Product Description

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 EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THE SHAARA GIFT."
--Atlanta Journal-Constitution

SHAARA RELIES "ON THE HISTORY BEHIND THE MEN AND THEIR CAMPAIGNS TO TELL THE TALE. . . . Most poignant of all is the appearance of so many characters who will fight under opposing flags 13 years later. Stonewall Jackson shows up as a humorless young lieutenant with a spiritual reverence for his artillery, and Ulysses S. Grant awkwardly meets [Robert E.] Lee. . . . The salvaging of such episodes from history is ultimately a patriotic task, deserving of gratitude."
--The Washington Post Book World

"COMPELLING . . . THRILLING . . . Shaara briskly drives the U.S. forces to Mexico City, building suspense at each battle, all towards the climactic storming of the gates of the capital. . . . [He] has humanized the mythos of Lee as no one ever has and, in doing, makes an enduring contribution to literature."
--Civil War Book Review

"SHAARA, AS USUAL, IS AT HIS BEST IN ACTION AND CONFRONTATION AND IN EVOKING HOW IT FELT TO BE THERE."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103977 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-03
• Released on: 2001-07-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Amazon.com
Having chronicled the Civil War in Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, Jeff Shaara casts his eye on the earlier proving ground of the Mexican War in his third novel, Gone for Soldiers. Although it secured the Southwest for a nation emboldened by Manifest Destiny, this two-year conflict has nearly faded into oblivion, eclipsed by the subsequent domestic dispute a dozen years later. Shaara's hallmarks--the deliberations of leaders and the brutal facts of battle--illuminate his engaging diversion into an oft-overlooked struggle in which men who would come to oppose one another fought under a single flag.

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. --Ben Guterson

From Publishers Weekly
Shaara's latest historical novel abandons the Civil War era of his two previous works, Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, which completed a trilogy begun by his father with the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Killer Angels. Striving this time to reimagine the Mexican-American War of 1847, Shaara paints a respectable if uneven group portrait of the men who fought south of the border. Gen. Winfield Scott--accompanied by future Confederacy leaders Robert E. Lee, George Pickett and Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson, and soon-to-be Union Army Gen. Ulysses S. Grant--lands at the port of Vera Cruz, intent on piercing straight through to the heart of Mexico and defeating General Santa Anna. Shaara is at his best when describing the all-too-real horrors of hand-to-hand combat, enveloping the reader in the sounds, smells and realities of battlefield carnage. "Now, when a man dies by your side, you don't expect the man who replaces him to survive either, you don't even want to learn his name. And now, when you march into the guns, you accept that this time it might be you, as if it's already decided." The author sometimes tries to hard to distinguish his characters by their traits, interjecting superfluous details verging on caricature, such as Scott's distaste for veal. "Try never to eat the stuff... Horrible, barbaric. Baby cows." However, a scene describing the delayed hanging of a group of American deserters so that they may watch and cheer the raising of the Stars and Stripes over the castle of Chapultepec is gripping and all too believable. Though the stilted, "in the mind of the soldier" narrative becomes a wearisome contrivance at times, the action scenes are fluid and compelling. 15-city author tour; Random House Large Print, BDD Audio. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Noted for the Civil War saga he took over from his father, Michael, Shaara steps back--all the way to the Mexican-American War, where the young Robert E. Lee proves his mettle.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Back to the Future
Very good historical fiction, as you might expect from Shaara. The fascinating aspect of the Mexican War for many people is the fact that the officers who fought together in Mexico ended up years later as bitter enemies in the Civil War. This carefully researched and easily read book delves into the personalities of many of these now and future warriors. With the hindsight of history, we look with sadness or anticipation at the interaction of these men with each other, knowing what lies ahead. In addition to a fascinating account of historic personalities, "Gone for Soldiers" clearly explains why the Mexican War occurred in the first place. I believe this important war has been given short shrift in the history books, but Shaara enlightens us on the whys, wherefores and especially the hows. Good, educational, enjoyable book.

I like the book and It should be made into a Movie
I enjoyed the book, Gone for Soldiers, because it helps to describe how the American and Mexican soldiers lived and faced during the Mexican War 1846-1848. In addition, it describes some of the battles of the Mexican War, under Winfield Scott, from Vera Cruz to the gates of Mexico City. I hope that this book will be made into a motion picture /made-for-television movie in the future, like Gods and Generals and Gettysburg.

Informative but too long
As a Civil War buff I enjoyed this historically accurate account of this little known war. Rightfully so, R.E. Lee and Gen. Scott occupy the central roles with minor roles being played by key characters that reappear during the Civil War. Santa Anna was a real buffoon and Shaara did a good job depicting him as such. The novel was a little too long and it did not quiet measure up to his Father's work with Killer Angels or with his own Civil War novels.