Jacob's Ladder: A Story of Virginia During the War

Jacobs Ladder was not for me. Others liked it but I found it overwhelming. Tedious read. Wasn't Shelley Foote or Cold Harbor.

I listened to the audio-cassette version of this book. It seems a little incomplete which is probably a result of abridging it to fit on four cassettes. At times the jumping from one character's story to another seemed abrupt. I have not read the unabridged book but I imagine that some of the less-believable parts of the story are explained more fully there. The central character to the novel is a slave woman of mixed ancestry who eventually "passes for white." Other characters include a white youth who fathers her child and later becomes a Confederate soldier, a slave trader who marries her, and a neighbor woman who eventually marries... no, never mind. Shortening this story even more does it no favors. It is actually a very interesting book and seems well-researched as far as places and battles. Donald McCaig is a very good writer who lives in the mountainous region of Virginia in which he placed the first part of the book. He is sympathetic to the plight of the slaves while portraying their masters and sellers as people capable of compassion as well as occasional cruelty. He does not flinch when describing violent battles and other human tragedies. Some of the incidents are ugly examples of ordinary people becoming inhumane, so please don't read this if horrible events give you nightmares. I listened to this book in the car and became so fascinated by the various plots that I really looked forward to my commute. Although the hardcopy version may be more convincing than the audio book, it doesn't offer the advantage of making your drive more interesting.

I picked up this book by chance at a secondhand bookstore, and found it an extremely satisfying reading experience. There are books that you read that are merely good, and books from the first page that are great in comparison. This is one of the great ones. The author's style is unique and original, the story engrossing to the end. What the characters have to say is so authentic, if one can be a judge of that without having direct experience of the 19th century. I bought this book in part because I still carried the memory of having read "Cold Mountain" and wanted to, in a sense, extend that reading experience, and I would recommend "Jacob's Ladder" over "Cold Mountain" any day. This is one of the rare books that I am looking forward to rereading some day.

It's a l--o--n--g read (or listen--I did it by audio during comutes) but there is never a dull moment. After a couple dozen Civl War novels (including the Shaara's)I find this one and Howard Bahr's "Black Flower" and "Year of Jubilo" the VERY BEST (Frasier's "Cold Mountain" remains the diamond). Insight into plantation economy and lifestyle; blockade running; imprisonment for abolition in the South; the tribulations of neutrality for the Amish; Virginia gentility and escapism during the conflict; the debauchery of the vigilante Rangers; vivid portrayals of VA battles--all these and more present fresh material for me in Civil War fiction. Whether accurate or not, McCaig's venture--to illuminate the perspective of slave and VA citizenry during the times--was fascinating. I commend him for his research and prose.

"Jacobs Ladder" manages to present the viewpoints of several diverse protagonists in a way that strongly resonates and enables the reader to identify/emphathize with each, without a loss of focus. It manages to deal with difficult "big issue" topics such as social hypocricy, racial barriers, patriotism, duty and heroism without oversimplying, being preachy or turning the characters into cardboard. It DOES deserve to be turned into a mini-series, except that I dread what television might do to this excellent work.

If Margaret Mitchell had been as sensitive to the Black characters as to the white ones, she might have written this engrossing novel. That is, if she had had Donald McCaig's courage in taking the reader into the fire-belly of war. The scope of this book is huge, yet its focus is at the same time fine. The variety of the characters is remarkable. And there is an effortless continuum between the mythical and the factual. Donald McCaig is an author of deep intelligence and great heart. He has written the War and Peace of the Civil War.