Someone's Son, Someone's Brother

By R.F. Whaley

This action driven epic carries the reader through the Civil War years 1863-65 from the unique perspective of combat engineers.? The story moves between the fighting and lives of these soldiers and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1410770052
• ISBN13: 9781410770059
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: 1st Book Library
• Length: 584 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.5" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

A new approach to civil war fiction

SOMEONE'S SON, SOMEONE'S BROTHER is a unique approach to vast genre of historical-fiction novels dealing the the American Civil War. Author R.F. Whaley writes about a little known aspect of the the war, the role of militia units mustered into service for a short period of time to meet a crisis. SOMEONE'S SON, SOMEONE'S BROTHER is about such a unit. The novel revolves around an engineering company from the state of NY organized to help defend the North against R.E. Lee's 1863 invasion. Through the confusion caused by the scattered Union and Confederate forces in eastern Pennsylvania, members of this engineering company get separated from their command and eventually find themselves in the thick of combat swirling around Gettysburg. Latr, while working on railroad repair duty, the company comes face-to-face with Mosby's Rangers. The leading characters in the story come from famine-starved Ireland, imperial Germany, the tough streets of the Bowrey and the back woods of New York. Their enlistment forces each to reflect on their past and hopes for the future. They are forced to learn to work and depend on each other while dealing with challenges and personal moral dilemmas as men-at-arms in a war zone. The main female character in the story is one Mary Cleary, a good-hearted, business savvy madame. Mary runs a successful high-class brothel in wartime Washington and befriends the New York engineers. Mr Whaley skillfully brings these characters to life imbuing them with the language and attitudes of the times. The author's thorough knowledge of U.S. and European history, U.S. military weapons, and personal experience of working on the railroad allow him to add interesting historical detail to the story. SOMEONE'S SON, SOMEONE'S BROTHER, is an easy and interesting read that readers, who like historical-fiction, will thoroughly enjoy. Mr Whaley has had a long noted career writing books and other publications concerning with health care issues. SOMEONE'S SON, SOMEONE'S BROTHER is his first attempt of historical-fiction and it is a winner! J.L.K Las Vegas, NV

Great Read!!

I met the author at a book signing in Oregon and decided to give the book a try. Found that it was very well written and hard to put down. I am looking forward to reading more of his work.