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Gone for Soldiers : A Novel of the Mexican War
Gone for Soldiers A Novel of the Mexican War
Author: Jeffrey Shaara
In this stunning, unforgettable novel, Jeff Shaara carries us back thirteen years before the Civil War, when that momentous conflict'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. — "BRILLIANT DOES NOT EVE...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780345427519
ISBN-10: 0345427513
Publication Date: 7/3/2001
Pages: 448
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 24

4 stars, based on 24 ratings
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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tschaap avatar reviewed Gone for Soldiers : A Novel of the Mexican War on + 2 more book reviews
Great story! I was not familiar with the Mexican War in such detail before. As with all of Jeff Shaara's books, he makes reading history very interesting!
Fishtrap avatar reviewed Gone for Soldiers : A Novel of the Mexican War on + 4 more book reviews
If you like Jeff Shaara don't miss reading this one which is an excellent narrative history of an unknown war told only as Jeff can tell it in his very readable style.
reviewed Gone for Soldiers : A Novel of the Mexican War on + 179 more book reviews
The veteran major-general Winfield Scott and an upstart Robert E. Lee anchor Gone for Soldiers. Headstrong, brilliant, and generally distrustful of his less able subordinates, Scott leads the U.S. troops slowly and inevitably toward Mexico City, imparting martial lessons along the way. "The worst consequence of fighting a war is not if you lose, Mr. Lee," he sighs. "The worst thing you can do is win badly." Lee distinguishes himself throughout the campaign, his meticulous scouting and shrewd inferences winning both Scott's admiration and the jealousy of officers whose ambition surpasses their experience. Lee, too, frequently assesses his place in the hierarchy, but he--like Scott--remains more bemused than seduced by the glitter of fame.

This sympathy between the two men grows as Lee observes Scott embroiled in the distracting politics of war: officers salivating for promotion, enemies more preoccupied with saving face than lives, distant legislators issuing directives. If Gone for Soldiers occasionally bogs down during its many lengthy battle scenes, unexpected and delightful small touches arise nearly as often--the "capture" of Mexican leader Santa Anna's wooden leg or the chance encounter between Lee and a young Ulysses S. Grant. Duty-bound and humble, Lee cultivates a perpetual stoicism. "Now we're out here in some place God may not want us to be. It's hard to believe He is happy watching us fight a war," he muses, a sobering coda to the grim calculations of victory.
FoundItOnAnAirplane avatar reviewed Gone for Soldiers : A Novel of the Mexican War on + 30 more book reviews
I've read excerpts from this and other Shaara works (by both the father & the son). Outstanding works but so descriptive that I had trouble following the scenes as they changed from one story to another. One must really have an eye for detail and already be very familiar w/ Civil War commanders, the Mexican War, and the history of the period.


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