Chimborazo

Rating:
Summary: The Real Deal
Review: As a military historian and a Richmonder, I was very glad to find this excellent novel by Steven Wise. I believe that he captured the mood of the final days of the Confederacy and of the men and women who lived during that period. He based several passages upon actual events that transpired at the large Confederate hospital on top of Chimborazo Hill in Richmond. I wish that his novel were available in a trade paperback edition, so that more people would see it on the book shelves.

Rating:
Summary: The Real Deal
Review: As a military historian and a Richmonder, I was very glad to find this excellent novel by Steven Wise. I believe that he captured the mood of the final days of the Confederacy and of the men and women who lived during that period. He based several passages upon actual events that transpired at the large Confederate hospital on top of Chimborazo Hill in Richmond. I wish that his novel were available in a trade paperback edition, so that more people would see it on the book shelves.

Rating:
Summary: Humanity Prevails in the Worst of TImes
Review: In his novel Chimborazo, Steven W. Wise, places us in the middle of one of the worst chapters of American History, the Civil War. In that war, we are taken to the Confederate Hospital in Richmond after which the book is titled. The story commences in the waning days of the war, and the conditions in this hospital are almost inconceivable given today's medical technology. However, we find that while medical technology, supplies and even food are primitive, the care and concern of the staff and patients for each other in many cases make up for this lack of facilities. It is here we meet Letha Bartlett, the matron of a ward of the hospital. Raised in wealth and comfort, she has come here to provide care and support for the men who have given greatly to the "cause". As we come to see, it is often the care of Letha or others that make the difference between life and death. The story also concerns a wounded soldier, Granville Pollard, who has given much physically, but will find he has much to give others even in his life altered condition. The story concerns much of the character development and relationship between Pollard and the others he meets in the hospital. It also shows the ability of the human body and spirit to heal in the most difficult of places. Often the human kindness and concern shown by others is the only medical care available.

The novel caused me to consider the situations in which we human beings sometimes find ourselves. When our best laid plans do not work as we expected, and when hope is found in the most hopeless places. The story told much about the resilience of the human spirit, and the fragility of life. The characters also show that if the thin veneer of civilization can remain in tact in a place like this, we need to consider the situations we find ourselves in and evaluate our own behavior when confronted with adversity.

I recommend this book highly, not only for the rich characters you will meet or the incredible situations you will encounter, but as a mirror to hold up and examine your own life and behavior. A small kindness shown to another may take but a few minutes of our time, but to the other person, it may be the spark of hope that is desperately needed in a dark hour. It is my hope that this book will remind the reader of that, and of the incredible impact each of us can have on others.

Rating:
Summary: Wise Has a Winner
Review: Steven W. Wise is a master storyteller with a true gift for writing description. I am notoriously bad about skimming a book to get to the story plot. This is impossible with the Wise novels. I need to savor every word.

CHIMBORAZO is not a pretty tale, but a realistic one of the hospital conditions at the close of the Civil War. Doctors and nurses of this era are given the credit they have deserved as their story is woven in with the suffering and deprivation of their patients.

The characters of this novel were beautifully developed, although have to admit a disappointment at the fate of some of them. I guess that is what gave it its realism. By the time I had finished CHIMBORAZO, I felt I knew the central characters as friends.

The underdeveloped ending was superb. I give the book an A rating.

Rating:
Summary: an unforgetable read
Review: This Civil War novel makes the human experience of this black time in our history so real and so moving that I felt it had enriched my life for having read it. It expanded both my knowledge of those trying days and my compassion for the people who lived through them. Wise has so beautifully developed this story and the characters that I finished the book filled with far greater understanding and admiration for the people whose lives had become so intricatedly entwined and enriched in times of unbelieveable hardship.

Wise writes with great sensitivity and clarity. His use of words creates a concise and flowing description of the events bringing people into this civil war hospital. As the story developed each character unfolded with greater and greater depth and became someone I felt I would like to know.

I rarely read a book twice but I found myself enjoying it even more the second time around. All in all a great book which deserves much recognition. I am looking forward to more from this author.

Rating:
Summary: an unforgetable read
Review: This Civil War novel makes the human experience of this black time in our history so real and so moving that I felt it had enriched my life for having read it. It expanded both my knowledge of those trying days and my compassion for the people who lived through them. Wise has so beautifully developed this story and the characters that I finished the book filled with far greater understanding and admiration for the people whose lives had become so intricatedly entwined and enriched in times of unbelieveable hardship.

Wise writes with great sensitivity and clarity. His use of words creates a concise and flowing description of the events bringing people into this civil war hospital. As the story developed each character unfolded with greater and greater depth and became someone I felt I would like to know.

I rarely read a book twice but I found myself enjoying it even more the second time around. All in all a great book which deserves much recognition. I am looking forward to more from this author.

Rating:
Summary: The best civil war book I have ever read!
Review: This is a beautifully written work of art. It is literally the best civil war novel I have ever picked up. I felt emotionally tied to the characters; I laughed with them, I cried with them and I was truly saddened when the book came to an end. This novel is an excellent depiction of the heartbreaking cruelties of war and loss. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a moving story that will leave you forever touched by its characters.

Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: Wise writes a good character driven story, displaying both the dark and warm side of humanity during the Civil War in a makeshift hospital called Chimborazo. The characters are real and likeable, and Wise's description is so good that you learn just as much from a character's silence as from his or her dialogue. The impending sense of doom as the North closes in on Richmond is wonderfully developed. There is much tragedy in this story, but there is great compassion in the face of this tragedy. Wise also illustrates the chaos of the time where southerner can attack southerner. As one of the characters realizes, there are good and bad individuals no matter where they come from. I recommend this book highly.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous Civil War story
Review: Without doubt, this was one of the most compelling stories I have ever read. The characters have stuck with me like friends since I read it. I was a little leery about reading a Civil War story, since I'm not a history buff. What a shame it would have been not to have read this one! Interestingly, I just read the previous review--"Amateur effort"--and I'm dumfounded. There's no way that this reviewer read the same book I read.