Book
Valley of the Shadow / Ralph Peters ; maps by George Skoch.
In the Valley of the Shadow, they wrote their names in blood. From a daring Confederate raid that nearly seized Washington, D.C., to a stunning reversal on the bloody fields of Cedar Creek, the summer and autumn of 1864 witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of our Civil War--in mighty battles now all but forgotten.... From hungry, hard-bitten Rebel privates to a pair of Union officers destined to become presidents, from a neglected hero who saved our nation's capital and went on to write one of his century's greatest novels to doomed Confederate leaders of incomparable valor, this book brings to life yesteryear's giants and their breathtaking battles.
Record details
- ISBN: 0765374048
- ISBN: 9780765374042 (paperback) :
- Physical Description: xii, 561 pages : maps ; 19 cm.
- Edition: First mass market edition.
- Publisher: New York, NY : Forge, 2018.
- Copyright: ©2015
Content descriptions
| General Note: | "A novel" -- Cover. "A Tom Doherty Associates book" -- Title page. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | War stories. United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Fiction. |
| Genre: | War-action > Fiction |
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Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valemount Public Library | apb his (Text) | 35194014273536 | Adult paperback | Volume hold | Available | - |
| 100 Mile House Branch | PB PET (Text) | 33923005951896 | Adventure | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Alexis Creek Branch | PB PET (Text) | 33923005929124 | War | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Anahim Lake Branch | PB PET (Text) | 33923005929207 | War | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Fort Nelson Public Library | PB PET (Text) | 35246000941581 | Adult Paperbacks - War/Action | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Houston Public Library | APB PET (Text) | 35150001710153 | Adult Paperback | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Likely Branch | PB PET (Text) | 33923005929215 | War | Volume hold | Available | - |
| McLeese Lake Branch | PB PET (Text) | 33923005929116 | War | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Nazko Branch | PB PET (Text) | 33923005929231 | War | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Prince Rupert Library | APb Pete (Text) | 33294002013498 | Paperbacks - Adult | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2015 April #2
Retired U.S. Army officer and bestselling author Peters (Cain at Gettysburg, 2012; Hell or Richmond, 2013) turns his attention to the Shenandoah Valley as he continues his superb chronicle of the Civil War. In 1864, the Confederate and Union armies desperately vie to gain control of the geographically strategic "breadbasket of the Confederacy." All the major historical players are present and accounted for as the long and arduous campaign unfolds in a series of interrelated battles. But more significantly, the heroics and the significant contributions of many of the less flamboyant officers, whose stalwart actions often tend to be discounted or overlooked entirely, are recounted. Although Peters naturally excels at precise military detailing and brutal battle scenes, he also displays a writer's knack for setting the scene and fleshing out characters. An absolute must read for Civil War buffs. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2015 March #2
Those who enjoy Bruce Catton's and Shelby Foote's Civil War histories will find a fictional equal in Peters' retelling of the 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign.Combining character study, strategy, and battle scenes, Peters (Cain at Gettysburg, 2012, etc.) focuses on the great, small, and those in history's shadows, like U.S. Gen. Emory Upton, "an enigma, a hardened Christian, mean as a Turkâ¦a brilliant, intolerant merciless young man." Famous names also appear: Union Army Gen. Philip Sheridan, all pugnacious Irish temper; tobacco-chewing Confederate Gen. Jubal Early, "a spitting, crook-back man and harsh-mouthed as a heathen"; and future president Rutherford Hayes, who learned "War made it hard to credit a merciful God." Peters draws from contemporary sources, including writings of the 61st Georgia Volunteer Infantry's George Nichols, country boy and confused Christian: "Nichols had gotten himself a new pair of shoes, assured by Elder Woodfin it was not theft to remove th em from the dead Yankee." His writing vivid with cannon smoke and screams, clashes between generals and brigades, Peters begins with disgraced Gen. Lew Wallaceâpilloried for supposed errors at Shilohârallying rear-echelon ragtags to prevent Early's capture of Washington. There at Mononacy Junction, Peters introduces another patriot, grizzled Army Gen. James Ricketts, key in denying Rebels the Shenandoah's easy passage north and its fertile farms. Peters details the battle at Winchester, the rout at Fisher's Hill, and the decisive confrontation at Cedar Creek. With alluringly literary languageâdescribing a warrior's newborn child as "the promise that a man's blood would go on, a swaddled, mewling hint of resurrection"âPeters is deft with dialogue and setting, but it's his characterizations ("Custer was a bloody-handed instrument") and battle scenes ("without a muchness of guns to give things a shake") that make this a must-read for Civil War history fa n s. A superlative novel. Copyright Kirkus 2015 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
