Rating: 
Summary: I love historical novels... this is far from the best
Review: A story of two families tied together by West Point
and grudges with too extravagant characterizations of
the female characters. I was disappointed that I would have to buy
two more long books in similar style in order to actually
get some civil war history. The characterization of both
the iron industry and the shipping industry are a little
in advance of actual events from what I have read in other places.
So he fails as a writer in several basic ways. Still a good read ....
Rating: 
Summary: If you loved Glory In The Name, you'll love North and South
Review: Don't believe me? Read these books. North and South is set during the Civil War, which as I'd said in the review of
Glory In The Name, was a war of transition. However, it's more than that. It's the story of two families. The Hazards and the Mains. George Hazard and Orry Main meet at West
Point and they couldn't be any more different. Orry Main,
originally De Main, is descended from a wealthy Heugenot,
(French Protestant), family. George Hazard, on the other hand, is descended from a fugitive. Orry and George interact with Ulysses S. Grant, and other historical figures like Robert E. Lee, and John Brown. This isn't about the naval
war of the Civil War. If you want to read about that, Glory In The Name's your best bet. Orry's in love with a woman who's married to a sadistic bastard. North and South is basically about the land war of the Civil War.
Rating:
Summary: If you loved Glory In The Name, you'll love North and South
Review: Don't believe me? Read these books. North and South is set during the Civil War, which as I'd said in the review of
Glory In The Name, was a war of transition. However, it's more than that. It's the story of two families. The Hazards and the Mains. George Hazard and Orry Main meet at West
Point and they couldn't be any more different. Orry Main,
originally De Main, is descended from a wealthy Heugenot,
(French Protestant), family. George Hazard, on the other hand, is descended from a fugitive. Orry and George interact with Ulysses S. Grant, and other historical figures like Robert E. Lee, and John Brown. This isn't about the naval
war of the Civil War. If you want to read about that, Glory In The Name's your best bet. Orry's in love with a woman who's married to a sadistic bastard. North and South is basically about the land war of the Civil War.
Rating:
Summary: Jakes is the man!
Review: I enjoy everything that John Jakes has written, but I particularly enjoy the North & South trilogy. The characters are so vivid and the action is so lifelike that one often feels as if he knows both the people and the events that shaped their lives personally. This set of three books are ones that I plan to own always and will look forward to re-reading in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I have not been a big fan of historical fiction, but this book is fabulous. It is a great lesson in the events leading up to the Civil War. The characters are rich and the dialogue is excellent. It also is significant that it relates to the tragic events of today. The book shows how hatred and teaching others to hate inevitably leads to the death of innocent people. I can't wait to read the other books of the trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Historical Read
Review: I just finished North and South and can't wait to move on to Love and War. When I first picked up the book, I didnt realize the book was almost entirely taking place in the years that led up to the outbreak of war. I absolutely loved the prologue, the story of Orry and George at West Point, life in the south at Mont Royal, and Charles and Billy becoming so similar to their brothers. This book was great in that not only did you learn about what the times were like but you also get a fantastic fictional story out of it. The characters and storylines are so strong you can almost feel what it was like to live in both the north and the south and you can commiserate with the characters. I liked the way Jakes writes: it flows and is an easy read. This was the first book I read by Jakes and I look forward to finishing the North and South series and also beginning the Kent Family series. I recommend this one highly.
Rating: 
Summary: gone with the wind it aint....
Review: I love to read authors who take the time to research their characters in minute detail and particularly the period in which they have set their story. James Michener and Patricia Highsmith are such writers Jon Jakes is another. The story begins in the months leading up to the american civil war when the Mains from New Orleans and the Hazzards from Lehigh Station in Pennsylvania are united in friendship through their eldest sons Orry and George. Staunch friends who first met at West Point the story revolves around these two characters. It is through them that the story unwinds following the outcome of the civil war and its aftermath. I liked that the author captured the ambience of the time from the slave cabins on the Main plantation to the parade ground at West Point to the mosquito infested muggy atmosphere of pre war Washington. Later during the great battles of that era, namely Antietam and Gettysburg the writer takes us via his main characters through some of the tactical manoeuvres employed during these bloodlettings. Why they worked and sometimes why they didnt. It all makes for an interesting historical tome, albeit a mass paperback one. Interwoven into the story we are introduced to the main players of the time, Grant, Lee, McClellan, Jefferson Davis and the great emancipator himself, Abraham Lincoln. General McClellan brave professional soldier that he was is not portrayed kindly here, and with good reason. The presidents character is only mentioned in passing but the author paints him as an unheroic figure which is how most contemporaries saw him at the time, vacillating and indecisive. It is only later in the sequel "Love & War" that we are given glimpses of his potential greatness. But mostly I was surprised at the incompetence and corruption of the union army and politicians which was not that evident at the time. Many union sympathisers saw this as the War of Seccession not the war for slave emancipation. Racism and prejudice and hypocrisy was just as rife in the union army as it was on any southern plantation. But I digress. I did however learn more here about this period of american history than ever I learnt in a school text book. But that just says more about the author I guess. I recommend this to all american history buffs. Including the sequels "Love & War" and "Heaven & Hell". Even if the historical minutiae doesnt grab you the tale of love and hate and romance and loyalty and patriotism surely will.
Rating:
Summary: A great Long Read
Review: I picked this book up on a whim. Boy was I surprised! I don't usually like "War" novels, but this book is wonderful. The dialogue is good, the plot draws you in & you really come to care about the characters. I felt like I got to know George, Orry, Madeline, Constance, Billy & Charles, Brett & Ashton. The only downfall I could find with this book is that I feel like I was reading EVERYTHING about every day of their lives. It makes the book richer, yes, but it also can be very draining to read. In fact, instead of just launching myself into the 2nd book (which is what I usually do), I am taking a break. The topics covered in N&S are so deep that you almost have to do that in order to bring yourself back to the current time. With all that, please pick up this book & transport yourself to a different time, where everything WASN'T black & white.
Rating:
Summary: John Jakes brings the Civil War era to life in this series.
Review: If history was taught using books like this, students might actually learn something. By introducing us to characters (albeit mostly fictional) who hold the beliefs and positions that almost tore our country apart, Jakes makes the whole spectrum of complex forces at work in the mid-19th
century understandable. I learned more about what it
might have been like to be an American in this era from Jakes' books than I did earning two degrees in American history. Well-researched, yet always entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Jakes combines romance and history in this tale of two families, one Northern and one Southern, tied by friendship but almost torn apart by the turmoil the US experiences prior to the Civil War. I admire Jakes for beginning this book in the 1840s and tackling the pre-war era that is so important for fully understanding the war. So many historical fiction writers begin their works just as the war begins and the background is not properly set. Jakes' charcters, especially those of Orry, George, Charles, Madeline, Ashton, Brett and Billy are well drawn and capture the reader's sympathies. The television mini-series didn't do this book justice; it is an excellent read.
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