Marching Through Georgia - Hardcover

Ellis, Jerry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385311826 ISBN 13: 9780385311823

Publisher: Delacorte Press, 1995

Synopsis

The author chronicles his walk from Atlanta to Savannah, examining the scars left by the Civil War, reflecting on what being Southern meant to his late father, and encountering many eccentric characters with roots in the war.

About this title

Reviews

Ellis, author of previous books on long walks (Walking the Trail, about the Cherokee Trail of Tears; Bareback!, about the route of the Pony Express) here follows the route of William T. Sherman's Civil War march through Georgia. Ellis's purpose is to reestablish his Southern roots and reconnect with his late father. He offers a series of anecdotes and vignettes that focus on the people he encounters along the way, seasoned with occasional references to the Union presence over a century ago. The result is a book about seemingly ordinary people who do seemingly ordinary things, from drinking whisky to tending goats, that under Ellis's deft stylistic touch and wry sense of humor become extraordinary. Some of the vignettes reinforce Southern gothic stereotypes; nevertheless, this is a work to be savored.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ellis, who is part Cherokee, walked 900 miles along the fabled Trail of Tears, the banishment route for that tribe in 1838^-39. His 1989 trek resulted in Walking the Trail, a widely acclaimed memoir. Now Ellis has attempted to "reconnect" with his southern heritage by walking the route Sherman took from Atlanta to the sea as he cut a swath of destruction through the southern heartland. Ellis blends historical nuggets, family history, and personal insights into a delightfully intimate narrative. Along his route we encounter a cast of charming characters with their own personal histories. Ellis does a fine job of integrating their experiences with his own. What emerges is a portrait of a land and people still holding fast to a sometimes bitter heritage, even in the face of rapid change and so-called progress. Jay Freeman

Ellis (Bareback, LJ 9/15/93) shares his new adventure?following Sherman's 1864 March to the Sea from Atlanta to Savannah?undertaken to honor his dead father and to get close to the heart of the South. Whether he is chatting with storekeepers as he rests along his journey or with his hosts at a home filled with Civil War furniture and relics, the author collects tales of the Old South. As each person shares his or her story and hospitality, we are given a peek into that individual's life, as much in the present as in the past. Ellis intersperses among the stories historical facts about the Civil War. Besides experiencing the war, we discover what it meant and still means to be a Southerner. This book sheds new light on an important part of our history. Recommended for general collections.?Lucille Corbo, MLS, Scranton, Pa.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385311826
• ISBN 13: 9780385311823
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 306