Better Angels of Our Nature
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Better Angels of Our Nature Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

S.C. Gylanders (Author), Cassandra Campbell (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
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On the eve of Shiloh, one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, a mysterious visitor appears at General William Tecumseh Sherman’s camp. Without family or home, with only a uniform and the name of Jesse, this prepossessing stranger is an intriguing mix of naiveté and wisdom, ignorant of the most basic conventions of warfare yet uncannily familiar with even the most intimate details of Sherman’s personal life and career. Jesse, in turn, has only one desire: to remain by Sherman’s side–for reasons only Jesse knows and isn’t revealing. Initially unwilling to become a father figure to this beguiling visitor, Sherman is finally unable to resist such devotion and tenacity. He takes Jesse under his wing, determined to train this enigmatic creature in the art of war–and provide the strength and wisdom needed to survive its horrors.

Resourceful and courageous, Jesse soon earns the respect of Sherman’s men, especially the compassionate but plain-talking surgeon, Seth Cartwright, and Thomas Ransom, a noble and handsome young infantry officer. No matter their destiny neither man can divert Jesse’s mission.

But what is the truth? What is Jesse’s purpose and why has this fascinating youth appeared at this most crucial time in Sherman’s life and in the life of the bitterly divided nation? In the end we are forced to ask: Who is under whose wing?

The Better Angels of Our Nature brilliantly re-creates the drama and brutality of America’s Civil War. Set in the momentous fourteen-month period spanning Shiloh and Vicksburg–a time that turned the tide of war and determined the nation’s fate–this harrowing, lyrically written novel is filled with unforgettable characters and wondrous twists that will give readers pause to reconsider events familiar to us all. Meticulously researched and movingly written, this masterwork will remain with readers long after the last page is savored.
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  1. Listening Length
    17 hours and 58 minutes
  2. Author
    S.C. Gylanders
  3. Narrator
    Cassandra Campbell
  4. Audible release date
    December 4, 2006
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B000LP5E28
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 17 hours and 58 minutes
Author S.C. Gylanders
Narrator Cassandra Campbell
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date December 04, 2006
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B000LP5E28
Best Sellers Rank #359,649 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#22,349 in Historical Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#130,546 in Historical Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
7 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
Thoroughly enjoyable
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TCW
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific novel!
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2018
This is one of the finest Civil War novels I've ever read. The author masterfully weaves the mysterious Jesse Davis with very believable battle and camp scenes. Highly recommended!
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Paul L.
4.0 out of 5 stars Gylanders's "The Better Angels of Our Nature" is a fictional novel set ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2015
S.C. Gylanders's "The Better Angels of Our Nature" is a fictional novel set between the battles of Shiloh & Vicksburg with the focus on a stranger who comes wandering into the encampment of General William Tecumseh Sherman & asks simply to be trained by him since that's what "he" wants. The story itself starts out pretty interesting & quick moving as our individual Jesse Davis is a quick learner who becomes attached to Sherman & the medical corps without fail in the days leading up to & through Shiloh. However, Gylanders's tale runs astray when it deviates a bit from the normal horrors & honors of war & the true identity of Corporal Davis. It does so by having a love story develop between her & eventual General Thomas Ransom which hurts the story quite a bit & even some of Sherman's insinuations that Davis is an angel who can do anything are almost a bit farfetched. Historically accurate though across the jump in time from Shiloh through the siege at Vicksburg & beyond into 1864 where again the story seems to lose its way, "The Better Angels of Our Nature" is still a very good piece of historical period fiction for the Civil War despite the missteps & will remind you of the humanity in us all.
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XRAY
2.0 out of 5 stars i could care less about love stories, and then her ending is the most ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2014
i never write reviews but making an exception in this case. i have been a student of the war for many years. i read very little non-fiction but have read sharra's books. gylander writes well with descriptive images of the battle scenes and aftermath. she is a talented and well studied writer. having said that i must say that i have never felt so cheated by any book. gylander hooks you into the story line with this young girl and keeps you hooked with the war details, i could care less about love stories but one does rather get interested in it, and then her ending is the most anti-climatic and unfinished and cliff hanging as anything i've ever seen. i haven't seen that she has a follow up novel for this, so it's just the reader's tough luck i guess in her mind.. i would rarely comment like this but if you are already knowledgeable about the war at all i wouldn't waste my time with this book. you too would likely walk away feeling cheated.
One person found this helpful
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Jan B.
3.0 out of 5 stars Confused Characters Mar This Historical Novel
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2007
This book is written in the style made famous in "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara (also known as "Gettysburg," the name given to the film based on the book). Well researched history comes alive by telling the story through the eyes, ears, and words of characters who are themselves as well researched as possible. "The Better Angels of Our Nature" tries to do the same thing, and in some ways this is a good book. The history is very well done. The characters, however, are noncredible. For example, Ms. Gylanders wants us to see how bloody the war is, and characters bleed and die, but somehow they are never convincingly in pain. One dying soldier seems unaware of his own pain and wants only to protect his brother's feelings. Another severely injured character, weak from loss of blood, parched, unfed, and captured by the enemy, nevertheless has absolutely no loss of energy and quibbles with the enemy over every word he says. The characters are also not credible in the way they interact. The text tells us about affection between some of the characters, but their actions show only one mistreating the other. A woman who has spurned the attentions of each and every suitor is totally bereft, completely devastated, when one of them stops writing to her. A nurse who has comforted every character in the book, the sick and the dying, the emotionally needy, Confederate and Federal alike, inexplicably won't even look at General Sherman's ailing son.

If you read this book for its history, you may well like it. But if you hope to have the history brought to life by the characters, you will probably be disappointed.
5 people found this helpful
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