Buy Cavalry Scout Books
Right now, there’s just two book covers on this page. Pretty soon there will be a third one. And, before you know it, well, wait and see. Things are rocking along in the writing and publishing department. So check in from time to time. You never know what you’ll find here.
Knoxville, 1863 is our latest effort. It’s a novel that is equal parts history and fiction about a little-known Civil War battle involving some of the most famous people and units of the Union and Confederacy. President Lincoln considered a Union victory at Knoxville a key to winning the Civil War.
Jim Chambers, a reviewer for Red Adept Reviews, said of the novel:
“I’ve long considered Michael and Jeff Shaara’s Civil War trilogy to be one of the benchmarks for Civil War historical fiction. Knoxville 1863 came very close to that mark.”
Claude Cooper, a former professor of military science at Appalachian State University, concluded in his Amazon review:
“Other writers and historians have touched on this battle, but I’m not aware of any who have addressed it in this depth. For that reason, and because it is well written, I believe that this is an important novel that will be appreciated by civil war buffs and enjoyed by anyone.”
Jim Miller, whose Civil War Notebook is a popular site with war buffs, concluded:
“Mr. Stanley has certainly done his homework; his novel rests on a solid foundation of historical facts. It is well written & a joy to read.”
The novel has also been previewed at Bull Runnings, Harry Smeltzer’s popular Civil War blog.
Celia Hayes, author of my favorite Hill Country historical novels, The Adelsverein Trilogy, had this to say at POD Book Reviews And More:
“These are not modern Americans, dressed up in period clothes….The various characters are expertly drawn; the details of their lives, their friends and their various sympathies are conveyed in spare and workmanlike language. Each chapter and each character is almost a period steel engraving, full of vivid and authentic detail.”
The Amazon link is here for the professionally-edited and proofread-to- eliminate-errors paperback, cheap at $7.98, and its Kindle companion, which has a linked Table of Contents and a map, for a limited time, at just $0.99. The novel is also available for $0.99 as a e-book at Smashwords in multiple formats, from Palm to Sony here.
For more on the historical facts–including period photos and maps–of the novel, Knoxville 1863, see its new Web site here.
There’s also 2006′s Leaving the Alamo: Texas Stories After Vietnam (sixteen post-Vietnam War short stories), which has had (at Amazon) several good reviews from friends, three excellent reviews from fellow authors David Chacko, Al Past and Celia Hayes, one very nice one from a stranger I met on a forum and one from a mainstream publication, i.e. the VVA Veteran, the monthly magazine of the Vietnam Veterans of America.
The stranger, Alice Dinizo of New Jersey, who emailed me that she was a combat veteran’s wife, concluded in her review:
“Mr. Stanley recounts so very well, often with humor and always with great dialogue, the experience of those who went to fight and now are old, aching, full of recollections, resentful sometimes of how they and their fellow soldiers were treated. A good solid addition to libraries’ books on the Vietnam War and a must own, must read for followers of this tragic period in our history.”
David Chacko, who has written nineteen novels, concluded:
“Written in spare straightforward prose, these sixteen stories are all well told as they look backward and forward from a place that is always Texas. Some, like “Gun Dreams” deserve to be read by anyone with an interest in a given word or the idea of honor. Others, like the closing story, “Dragon Sea,” should be anthologized.”
Ms Hayes, herself a veteran and author of six good books, knows the territory well:
“The tone of the writing is quiet, meditative, and deeply sympathetic, and the descriptions – especially in the final story ‘The Dragon Sea’ – are sublimely beautiful.”
Al Past, author of the Distant Cousin scifi series, also is a veteran:
“In my case, I’ve been content to put the unpleasantness of the Vietnam era behind me, and several of these beautifully written stories brought it back so vividly that apportioning them out over time seemed a good idea for me.”
Buy the print edition, professionally-edited and proofread to eliminate errors, at a cheap $7.98 here and its Kindle companion, for a limited time, at a mere $0.99.
And if the Kindle is not your e-book preference, check out more options, from Stanza to Sony to Palm and others, at the same price for the Kindle here at Smashwords.
Last Updated: July 13, 2011
