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Book Review of Gideon's Call

Gideon's Call
maydayzee avatar reviewed on + 749 more book reviews


Interesting historic fiction based on the plight of the freedmen and women, who were left behind on the islands off SC, when the slave owners abandoned their plantations during the Civil War.

Gideon's Call chronicles the efforts of government and private agencies and individuals, sent from the North to attempt to assimilate, train, and educate the freedmen. This is the story of those who worked to help the newly freed slaves make a life for themselves--often at great personal sacrifice. The good that these people accomplished is contrasted with the heart-wrenching prejudice and cruelty of those without conscience.

Rising to the top of the chaos, a young slave boy, Tad, strives for his own goals. Although Tad's goals do not necessarily coincide with those who are overseeing his welfare, he pursues them with dogged tenacity. Tads story is a testament of faith and indomitable spirit of one young slave boy growing into manhood during explosive change in the mid-1800s.

I recommend this book to anyone, who is interested in Civil War history--especially as it pertains to the freeing of the slaves. I thought this book was especially moving, because the reader was able to see this piece of history from a slave's point of view.