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Summary: I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS BOOK FOR YEARS
Review: I am the grt. grt. grt. grt. niece of the "daring and notoriuous" Col. George W. Kirk. Over the years I have done a great deal of research on Kirk, and, as the author did, often came across mention of the Blalocks, and I, too, was fascinated by the couple. From what I knew of the Rebels in Blue, I was certain that if someone could do the research and connect all of the fragmented material the result would be a fantastic thriller, full of real-life colorful characters. It is a story of loyalty and rebelion, devotion and betrayal, love and hate,freinds and foes,survival and death, heroes and villains - the story of my family's heritage as well as our nation's. The end result of Steven's writing the book that I had longed for far exceeded my expectations, and I am certain that any who read Rebels in Blue will agree that this story is well worth reading.
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Summary: I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS BOOK FOR YEARS
Review: I found this book strictly by accident at the library. Being a Civil War buff all my life and reading any biography I can get my hands on during that period, I was really thrilled when I came across this book.It is wonderful to read about Keith and Malinda Blalock and all they endured and suffered. A great accounting of their lives and those around them. Their exploits in the mountains of North Carolina was riviting. I couldn't put this book down. The only disappointment was the author did not get more into Keith and Malinda's lives and the lives of their children once they returned to their home after the war. It would have been interesting to read about their children that they had and their lives. The author did a wonderful job researching the Blalocks and all that they lived through. A must read for any history-loving person who loves biographies.
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Summary: A work of fiction based on factual people
Review: I live in the area where all the Blalock's called home (Keith Blalock) is buried about 4 miles from my home). After purchasing and reading the book, I tried to locate some of the sources listed in the bibliography that were supposedly housed at Appalachain State Library in Boone, NC. These sources DO NOT EXIST according to the head of the NC room at the library. As a historical book, its "facts" are fictional. As a fiction book, it does provide interesting reading.
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Summary: Woman Warrior of Western North Carolina
Review: Malinda Blalock , the young mountain woman who fought along side her husband in the Civil War in the North Carolina mountains deserves to be much more famous than she is. In 1862, dressed as a boy, Malinda Blalock enlisted in the Confederacy,when her husband Keith was conscripted. When Keith received a medical discharge, Malinda went back to the mountains with him, and the pair became Union bushwackers for the duration of the war. Malinda's tale of courage and determination is an inspiration, and a wonderful look at the other side of the South: the one in which women were not "belles" to be protected, but comrades who did a man's job a century before such a lifestyle became fashionable. Peter Stevens' book is a introduction to the story of Malinda, but many of his "facts" are wrong, and for examples of her daily living he cites examples of rural life from the autobiographical works of Emma Bell Miles, a writer who lived 50 years later in another state-- hardly an accurate portrayal. Ironically, the most accurate account to date of the life and times of Malinda Blalock is not a non-fiction book, but a novel. "Ghost Riders" by Sharyn McCrumb is wonderfully written, meticulously researched, with three pages of source materials. It tells the real story of Malinda in cinematic clarity, with the virtue of accuracy. Malinda Blalock is a woman well worth remembering, and at last she has a book to do her justice-- read "Ghost Riders"!
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Summary: A Tale of Love and Loss
Review: Okay, so that sort of a review title makes Rebels in Blue sound like a schlocky romance novel, but the underpinning bond between Keith and Malinda Blalock is part of what makes this book so interesting. Western North Carolina -- long home to violent familial feuds -- found itself greatly divided in the 1860 elections and the early days of the Civil War. Although the use of force by the U.S. to keep the South in the Union caused many to join the Confederates, pro-Union sentiment in the region was still present in the form of desertion from CSA service, "draft dodging," fleeing to behind Union lines, and active guerrilla resistance to the Confederacy. Stevens does a fine job of examining the home-front violence in Appalachia during the Civil War and in illuminating the story of the Blalocks. The book is quite well balanced, noting atrocities committed by the Blalocks and their enemies, as well as shortcomings in the actions of U.S. and Confederate troops and officers. And he does it all in a manner that draws the reader in.
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Summary: Would Make a Great Novel
Review: This is the nonfiction telling of a married couple from North Carolina who both served in both the Confederate and Union Armies during the Civil War. It would make a great novel, but the story is told here with a few too many footnotes and not enough about the intriguing Malinda. It makes me curious to know about other women who may have served in the Civil War disguised as men.
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Summary: Would Make a Great Novel
Review: This is the nonfiction telling of a married couple from North Carolina who both served in both the Confederate and Union Armies during the Civil War. It would make a great novel, but the story is told here with a few too many footnotes and not enough about the intriguing Malinda. It makes me curious to know about other women who may have served in the Civil War disguised as men.
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