Product Description
Reminiscent of Cold Mountain and Gone with the Wind, a civil war saga of a Virginia plantation family fulfilling its unforgettable destiny. Widely acclaimed, with comparisons to Margaret Mitchell and Shelby Foote, Jacob's Ladder is a rich and poignant novel. It is the story of Duncan Gatewood, seventeen and heir to the Gatewood Plantation in Virginia. Duncan falls in love with Maggie, a mulatto slave, who bears him a son, Jacob. Maggie and Jacob are sold south, and Duncan is packed off by his irate father to the Virginia Military Institute. As a cadet, Duncan guards the gallows of John Brown; as a man he will fight for Robert E. Lee and the South. Another Gatewood slave, Jesse--whose love for Maggie is unrequited--escapes to freedom and enlists in Mr. Lincoln's army; in time he will confront his former masters.
Permeated with a wealth of scrupulously researched historical detail, McCaig conjures up the interlocked lives of masters and slaves so skillfully that he has gained praise from African American historians and the descendants of confederate veterans. Jacob's Ladder, lauded by the Virginia Quarterly as "the best Civil War novel ever written," is an epic tale that resonates with all the bitter glory and deep human shame of America's greatest war.
--Winner of the John Esten Cooke Fiction Award from the Military Order of the Stars and Bars
--"McCaig's new saga captures the details of wartime Virginia with stunning force....Think Cold Mountain; think Gone with the Wind." --People
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 A fine study that conveys a lot thru the genre of historical fiction ( hood-lum )
This story really gets going after the first 100 pages or so and certainly rewards the reader's persistence. I was impressed with:
--the author's ability to create characters that we remember and care for
--the author's ability to create characters that are historically accurate and morally nuanced
--the author's overall moral sensitivity
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great characters! ( litllincombs )
I loved this book. Filled with descriptions of life during the Civil War from everyones differing points of view. I loved following the lifes of each rich character from before during and after the war.
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 Conflicts Of The War
Jacob is a child of a thirteen year old slave and Duncan Gatewood. The Gatewoods are a slave-owning Virginia family. The mother and child are sold and Duncan is sent to military school. Before Duncan leaves to join Lee he sees his son and Maggie whom he loves. She marries a cotton broker and is passed off as white. McCaig creates a cast of character that he weaves in and out of this devastating four years of our history. It is a very enjoyable book. Ruth Thompson author of "Natchez Above The River" and "The Bluegrass Dream"
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Jacobs Ladder
This book was purchased because of a book club and it was the book of the month. I found it not as interesting as past books, but if you are a Civil War "buff" you will like it.
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A Strange Title for a Very Good Book ( fdhale )
This is one of the very best books I have read on the Civil War - and I'm a "War Between the States" buff. The title is very misleading. A lot of research went into this novel.
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