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A Soldier's Heart

By: Gary Paulsen
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
ISBN: 0330370766
ISBN-13: 9780330370769
Released: 09 Oct 1998
RRP: £3.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Powerful - By: Kurt A. Johnson, 05 Dec 2003
It is June 1861, & Charley Goddard of Minnesota joins the army, so as not to miss what is certain to be a short war. But, war turns out not to be the adventure that he had expected. Through shot & shell, & more than a little insanity, Charley survives four great battles of the American Civil War. But, Charley is far from unchanged; instead of being the simple lad he once was, Charley now has a soldier's heart, one filled with pain.

I was a little surprised when my daughter thrust this book at me, saying that I must read it, as she has never done that before. So, I figured I must read a book that impressed her so much. This book is first & foremost an anti-war polemic. For the most part, only the battles are recounted in this short work, & the author goes to great lengths to show the horrors of war. In fact, my one problem with the book was that the author often went too far, presenting the Civil War as even more horrific that it actuallly was. For example, the book states that stomach wounds were always fatal, & that soldiers who were belly-shot were not even taken back to the hospital; both of those are not true.

But, that said, this is a powerfully written story, one that goes a long way towards presenting the horrors that many men actuallly experienced during the American Civil War. Overalll, I give it a guarded recommendation.

Good Book Read it if you are interested in the Civil War - By: , 05 Feb 2001
Good insight into the civil war. Describes in detail alll the gore & blood of civil war. Good book.