Soldier's Farewell
Running a stagecoach station in the years preceding and during the Civil War is physically challenging and, for a young boy, very lonely. Building on the legacy of his late mother, Smith Munro decides to keep a diary. The leather-bound volume was a gift from his older brother, Julian, a West Point graduate and soldier in the U.S. Army. With only his father, a couple assistants, and a solitary neighbor family to write about, Smith doesn’t have a lot of material until the passengers passing through leave hints of the looming war. The reports are spotty but frightening as Smith observes the ever-escalating passions of the travelers. Julian unexpectedly returns to the station and tells his father and younger brother that he is on leave, awaiting assignment. Then a stranger named Pinto arrives, and a sense of dread precedes the violence that young Smith later realizes was inevitable. Boggs, a recipient of two Spur Awards, showcases his talent for period detail, atmosphere, complex characters, and the ability to evoke a stark landscape. --Wes Lukowsky--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.