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    Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War
    Unavailable
    Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War
    Unavailable
    Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War
    Audiobook19 hours

    Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War

    Written by Jeff Shaara

    Narrated by Jonathan Davis

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    With his acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, Jeff Shaara expanded upon his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War classic, The Killer Angels--ushering the reader through the poignant drama of this most bloody chapter in our history. Now, in Gone for Soldiers, Jeff Shaara carries us back fifteen years before that momentous conflict, when the Civil War's most familiar names are fighting for another cause, junior officers marching under the same flag in an unfamiliar land, experiencing combat for the first time in the Mexican-American War.

    In March 1847, the U.S. Navy delivers eight thousand soldiers on the beaches of Vera Cruz. They are led by the army's commanding general, Winfield Scott, a heroic veteran of the War of 1812, short tempered, vain, and nostalgic for the glories of his youth. At his right hand is Robert E. Lee, a forty-year-old engineer, a dignified, serious man who has never seen combat.

    Scott leads his troops against the imperious Mexican dictator, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana. Obsessed with glory and his place in history, Santa Ana arrogantly underestimates the will and the heart of Scott and his army. As the Americans fight their way inland, both sides understand that the inevitable final conflict will come at the gates and fortified walls of the ancient capital, Mexico City.

    Cut off from communication and their only supply line, the Americans learn about their enemy and themselves, as young men witness for the first time the horror of war. While Scott must weigh his own place in history, fighting what many consider a bully's war, Lee the engineer becomes Lee the hero, the one man in Scott's command whose extraordinary destiny as a soldier is clear.

    In vivid, brilliant prose that illuminates the dark psychology of soldiers and their commanders trapped behind enemy lines, Jeff Shaara brings to life the haunted personalities and magnificent backdrop, the familiar characters, the stunning triumphs and soul-crushing defeats of this fascinating, long-forgotten war. Gone for Soldiers is an extraordinary achievement that will remain with you long after the final page is turned.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 5, 2000
    ISBN9780553752878
    Unavailable
    Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War
    Author

    Jeff Shaara

    JEFF SHAARA is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of seventeen novels, including Rise to Rebellion and The Rising Tide, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure - two novels that complete his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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    Reviews for Gone for Soldiers

    4/5

    164 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I had forgotten how much I enjoy reading Shaara's books. This is the fourth of his that I have read, and I really like how he approaches historical fiction. This book covers the little discussed Mexican War and follow Shaara's trademarked style of having each chapter told from the perspective of an historical figure. The majority of chapters in this book are done through Winfield Scott and Robert E. Lee, with a few chapters at the end (dealing with the attack on Mexico City) being told through the eyes of Grant, Jackson, and Longstreet.

      The War itself involved only a few large battles, so the story focused quite a few chapters on Lee's scouting ability. I found it interesting, but it did seemed to be stretched out a bit at times. I really enjoyed reading about three things:

      1. The Mexican War that I did not know much about.
      2. Winfield Scott, a towering historical figure I also did not know much about.
      3. The background stories for many of the major figures of the Civil War.
    • 4/5
      Great book detailing an almost forgotten part of U. S. History. Especially valuable for its chronicle of the lives of future army officers in the Civil War, but also enlightening in its description of the importance of the Mexican War.
    • 5/5
      I felt like I was there! So vivid is the text.
    • 5/5
      Very interesting account of the US - Mexican war that took place just before our own civil war. I especially enjoyed the author's accounting of what happened to each of the principal characters afterwards. I was a bit surprised there was nothing mentioned of the famous "boy heroes", Mexican cadets, that lost their lives when Chapultepec fell.
    • 4/5
      I have read all of Mr. Shaara's novels, this one is a bit below them since it does not flow as smooth, and I got the feeling that he took too much "liberties" with the characters. There is no way for us to know exactly what was said, and who was thinking what, but I felt he went a little beyond his "Gods and Generals", and "The Last Full Measure" being much more free with historical characters.Mr. Shaara did justice to General Scott, who to this day does not get the credit he deserved, but I think he got a bit confused with the character of R.E. Lee in his youth.All in all, I really enjoyed reading the book and if you enjoyed this author's previous works, you'll enjoy this one also.
    • 4/5
      Like Killer Angels, this is a personal look at the conduct of the War with Mexico, particularly focused on the young leaders that would be critical in the US Civil War. An excellent overview of the war without being too detailed. Like Shaara's other books, this is a personal view of warfare, with emphasis on the warfare.
    • 5/5
      There are very few books out there that teach about the Mexican War in such an interesting and entertaining way as Jeff Shaara. This account sets the stage for the American Civil War by introducing the reader to many of the notable generals of the Civil War who got their start as privates and lieutenants in the Mexican War.
    • 3/5
      This novel of the Mexican War focuses on Winfield Scott and Robert E. Lee. Shaara also highlights Jackson, Longstreet, Grant, Johnston, and others. It's captivating. I especially enjoyed the insight into Lee's earlier years as a soldier and the dynamics of strategy between the earliest West Point officers and Santa Anna's old-style European approach.