No Good Like It Is
There are not too many Civil War novels that pack as much action into so small a space as this one does. This is an old-fashioned, rip-snortin’, “shoot-em-up.” It is the story of Terry’s Texas Rangers, the 8th Texas Cavalry, C.S.A. There are two central characters, and we follow them from the prewar Texas frontier to the Confederate Army of Tennessee. On the way they see action at Fort Pillow with Nathan Bedford Forrest. We then follow the action to the postwar frontier. The protagonists are pictured as moral avengers against the forces of evil, usually Union deserters and crazed Confederate brigands. They always seem to be on hand to prevent injustice, with consequences to themselves. You get the picture! This is a throwback to the old pulp Western and dime-store novel days. I am not sure of the factual goings-on, but this is a really good action adventure. If you liked the TV movies of “The Sacketts” and the Clint Eastwood film, “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” you are going to love this book. I give this one a hearty yippie-ki-ay. Reviewer: Joseph A. Truglio Joseph A. Truglio is president and business agent for a motion picture film technicians local union and a lifelong student of the Civil War. His memberships include the Lincoln Group of New York and New Jersey Civil War Heritage Assn. He is president of the Phil Kearny Civil War Round Table in Wayne, N.J.
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325pp., 2010, Create Space,