Rating: 
Summary: An excellent journey through time!
Review: This is perhaps one of the most intense historical fiction novels I have read in a long time. It is so well-written, that I keep glancing through my Native American Indian history books to gather more information about Black Hawke and General Henry Atkinson. This novel really has renewed my interest in Native American history. Mary Bullitt agrees to marry General Henry Atkinson after knowing him one day. She moves from Louisville, Kentucky, to St. Lois ~~ at that time, a frontier-town in what was known as the West. This novel is based on Mary's journals. It is also a novel rich in details of life in the early 1800s to the mid-1800s. It also explores the question of Indian rights that were being violated at the time and other people's misconception of the Indian Wars. Mary and her General kept me riveted through the pages and transported me back to the early beginnings of this country. It reminds me of man's greed ~~ to conquer all he sees and how others fight it. It brought me to the realization that life was tenous during those times ~~ as well as being more intense as well. The scenery descriptions and actual lifestyle habits of the times are so well-researched, that I actually felt like I was there as an observer. This is a beautifully-written novel ~~ one to keep in your personal library. If you know of someone who is tenative about reading historical novels, start with this one. It is a guarantee to bring history alive in the reader's mind. 1-27-04
Rating:
Summary: An Awesome Read
Review: This was by far the best book I've read in a long time! I absolutely savored this book. Didn't want it to end. My librarian recommended this book to me and I was lukewarm about even starting it. I was so moved by the ending that I cried....and believe me that doesn't happen often.
Rating:
Summary: The Good Journey
Review: This was by far the best book I've read in a long time! I absolutely savored this book. Didn't want it to end. My librarian recommended this book to me and I was lukewarm about even starting it. I was so moved by the ending that I cried....and believe me that doesn't happen often.
Rating:
Summary: A very good book
Review: Well-written, interesting, it managed to keep me reading, though I'm really not much for Westerns and books about Indians. Mary is really an inspiring heroine and the General is absolutely captivating--I could see how she fell in love with him. I particularly liked that the characters in the book (Mary, the General, Eloise) were just as real in their roles as mothers, sisters, husbands as a person you know might be. We are often led to think that women a hundred years ago were bad mothers--cold and distant--Mary, however, is very real in that she loves her children very much. Also, tons of interesting details about the period, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Blackhawk flies to the Bright Sun
Review: What a terrific story! A young (?) southern belle, and a General 22 years her senior, get married after knowing eachother for three days, and he whisks her off to the western frontier, so he can try to keep order in the Indian lands. The injustices that were done to the indians are just one aspect of the things you learn, along with some history of the west; but it's the characters and their story that keep you turning the pages. Mary, the "heroine" is a woman you can relate to. How she comes to really love her husband, how she adjusts to her new surroundings; her jealousies, her heartbreak, her overall character. The indian characters are wonderful, and really draw you in, you will want to know their story, and even though you already know the outcome, you are still routing for them to win their war. Especially Bright Sun, what she goes through being a translator for the white man and the Sauk, being a woman indian in the time of war, trying to hold what she loves together, and what she believes...well some of it is truly heartbreaking. You will admire her strength and courage. The General, himself, is an unforgettable character, I only wish there was more info on his life. The story keeps you turning the pages to find out what is happening, it keeps the characters firmly planted in your head, and even your heart because you really "feel" for them, and the ending is wonderful, as well as satisfying, it ties up all the loose ends that you are waiting for throughout the book. Go west, young man,(woman), and take the journey. Enjoy, Debbi
Rating:
Summary: Blackhawk flies to the Bright Sun
Review: What a terrific story! A young (?) southern belle, and a General 22 years her senior, get married after knowing eachother for three days, and he whisks her off to the western frontier, so he can try to keep order in the Indian lands. The injustices that were done to the indians are just one aspect of the things you learn, along with some history of the west; but it's the characters and their story that keep you turning the pages. Mary, the "heroine" is a woman you can relate to. How she comes to really love her husband, how she adjusts to her new surroundings; her jealousies, her heartbreak, her overall character. The indian characters are wonderful, and really draw you in, you will want to know their story, and even though you already know the outcome, you are still routing for them to win their war. Especially Bright Sun, what she goes through being a translator for the white man and the Sauk, being a woman indian in the time of war, trying to hold what she loves together, and what she believes...well some of it is truly heartbreaking. You will admire her strength and courage. The General, himself, is an unforgettable character, I only wish there was more info on his life. The story keeps you turning the pages to find out what is happening, it keeps the characters firmly planted in your head, and even your heart because you really "feel" for them, and the ending is wonderful, as well as satisfying, it ties up all the loose ends that you are waiting for throughout the book. Go west, young man,(woman), and take the journey. Enjoy, Debbi
Rating: 
Summary: Read slowly so it won't be over too soon!
Review: When I started this book I devoured the pages. When I was in about 100 pages I pulled back. Not because the book wasn't tremendous, but because I didn't want the story to be over too soon. The stories of the Indian Wars show the ambivalence of a few good men and the greedy hatred propelling others. General and Mrs. Atkinson are memorable characters, and along with vivid description help your mind's eye to truly 'see' the inhabitants of 1830's frontier. You also see a fresh prospective on what really motivated our first post-revolutionary war heros and how their actions were truly interpreted without the spin we can now so closely associate with our history. Get out your dictionary because there are lots of words that even I needed a definition for. Please, invest your reading life with this gem. I can't believe that this is Gilchrist's first book. Wow!
Rating:
Summary: Read slowly so it won't be over too soon!
Review: When I started this book I devoured the pages. When I was in about 100 pages I pulled back. Not because the book wasn't tremendous, but because I didn't want the story to be over too soon. The stories of the Indian Wars show the ambivalence of a few good men and the greedy hatred propelling others. General and Mrs. Atkinson are memorable characters, and along with vivid description help your mind's eye to truly 'see' the inhabitants of 1830's frontier. You also see a fresh prospective on what really motivated our first post-revolutionary war heros and how their actions were truly interpreted without the spin we can now so closely associate with our history. Get out your dictionary because there are lots of words that even I needed a definition for. Please, invest your reading life with this gem. I can't believe that this is Gilchrist's first book. Wow!
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