To Make Men Free: A Novel of the Battle of Antietam - Hardcover

Croker, Richard

3.93

69 ratings by Goodreads

9780060559083: To Make Men Free: A Novel of the Battle of Antietam

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006055908X ISBN 13: 9780060559083

Publisher: William Morrow, 2004

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A fictional account of the bloody Civil War battle of September 1862 brings together the characters of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and others, re-creating the events that turned the tide in favor of northern forces and cleared the path for the Emancipation Proclamation. 30,000 first printing.

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About the Author:

Richard Croker is an independent documentary filmmaker whose work has appeared on TBS, The Learning Channel, and the Discovery Digital Networks. A native of the South whose great-grandfathers fought for the Confederacy, Croker lives in Marietta, Georgia.

From Publishers Weekly:

The bloodiest day of the Civil War, a Union victory that crushed Lee's first invasion of the North and gave Lincoln a triumphal pretext for the Emancipation Proclamation, is the subject of this rousing, panoramic debut historical. Documentary filmmaker Croker skillfully fictionalizes a meticulously researched account�€"of the battle, the campaign that preceded it and its momentous political fallout�€"that is more comprehensive than many nonfiction treatments. In vivid, punchy scenes, occasionally illustrated with maps, readers follow the strategic maneuvers of the Union and Confederate armies, learn how to operate a cannon and amputate a leg, and get swept up in the panic and pathos of combat. Croker fleshes out the gore and gallantry on the battlefield with a sprawling cast of well-drawn characters, from Lincoln and his cabinet down to lowly privates. Particularly interesting is his portrait of Union General-in-chief George McClellan, one of the more fascinating psyches in American history, whose mixture of insufferable vainglory and paralyzing insecurity constituted a major obstacle to a Northern victory. Croker's didactic impulses occasionally get the better of him�€"one scene is inserted mainly to correct a common mispronunciation of a general's name�€"and his determination to convey the entire range of perspectives on Antietam sometimes clutters the stage with incidental figures. But his combination of period detail, gripping battle scenes and psychological insight bring the epic to life.
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