ballard knows how to tell a good story. His characters come alive as we accompany them through the tragic events in 1864-1865 western Mississippi. Both white and black characters come across as real people, and I was sorry to leave them when the book was all-too-soon finished.

My Book Group read this book last month and thought it was terrific. The book did an excellent job describing what life in the south was like (for both soldiers and civilians - particularly the women) during the Civil War. It was an interesting read and it really made us "feel" life at that time. I had to put down the book a couple times as I got so emotionally involved with the characters and their lives. I'd strongly recommend this to historical fiction buffs. I don't think it is a book only for folks interested in black history - I would recommend it to all. I am very impressed that this is the first novel this author has written and I'll keep my eyes out for more by him.

Considering that this book is fiction, one might be able to ignore the many historical inaccuracies. Ballard rakes up every atrocity tale, every story of white abuse of African Americans, ever told. Some, like the massacre of black soldiers at Fort Pillow, have some historical veracity. Some, like myths of slaves being randomly shot by Confederate cavalry, have no foundation in any historical document I have ever seen.

But even if one ignores these things, one still has the stiff, unsympathetic, unrealistic characters and the boring, monosyllabic writing style to contend with.

Someone really should write a good book on the African American experience during the American Civil War. Where I'm Bound, sadly, is not that book.