Drums Along the Mohawk (New York Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Drums Along the Mohawk-
Review: Drums Along the Mohawk is the story of families in the Mohawk River valley that cope with Indian and British attacks on their homes and families. Many of these people fight for the American cause and are very serious about it. This is a different perspective, the fighting on the frontier. It may be hard to find, but it is worth the effort for a challenging and emotional book. The characters and their jobs, no matter how minor they are, come to life in one of the best books I have read about the American Revolution from a Patriot point-of-view. I would strongly suggest this book for a history or war reader and an advance reader.

Rating:
Summary: I was disappointed
Review: No, I'm not some high school kid forced to read this for freshman English who hated it on principle. I am middle-aged, usually love the classics, am a history buff, and volunteer at the site of a Revolutionary War hospital. So, when I found this in a used book store, I was looking forward to the read. What I found was the Seinfeld of historical fiction--a book about nothing.

Well, of course, ostensibly this is a book about the Revolutionary War as fought in upstate New York--at that time the frontier. The writing is good. The history is accurate and well researched, but I kept expecting something to happen at every turn, and very little did. Instead of actual Indian raids, there were usually warnings of raids, so that the folks got into the fort on time. There they spent long, dreary days doing long dreary things--realistic, probably--but not the kind of thing I couldn't put down. In fact, I put it down often, and for long periods.

This is a shame because Edmonds' use of words is quite good, and he did an excellent job whenever he was depicting the relationship between Lana and Gil Martin, a married couple caught up in the events. I wish, in fact, that the author had focused more on their individual story, rather than trying to bring in so many different couples and individuals that they were very diffucult to keep track of, and worse, to care about.

I give this four stars for the writing style and the history, but, for me, it was pretty boring.

Rating:
Summary: I was disappointed
Review: No, I'm not some high school kid forced to read this for freshman English who hated it on principle. I am middle-aged, usually love the classics, am a history buff, and volunteer at the site of a Revolutionary War hospital. So, when I found this in a used book store, I was looking forward to the read. What I found was the Seinfeld of historical fiction--a book about nothing.

Well, of course, ostensibly this is a book about the Revolutionary War as fought in upstate New York--at that time the frontier. The writing is good. The history is accurate and well researched, but I kept expecting something to happen at every turn, and very little did. Instead of actual Indian raids, there were usually warnings of raids, so that the folks got into the fort on time. There they spent long, dreary days doing long dreary things--realistic, probably--but not the kind of thing I couldn't put down. In fact, I put it down often, and for long periods.

This is a shame because Edmonds' use of words is quite good, and he did an excellent job whenever he was depicting the relationship between Lana and Gil Martin, a married couple caught up in the events. I wish, in fact, that the author had focused more on their individual story, rather than trying to bring in so many different couples and individuals that they were very diffucult to keep track of, and worse, to care about.

I give this four stars for the writing style and the history, but, for me, it was pretty boring.

Rating:
Summary: A Hard Book To Like
Review: The book is set in New York from the years 1776 to 1784. There's relentless action but after awhile it gets monotonous. The enemy attacks and burns everything, the colonists rebuild as best they can, the enemy comes back and burns everything. In between the menfolk march off for a couple of campaigns. Monotonous though the book is, I suppose this was how life really was back then.

But no matter how much action the book contains, it's hard to enjoy it when you absolutely hate the characters. I'm speaking specifically of the "hero" Gil Martin. I hated him with a passion and kept hoping that he would meet a gruesome end. If I had been his wife Lana I would have killed him long before now.

Bearing in mind the novel was written in the 1930's, don't expect any political correctness. The minorities are written in all their stereotypical splendor ("How!" "Yass'um mas'a") and the women are treated almost as poorly. Once in awhile a character would pop up that I found I could like but they only lasted a couple of pages. Overall I couldn't warm up to this book because of the annoying characters although I was able to develop a respect for the real life colonists and what it must have really been like for them just trying to survive season by season.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting story based on fact.
Review: This is historical fiction at its best. I like the book even better than the old Henry Fonda movie. Edmonds did his research and wrote plausible scenes that have in them the breath of real life.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and well-written novel
Review: This story of the Revolutionary War era settlers in the Mohawk River valley was excellent. Edmonds did considerable historical research and his characters come alive as he tells this tale of the conflict between the Tories who support the King and the farmers who are in favor of the revolt against England.

The story focuses on Gil and Lana Martin, two young settlers who work tirelessly to get a farm established in the valley.

Their hard work is repeatedly destroyed by the Destructives -- Tory and Indian raiders who burn the farms and crops and slaughter anyone who supports the Revolution. The farmer militias strike back at the Tories and their supporters and strike with equal savagery. As in Bosnia and Kosova, the conflict pits neighbor against neighbor.

The novel is about the people of the valley -- both the white settlers and to a lesser degree the Indians -- and their fight to survive in a very hostile environment. I found the story entertaining and I learned quite a bit about the people, the place, and the events that occurred there.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and well-written novel
Review: This story of the Revolutionary War era settlers in the Mohawk River valley was excellent. Edmonds did considerable historical research and his characters come alive as he tells this tale of the conflict between the Tories who support the King and the farmers who are in favor of the revolt against England.

The story focuses on Gil and Lana Martin, two young settlers who work tirelessly to get a farm established in the valley.

Their hard work is repeatedly destroyed by the Destructives -- Tory and Indian raiders who burn the farms and crops and slaughter anyone who supports the Revolution. The farmer militias strike back at the Tories and their supporters and strike with equal savagery. As in Bosnia and Kosova, the conflict pits neighbor against neighbor.

The novel is about the people of the valley -- both the white settlers and to a lesser degree the Indians -- and their fight to survive in a very hostile environment. I found the story entertaining and I learned quite a bit about the people, the place, and the events that occurred there.

Rating:
Summary: An accurate time trip to a pre-Revoultionary War family.
Review: This story, although getting long in the tooth, has enough action, drama, and romance to captivate readers of all ages. It's not simply history, but living history, through characters of amaging complexity & realism. To imagine what life was truly like in Colonial America, I think this book is a "must" read.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting story, disturbing themes.
Review: Took me longer to read than most books of comparable size (three weeks, only c.600pp), don't really know why ~ not any fault of the book, i think. This is the story of some of the settlers along the Mohawk River (New York colony, near Albany), during the time of the American Revolution. Edmonds does a wonderful job of making his reader understand the difficulties of the time, including particularly the destructive effects of living during a time of war. Yearly there is the heartbreak of having sown seed, grown hay, harvested crops, only to have them destroyed by Indians and British troops based in Niagara; on top of that, of course, is the fear of whether you will make it through the day with your scalp intact. The reader understands the horror of living in the primitive forts, crowded into a tiny space, for weeks at a time, for protection from those roving bands of Destructives. Curious it is that Edmonds finds his theme appropriate for when he was writing (the mid 1930's); much more appropriate today is the theme of having to rebel against a distant power which desires to rule at all costs, and the struggle to make a success of the neglect of the duly constituted authorities ~ except that today (as opposed to the Revolutionary times) both powers are one and the same: the three branched government the Revolution's struggles pictured here were to result in. O irony.