Buffalo Gordon - Hardcover

Lewis, J. P. Sinclair

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031287376X ISBN 13: 9780312873769

Publisher: Forge Books, 2001

Synopsis

The first novel in an ambitious new series, Buffalo Gordon is a fictional history of the West as seen through the eyes of runaway slave Nate Gordon. He has returned to Louisiana as Sergeant Major Nate Gordon of the Tenth United States Cavalry. His task is to recruit for the second U.S. colored cavalry, the Ninth Negro. Three years have passed since Nate left Louisiana and his life as a slave. The war is now over, and it is clear that the South has paid a heavy toll. Nate's former home is in ruins.

Where opulence and order once ruled, poverty, corruption, and crime now thrive. Resentful and disgruntled white Southerners want nothing to do with Nate and his stripes. Racist Union officers and noncoms only make his task more difficult. Nate struggles to quell dissent from the ranks and keep outside forces at bay as the Ninth Cavalry moves from the docks of Louisiana to the wide open West.

About this title

About the Author

John-Paul Lewis is the grandson of Nobel Laurette Sinclair Lewis and Dorothy Thompson. He lives in Washington D.C. with his wife and daughter. This is his first novel.

Reviews

Western writers have long acknowledged the need for a first-class historical novel about the heroic exploits of the all-black Ninth Cavalry Regiment. Unfortunately, Lewis's unwieldy, overwritten attempt fails to do the job. Pockmarked by hackneyed types rather than characters, this account of the all-African-American frontier force that took on the Cheyenne and Comanche on the sparsely settled high plains opens with the formation of the regiment in Louisiana immediately following the Civil War. The story staggers and stumbles from the first page. Sgt. Maj. Nate Gordon, a manumitted slave who served in the Union Army, has been ordered to recruit other freed slaves for military service. Predictably, he runs into racial prejudice on almost every level and from almost everyone. Struggling to maintain military and personal dignity when confronted by corrupt white officers and surrounded by bitter and defeated Southerners, NateAthe perfect soldierAdeals with insubordination and incompetence as he whips the unit into shape, then leads it into battle on the wild frontier. What follows is a series of historically grounded adventures through a clumsy, obvious narrative. The novel is burdened by inconsistencies in plot and a use of dialect that provokes squirming discomfort. Drifting points of view, narrative intrusions and plot contrivances are additional problems. Although there is evidence of cogent historical research, the book desperately needs editorial attention on almost every page and is ultimately patronizing in tone and characterization. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Lewis' western epic depicts the life of a runaway Louisiana slave, Nate Gordon, who became a fearless buffalo soldier. It is unclear exactly how or why Nate joined the Union army, but he earned the rank of Sergeant Major in the Negro Cavalry. As a noncommissioned officer, he was charged with recruiting and training men of color in the Ninth and Tenth Calvary. He faced many challenges in building up his African American force; there were mutinies and unhealthy conditions, including uninhabitable housing, inedible food, and pitiful wages. In spite of such obstacles, the soldiers of Gordon's two regiments were charged with keeping the western frontier safe for travelers, railroad employees, and mail carriers. Accordingly, their primary duty was to keep the frontier safe from Indian attacks. Lewis provides many opportunities for Gordon to overcome obstacles. And Gordon not only succeeds in gaining the respect of his fellow military comrades but also the Indian warriors. Lewis' debut displays a strong sense of people, places, and time that yields a convincing and compelling historical novel. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Forge Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 031287376X
• ISBN 13: 9780312873769
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480