Colonel John Coburn led his own brigade and other troops along a road near the little crossroads of Thompson's Station in Tennessee to sound out the Confederate enemy. He soon was confronted by two Civil War adversaries--Earl Von Dorn and Nathan Bedford Forrest. Betrayed by poor artillery support and bad communications; his men nevertheless fought bravely. Realizing the futility of the situation; however; Coburn surrended and he and his men were soon on their way to Libby Prison. Their disgrace and subsequent redemption is the story of this book.
#61197 in Books Potomac Books Inc. 2001-10-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.99 x 1.11 x 6.07l; 1.51 #File Name: 1574882864508 pagesGreat product!
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Terrific MemoirBy GerryThis book is nothing short of an amazing account of the overall "human condition" through war. I will not say that this is a "must read" for people in a general or overall sense; but for people interested in reading about military history; war; battles; and the ravaging experience of innocence in those poor lost souls of children and the elderly it certainly brings to the forefront their exodus along the battle lines as well. My last three books specifically dealing with military history have traveled the battle fields of the Chosin Reservoir in Korea; Landing Zones X-Ray and Albany in Vietnam; and now the Eastern Front as seen through the eyes of a Private in Werhmacht and later the Gross Deutschland Division cover a vast array of tormented experiences. All three of these last reads speak to the "sunkened eyes" or the battlfield expressions of a human's ability to survive the unsurvivable experiences.Guy Sajer wrote this I imagine out of a desire to remember his friends that were lost on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. He may have written this too in order to get passed his own version of PTSD of the time frame. This book shows the occasional humor during field conditions as well as the thoughts one would have along the course of attempting to live through the next battle; and the next; and the next; etc. I give this book the complete 5 stars it rightfully deserves based on the history it provides. My only wish in this book is within the Epilogue description which I believed was much too shortened ~ I took this to mean for the author that he needed to step away from the personal account completely at this juncture. I don't wish to go over the battles he fought; or the retreats he was a part of as I would not want to ruin this read for someone that may be interested in this book to read for him or herself. The Epilogue however needed to dive into a more detailed account of the exisitence after the Second World War concluded; what happened or may have happened to those friends that still survived along side of him and how he attempted to get back to the world in a peaceful existence. We see the window of PTSD all through this book and I would have liked to have read more about the challenges he obviously had to struggle with.This book to me is as important as is Homer's "Odysee". The trials; tribulations; rare glimpses of happiness; and the ever present failure of a Government that was supposed to last a thousand years only lasted a total of 12. If you enjoy military history and attempting to strike a balance on both sides of the equation relative to the battle field itself then this book will keep you captivated as it did me. Each and every page I found I wanted to know "what happened next" until one gets to the end of the book. It did have to end however; and it is within the ending that I personally found rather empty - maybe you who read this review and then read the book will find an ending suitable to your desire. I merely wish he would have expanded further in this regard.flag0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I wished this book would never have endedBy NNYerI truly felt a part of the soldiers' lives on the horrible Eastern Front; and after all the reading I have done of WWII - or any war; for that matter - this is by far my favorite for its vivid descriptions that brought to life the experience of all the senses. It was like going through the war with them; inch by inch and step by step; moment to moment and season to season; year after endless; grueling year; and feeling their pain and cold and hunger and agony and indescribable fear. I felt so much for the author as well as his fellow soldiers. I wish I could have known them in real life.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. This book I read over a series of months and ...By Bri GuyThis book I read over a series of months and I still remember almost every detail of it and I'm writing this review 2 years after reading it . I stumbled upon it because of Dan Calin of the Hard Core History Podcast; he had this on his list or readings so I picked it up. It has changed my view of the world ever since reading it; not everything in the world is black and white and this book teaches you that lesson.
