Die Like Men

4 stars

This book has a very slow start, but picks up quickly as the confrontation between the Confederacy and the Union armies draws near.

A highlight of the first part of the book is the infighting and name calling that occurred between the commanders of the Army of the South. John Bell Hood had a very high opinion of himself and his fighting abilities and thought very little of the other Confederate General's. It might be that he was promoted beyond his capabilities and was in such pain and agony from his grevious wounds that he was unable to focus on the task at hand. He was heading to Nashville with only 40,000 weary and hungry troops. I would have thought it not possible to face the Union with so few men. There was a story I had read about his having to be tied to his horse at one point?

The book focuses on the oncoming Battle of Nashville. This is a little known battle of the Civil War and frankly one I hadn't yet heard of in my studies of the War.

The book discusses the personalities and varying qualities of the commanders on both sides of the conflict. I appreciated this part of the book for it helped me to understand the individual's actions in light of their personalities. Why they behaved the way they did.

Chaplain Quintard of the Confederacy seemed a level-headed observer of all that was going on – the personality clashes, the petty grievances and gross incompetencies of some of the commanders.

This book is well written once the reader makes it past the slow start. It is a colorful rendition of the troops and commanders of the armies. It describes the various actions of those in charge of the troops and their reasons for their behavior. It also speaks of the average civilian and what they are thinking. The book also describes the countryside through which the troops are marching very well. Most of the leaders are concerned for the welfare of their men, although some are not. The reader gets the full picture of the hilly terrain and the flat valleys and the sounds of the war. There is even a description of playing checkers with different colored leaves. It's absolutely great! I enjoyed this book and learning much about this almost forgotten battle.

I want to thank NetGalley and Bluewater Publications for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Die Like Men has a extremely slow start,but then picks up. It is well written and researched. The book is a historical fiction novel that keeps your attention once it gets going.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I was really hoping that this novel would be a good read and give me further insight into this aspect of the Civil War. A well written historical novel tends to be pretty accurate in the description of the characters and actions of the time period. While the book was all that it just did not flow aggressively enough to keep me interested.

The author's painstaking research and attention to detail is obvious in the writing of this book. There were many facts that I only discovered after reading this!