The Ghosts of Antietam

Rating:
Summary: Ghosts of Antietam
Review: I'm not, particularly, a Civil War buff but being a rabid Wilbur Smith fan I do like an occassional historical novel so when a friend recommended Ghosts of Antietam I approached it with serious reservations. Those reservations were soon dispelled. Grissmer has a definite gift for turning what are often seen as the stick figures of history into interesting, multi-layered characters who engage and inform the reader.
His clever use of the "what if" concept illustrates the tenuous nature of the events that often dictate the paths of history and could easily have changed its course.
What if Kruschev hadn't believed Kennedy? What if Truman had thought that the Japanese could have been made to see the practicality of surrender before the A Bomb?
All that said, it was Grissmer's ability to sweep me along and keep me fascinated with the way he plays off the actual historical events against his brilliant fictional conception of how it might have been that was the real reward for reading this book.
It's terriffic historical fiction and if you're a Civil War buff it's an absolute must read for its novel slant on how the real people could have made completely different history if only the coin had landed on the other face.
I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Solid, fantastical view of McClellan and Antietam
Review: Since childhood, I've enjoyed the rich detail and focused insights of historical novels. The mix of serious history and easy reading holds my interest every time. IMHO, Ghosts of Antietam offers such pleasures and more. In this meticulously researched novel, John Grissmer begins with a firm historical foundation and, then, adds a new twist. Using facts familiar to any Civil War buff, he places the characters and events preceding the Civil War into a fantasy -- "what if" -- realm. That is, could the War Between the States have been avoided altogether?

Underlying the many levels of this novel seems to be a fundamental premise that wars can be avoided; and, despite its fictional nature, the book leaves the reader with intriguing thoughts about the "necessity" of other conflicts of the past and present. Playing with these post-modern notions, Grissmer raises a fascinating proposal: What if the politicians of the late 1800's had seen more "grays" than just "black-and-white" issues? What if, instead of war, a political deal had been cut between powers of the North and South to avoid the Civil War altogether?

In answering this question, Grissmer creates an acceptably "real" possibility that the war was avoidable; and -- in doing so -- he has written a thoroughly absorbing read of "alternative history." Beginning with the fiction that Abraham Lincoln dies during his first term in office, Grissmer elevates Hannibal Hamlin, Vice President during Lincoln's first term, to become President. Following this premise, all of Grissmer's other pieces -- combining fact and fiction -- fall into place. For example, it is well documented that Hannibal Hamlin, from Maine, was extremely well regarded by both Northern and Southern factions in Congress. If anyone could have pulled off such a deal, Hamlin would have been a fine candidate. Historical non-fiction also documents the dealmaking abilities of William Seward, who works with Hamlin in Ghosts of Antietam to negotiate a win-win solution with Jefferson Davis. To pull the pieces together, Grissmer has created a solid character study of George McClellan, who serves as a military aide to Hamlin and as the narrator/hero of the novel.

Grissmer's riveting depiction of the Battle of Antietam is Civil War reading at its best--authentic, dramatic, taut. As the events of this battle unfolded, I was drawn into the action with tremendous tension, even though I knew what the outcome would be.

Grissmer is a skillful writer; and it was not difficult for me to suspend disbelief and buy into the historical fiction he was creating. A conceptual flaw of the book, I feel, lies in the shifting of "realities" from one section of the book to another. As long as I could keep one foot grounded in historical reality, it was easy and intriguing to place the other foot in the fictional world that Grissmer creates. But as I shifted into Grissmer's "transcendental" section of the book, I lost my footing and could not adjust to the writer's new paradigm. But, then, I'm not a science fiction reader, and James Joyce is a struggle for me.

Rating:
Summary: Solid, fantastical view of McClellan and Antietam
Review: Since childhood, I've enjoyed the rich detail and focused insights of historical novels. The mix of serious history and easy reading holds my interest every time. IMHO, Ghosts of Antietam offers such pleasures and more. In this meticulously researched novel, John Grissmer begins with a firm historical foundation and, then, adds a new twist. Using facts familiar to any Civil War buff, he places the characters and events preceding the Civil War into a fantasy -- "what if" -- realm. That is, could the War Between the States have been avoided altogether?

