Last weekend I took the time to organize my “incoming” books, those that hadn’t quite made it to their proper place in the bookcases. Yes, they have proper places: TBR ARCs by release date, the rest of fiction alpha by author, non-fiction roughly by subject (I haven’t assigned Dewey Decimal numbers … yet!)
What did I find during my “clean sweep?” (I watch HGTV and all those home improvement shows while on the treadmill 
) … two ARCs of Robert Roper’s Now the Drum of War: Walt Whitman and his Brothers in the Civil War!
Here’s the publisher’s synopsis:
The Civil War is seen anew, and a great American family brought to life, in Robert Roper’s brilliant evocation of the Family Whitman.
Walt Whitman’s work as a nurse to the wounded soldiers of the Civil War had a profound effect on the way he saw the world. Much less well known is the extraordinary record of his younger brother, George Washington Whitman, who led his men in twenty-one major battles-from Antietam to Fredericksburg, Vicksburg to the Wilderness-almost to die in a Confederate prison camp as the fighting ended. Drawing on the searing letters that Walt, George, their mother Louisa, and their other brothers, wrote to each other during the conflict, and on new evidence and new readings of the great poet, Now the Drum of War chronicles the experience of an archetypal American family-from rural Long Island to working-class Brooklyn-enduring its own long crisis alongside the anguish of the nation. Robert Roper has constructed a powerful narrative about America’s greatest crucible, and a compelling, braided story of our most original poet and one of our bravest soldiers.
Yes, I was a history major. Yes, I enjoy reading about authors/poets. But, I can’t explain the duplicates. What I can do is offer one to a reader of She is Too Fond of Books. Just leave a comment with a quick note as to why you’d like to read the book (Civil War buff? Leaves of Grass fanatic? Like the alliterative initials of his name?). I’ll leave the entries open for about two weeks, through Friday December 5, and post the winner (drawn randomly) on the 6th. Giveaway is open worldwide!
If you have written a review of Now the Drum of War, please leave a link to it in comments and I’ll add your link to this post.
In general I love history and biographies, so this sounds right up my alley.
I grew up on Long Island and the first time I heard the name Walt Whitman as a child it was attached to a mall, as in: “Let’s go shopping at Walt Whitman Mall.” Then, in high school, by which time I had finally learned he was a famous poet and had finally read “Leaves of Grass,” I ended up competing in a tennis match at Whitman High School. I kept asking the opposing players, “Where’s Whitman’s house?” They just shrugged. Whitman came into my life one more time — when I was asked to read a poem at my best friend’s wedding in 1990. It was autumn in Connecticut and the ceremony was taking place under a towering old tree that was dripping in leaves of red and gold. I chose to read an excerpt from “I Sing the Body Electric.” Finally, Whitman had come to an appropriately meaningful place in my life.
I would love to read this book about Whitman’s experiences in the Civil War. I remember reading a review of this book earlier this spring and had put it on a yellow post-it so I’d remember to buy it. Of course, it floated away. Thanks so much for reminding me of this book and giving me a chance to win it.
I’ve posted this on Win a Book. No need to enter the contest.
I am a civil war buff! Please count me in if this is open internationally
I love to learn about our history through reading fiction/non-fiction books, it boggles my mind why they didn’t teach us history this way when we were in school! I would love to learn more about the Civil War through the letters and poems of Walt. I bet through reading this book, he mentions others whom we know of…I think that is cool when they intersect!
Thanks so much
Darby
darbyscloset at yahoo dot com
Total jackpot! I was an English major with a minor in history. I am totally intrigued by the concept of this book, since it combines two of my great loves. Thanks a bunch!
stacey (dot) bookthirty (at) gmail (dot) com
I’ve been reading history novels and essays since I was a teenager. And this book sounds really interesting…
Please enter me in the contest. Thanks.
avalonne83 [at] yahoo [dot] it
Same as Gina, count me if int…
Ever since I worked at the Gettysburg Visitor Center, I have been fascinated by the Civil War. I would love to be entered. Thanks.
I love history – especially American history, ever since my AP U.S. History class in high school. Please enter me and thank you for the giveaway.
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com
I love history & historical fiction but I really haven’t read a lot on the Civil War era yet and this sounds like a fantastic place to start!
Book.splot AT gmail DOT com
I really love reading historical fiction and anything on the history of the US. My teenage daughter is a history buff as well and would love to read this. We enjoyed stopping at some of the Civil War sites on our way up to the northeast a couple of years ago and I think this book would help us to truly understand some of the feelings in our ancestors hearts back then. thanks so much for sharing
ceashark at aol dot com
carolyn s
this is one of those books that fulfills my love of Walt Whitman and the civil war period. I love those historic books. Count me in!
Being from the south, I have a great interest in the Civil War. More than that, I love historical stories because they give me a feel for what it was like to live in that time period.
To be honest, I don’t know much about the Civil War or Walt Whitman. (Though I’m a big fan of poetry I never read much of his.) So I’d like to read this book to learn more about both!
[...] to Karen Vanuska, winner in the random drawing for Robert Roper’s Now the Drum of War: Walt Whitman and his Brothers in the Civil [...]