Colonel William Asbury Speer fought in sixteen major battles of the Civil War. He was wounded twice in combat; served time in Northern prison camps; participated in Pickett;’s charge; marched with Jackson around the Union Army at Chancellorsville; and only weeks before his death; was elected to the North Carolina Senate. His Civil War diary and letters provide vivid accounts of battles at Hanover Court House; Chancellorsville; Gettysburg; Wilderness; and Spotsylvania; all of which will interest scholars; military historians; and Civil War buffs. The story appeals to a rather broad reading audience because of the poignant; often poetic; power of the narrative.
#2239765 in Books Dark Horse 2000-07-12 2000-07-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 .29 x 8.58 x 11.01l; #File Name: 156971500980 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. great workBy JohnMr. Eisner was an amazing story teller. Interesting to see that he continued to generate more new ideas and stories when most cartoonists have long faded away at that age0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Adrian RobertsGreat!3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Vignettes of rear echelon warriorsBy Jean E. PouliotAs the introduction for this books indicates; Will Eisner used his graphic talents to educate US armed forces in three conflicts -- WWII; Korea and Vietnam. His work in this small but impressive volume is mostly taken from Korea and Vietnam; and touches on peripheral stories of these conflicts. "Last Day in Vietnam" follows Eisner's guide to the war; a stocky; macho rearguard major who is suddenly confronted with fear on his last day "in country". "A Purple Heart for George" tells the tale of a young soldier who is bellicose when drunk and of the file clerks who try to keep him out of combat. "The Periphery" is about journalists -- those who "report" from the comfort of a Saigon café and those who return from hotter areas. "The Casualty" is about a wounded GI reminiscing about his Vietnamese lover and the pain she brought him. And "A Dull Day in Korea" tells the story of a bored GI on the DMZ in Korea; who has a loaded rifle but no enemy to shoot at.Each tale is told with Eisner's trademark brevity. The entire book can be read in less than half an hour. This leads to some disappointment as each of these too-brief stories ends. Some tales are a bit too comic-bookish for my taste -- a few too many situations are resolved by a characters facing out at the reader with a "so; what are you gonna do?" quizzical gesture. One story; about a soldir who loves killing; ends with a too-easy comic reversal.But as with all of Eisner's work; the images and stories stay with you long after you put the book down.While this is not my favorite Eisner work (check out the "Contract with God" trilogy) it is good stuff and worth a look.