Underlying the many levels of this novel seems to be a fundamental premise that wars can be avoided; and, despite its fictional nature, the book leaves the reader with intriguing thoughts about the "necessity" of other conflicts of the past and present. Playing with these post-modern notions, Grissmer raises a fascinating proposal: What if the politicians of the late 1800's had seen more "grays" than just "black-and-white" issues? What if, instead of war, a political deal had been cut between powers of the North and South to avoid the Civil War altogether?

In answering this question, Grissmer creates an acceptably "real" possibility that the war was avoidable; and -- in doing so -- he has written a thoroughly absorbing read of "alternative history." Beginning with the fiction that Abraham Lincoln dies during his first term in office, Grissmer elevates Hannibal Hamlin, Vice President during Lincoln's first term, to become President. Following this premise, all of Grissmer's other pieces -- combining fact and fiction -- fall into place. For example, it is well documented that Hannibal Hamlin, from Maine, was extremely well regarded by both Northern and Southern factions in Congress. If anyone could have pulled off such a deal, Hamlin would have been a fine candidate. Historical non-fiction also documents the dealmaking abilities of William Seward, who works with Hamlin in Ghosts of Antietam to negotiate a win-win solution with Jefferson Davis. To pull the pieces together, Grissmer has created a solid character study of George McClellan, who serves as a military aide to Hamlin and as the narrator/hero of the novel.

Grissmer's riveting depiction of the Battle of Antietam is Civil War reading at its best--authentic, dramatic, taut. As the events of this battle unfolded, I was drawn into the action with tremendous tension, even though I knew what the outcome would be.

Grissmer is a skillful writer; and it was not difficult for me to suspend disbelief and buy into the historical fiction he was creating. A conceptual flaw of the book, I feel, lies in the shifting of "realities" from one section of the book to another. As long as I could keep one foot grounded in historical reality, it was easy and intriguing to place the other foot in the fictional world that Grissmer creates. But as I shifted into Grissmer's "transcendental" section of the book, I lost my footing and could not adjust to the writer's new paradigm. But, then, I'm not a science fiction reader, and James Joyce is a struggle for me.

Rating:
Summary: Complexity
Review: Thank you, Amazon, for your kind invitation to comment about my book. In the world of American Civil War literature I got tired of reading that George B. McClellan was a rotten General, a defective human being and more than a little bit crazy. As compared to Lincoln who is usually depicted as a wise secular saint. I dug deeper into Civil War history and discovered that the situation between the two men was not as simple as usually depicted. They were committed political enemies, but McClellan was no clown, and Lincoln was no saint. And both men loved their country. My novel, THE GHOSTS OF ANTIETAM, is the story of the conflict between them. But it also tells a tale of speculative alternate history, posing the question: Would Hannibal Hamlin, Lincoln's first term Vice President, have made a better leader for the country than Abraham Lincoln? In THE GHOSTS OF ANTIETAM Hannibal Hamlin avoids Civil War without firing a shot. Could that have even been possible? Or am I as crazy as George B. McClellan? John Grissmer March 28, 2000

Rating:
Summary: A Civil War Novel with an Intriquing Difference
Review: Want to read a Civil War novel that makes you think? John Grissmers' tale takes the reader to a parallel universe where Hannibal Hamlin (Lincolns' first Vice Pres.) and Jefferson Davis plot to avoid a bloody conflict. He also relates a gripping description of the Battle of Antietem that reminded me of descriptions by Michael and Jeff Shaara. The ending was completely unexpected. I heartily recommend this book to those Civil War buffs who are tired of the predictable.

Rating:
Summary: A Civil War Novel with an Intriquing Difference
Review: Want to read a Civil War novel that makes you think? John Grissmers' tale takes the reader to a parallel universe where Hannibal Hamlin (Lincolns' first Vice Pres.) and Jefferson Davis plot to avoid a bloody conflict. He also relates a gripping description of the Battle of Antietem that reminded me of descriptions by Michael and Jeff Shaara. The ending was completely unexpected. I heartily recommend this book to those Civil War buffs who are tired of the predictable.