All Parts Together (Jessica Radford Trilogy)

By Tom Mach

Jessica, in 1863, survives the infamous Quantrill raid of Lawrence, Kansas, where almost 200 unarmed civilians were killed, and she eventually goes to Washington, DC. A headstrong, independent young... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0974515949
• ISBN13: 9780974515946
• Release Date: January 2020
• Publisher: Hill Song Press
• Length: 444 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.1" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

All Parts Together by Tom Mach

What I like best about historical fiction is the way author's put readers right smack in the action through the eyes of a fictional character, who seems to be a real person. Tom Mach accomplishes this goal.

Wirtten with heart and facts. What a combo! Great read!

I had the pleasure of reading the first book In this work our author continues on with the life of a 19th-century woman named Jessica Radford. We walk with her as one of the survivors of the Quantrill raid of Lawrence, Kansas. Mr. Mach does an outstanding job in conveying the mindset of the people after experiencing such a traumatic event. He did this in a way not to glorify war but to allow the reader to understand the horror of those lives that were touched and changed forever. We travel with Jessica as she moves on to Washington, D.C. where she meets Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln and other important figures of the time. In sharing her visits with such historical figures we catch a glimpse of their view points which certainly add color to the storyline. We are also taken to several battles in the South such as Chattanooga and St. Louis and we hear how the war has effected the residents of those cities, their fears and concerns. We are given not just historical facts but the feel of the people, perhaps coming to the realization that they were living their lives just like you and I when confronted by the tragedy of war and the aftermath. Mr.Mach's descriptive power in conveying his characters is outstanding, truly making them alive and quite fitting to the era. To me this was not an easy task and certainly must have taken some thought and historical study of the people in that time. Another aspect that I personally enjoyed was the spiritual side, the mention of angels, faith and one's belief in a time of true desperation, and the struggle that Jessica herself battles within concerning her own beliefs with God and mankind. I recommend this book and the first. Tom Mach has done an excellent job in giving us a historical view of the times with a fictional story of the heart to keep our interest. Well done! Thank you for one outstanding read.

Kansas Bloody Kansas: The Civil War in a historical novel set

Author Tom Mach takes the point of view of Jessica Radford and sets her against the background of Abolition, the Civil War and specifically, the Quantrill Raid, which was not only a raid but a defining moment in a border war between Missouri and Kansas (yes, American states had border wars. More than once.) The book uses the aftermath of the Quantrill raid as a launching This book is a little like "Cold Mountain" in that there are plenty of details of the horrible violence that typified this miserable war, but the author doesn't make it the main point of the book. Instead, the protagonist Jessica is a woman of almost modern sensibility, feeling the plight of the slaves as much as author Harriet Beecher Stowe. In addition, the author uses the device of meeting the famous (Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Whitman and Lincoln) to make the historical life and times more accurate and to make the reader use their own background to fill in the novel. People who are Civil War buffs in Missouri and Kansas especially will enjoy the novel as it covers familiar areas and puts them in a vivid historical light.

Extremely Well Researched Historical Fiction

In recent years I have drifted into reading books about history, when I am able to find a good one. I have enjoyed reading several books written by the people who lived in various eras and conflicts. Unfortunately, I have found it difficult to locate well-researched fictional books set in any era. This book is an extremely accurate fictional book that covers the period from August, 1863, to May, 1865. The blending of actual events and characters with the characters of the fictional story was so seamless that I sometimes found it difficult to know whether a particular character was a historical figure. "All Parts Together" is the second book in a trilogy of books that the author calls the Jessica Radford trilogy. The first book in the trilogy is titled "Sissy," which begins in 1857 and ends with the infamous Quantrill raid on Lawrence, Kansas in 1863. Unfortunately, I have yet to read "Sissy," though I now wish I had. While this book stands on its own, I did occasionally have to recall the interrelationship of the numerous characters in this book and I think meeting these characters in "Sissy" would have made it easier to keep the characters straight in this book. There are quite a few principal characters in "All Parts Together." The main advantage of the number of characters is being able to follow significant events in many parts of the country. Tom Mach allows us to see what is happening in portions of the South, in the Midwest, and wherever Jessica Radford happens to be as she journeys across the country. The book uses the aftermath of the Quantrill raid as a launching point. The details are exquisite as the residents of Lawrence, Kansas, attempt to recover from the shock of the raid. While Mr. Mach does not glorify violence, neither does he skimp on the details as Confederate allied raiders brutally murder the members of a band, and townspeople hang an innocent man. The book then journeys to Washington, D.C., where we meet Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln, along with other historical persons such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The book also includes stops at several famous battles in the South, such as Chattanooga and Chickamauga. I was especially fascinated by a visit to St. Louis as the residents of that city believed they might soon be under attack by the Confederate army, because I once lived in that city. While Tom Mach describes these battles from the viewpoint of his characters, and thus limits the details in the book to their participation in each, the historical details are quite accurate. Tom Mach gets the easy details correct. More amazing, Tom gets the little details correct as well. Throughout his novel Tom sprinkles little tidbits that place a reader in the era. I looked up several details to verify their accuracy, and found that Tom was accurate in each. Jessica Radford, Mary Delany, Matt Lightfoot, the Hellers, Nellie, Tinker and the other characters in "All Parts Together" are representative of people who

History meets fiction and yet you can't tell where the two intersect in Tom Mach's new novel All Par

Tom Mach has written an insightful novel that reads like history. Follow Jessica Radford through her life in the 1800's. Her trials, her hardships, her surroundings are wonderfully painted, not through pictures but through the creative words of the author. Written as a day by day account of the happenings both in Jessica's life and the historical events of the time, the book brings together both fiction and history. The historical events are both well researched and accurate. The author has done a great job of mixing his story of Jessica with the overall feelings of the time. The book is educational and yet captivating. You want to learn of Jessica's fate, but you are also following the historical time line. All Parts Together is just as the title reads, All Parts of life and history Together. Jessica's life mixed with the Civil War Era. Written during the times of the Civil War, you read about the battles, the struggles, both fiction and actual encounters. The death of Lincoln is so vivid in the book you feel like you are living during those times. The reader will be so captivated by this book. It's a history lesson mixed with a young girl who is struggling to find herself and her life through all the turmoil around her. Author Tom Mach is also the author of Sissy, the first of the Jessica Radford series, which also mixes history with fiction. Mr. Mach has a talent for writing. He does his research passion and writes with an insight into the times. No other author captures the scenes, the times, the feelings, the life as well as Tom Mach. This book is strongly recommended for those who love history, fiction or non-fiction. You won't be disappointed. And there's more from Author Tom Mach coming as All Parts Together is only the second book in the trilogy of Jessica Radford.