Review of “I Am a Soldier, First and Always”: The Distinguished Career of Winfield Scott Hancock
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Kendra Tompkins
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Review of “I Am a Soldier, First and Always”: The Distinguished Career of Winfield Scott Hancock
[Following is a volunteer review of "“I Am a Soldier, First and Always”: The Distinguished Career of Winfield Scott Hancock" by James Harold Kelly.]
“I am a Soldier, First and Always” The Distinguished Career of Winfield Scott Hancock, Volume II: Turning Point is a story about the title-mentioned Winfield Scott Hancock. In this volume of the story, readers follow the distinguished soldier through the battle of Gettysburg to his dealings with the Native Americans in the Midwest, and, finally, to his career in politics. Each turn offers new insight into the depth of character of the esteemed soldier and patriot of the young United States of America.
I really enjoyed the narrative of this book. The way the author presented the storyline impressed me. James Kelly iterated the details of battle as though you and he were soldiers experiencing all that raged around you. I also appreciated the perspectives of both armies given in the book. The back and forth made it feel like you were, again, there on the battlefield with the soldiers. Furthermore, Kelly included the occasional map to help his readers visualize the battle lines as they were formed, and how each army moved toward one another in each conflict. Finally, the author painted well the ugliness of war. While the engagement of war is severe enough, the toll it takes on its individual participants is just as intense, if not more so. Kelly prudently shed light on that toll.
The only slightly negative thing I could give for this book was that the end of the book drug on a little. After you follow Hancock through his post-war life, once you get into his political career there were a few pages that felt repetitive. However, moving from place to place to fill a political role is difficult to be less than repetitive.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. The story was very well told, not perfect grammatically, but I have yet to find a book that is without grammatical or typographical errors. However, as previously mentioned, James Kelly writes as though he was there and does a phenomenal job of pulling his readers into the scene with him.
I would recommend this book for readers 18 and older. The book is necessarily graphic in some places--as war is as graphic as Kelly portrays it. I would also recommend this book for anyone who appreciates history and the lives of the soldiers who have made our freedom possible.
In conclusion, this book is a great read. It will go on my list of favorite books ever read, and I will keep my eyes open for more books by this author.
******
“I Am a Soldier, First and Always”: The Distinguished Career of Winfield Scott Hancock
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
“I am a Soldier, First and Always” The Distinguished Career of Winfield Scott Hancock, Volume II: Turning Point is a story about the title-mentioned Winfield Scott Hancock. In this volume of the story, readers follow the distinguished soldier through the battle of Gettysburg to his dealings with the Native Americans in the Midwest, and, finally, to his career in politics. Each turn offers new insight into the depth of character of the esteemed soldier and patriot of the young United States of America.
I really enjoyed the narrative of this book. The way the author presented the storyline impressed me. James Kelly iterated the details of battle as though you and he were soldiers experiencing all that raged around you. I also appreciated the perspectives of both armies given in the book. The back and forth made it feel like you were, again, there on the battlefield with the soldiers. Furthermore, Kelly included the occasional map to help his readers visualize the battle lines as they were formed, and how each army moved toward one another in each conflict. Finally, the author painted well the ugliness of war. While the engagement of war is severe enough, the toll it takes on its individual participants is just as intense, if not more so. Kelly prudently shed light on that toll.
The only slightly negative thing I could give for this book was that the end of the book drug on a little. After you follow Hancock through his post-war life, once you get into his political career there were a few pages that felt repetitive. However, moving from place to place to fill a political role is difficult to be less than repetitive.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. The story was very well told, not perfect grammatically, but I have yet to find a book that is without grammatical or typographical errors. However, as previously mentioned, James Kelly writes as though he was there and does a phenomenal job of pulling his readers into the scene with him.
I would recommend this book for readers 18 and older. The book is necessarily graphic in some places--as war is as graphic as Kelly portrays it. I would also recommend this book for anyone who appreciates history and the lives of the soldiers who have made our freedom possible.
In conclusion, this book is a great read. It will go on my list of favorite books ever read, and I will keep my eyes open for more books by this author.
******
“I Am a Soldier, First and Always”: The Distinguished Career of Winfield Scott Hancock
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
