good idea gone wrong ~

[lookingland]

for the 50bookchallenge:

no. 10 ~ Sharpshooter by david madden. yes, mr. madden, you did your research. yes, mr. madden, it's all very interesting. here again another example of all enthusiasm and the maladroit writing skills of a novice. the story is interesting enough (if not a wee bit convoluted): young willis joins the confeds, becomes a sharpshooter, may or may not have shot general sanders, solves the mystery of sullivan and gardner schlepping bodies around at gettysburg, and then wanders into some tangential remorse about shooting a man at andersonville. the story has the makings of something worthwhile, but the telling is painfully dry like a textbook of civil war minutiae and the central mystery or dramatic question is ultimately not all that engaging. oh well.

if you don't know anything about the "body schlepping" at gettysburg, you might find this analysis by james groves interesting (it's long-winded, but worth a gander if you can get through it). i think some of groves's rationale is spurious, but nevertheless interesting ~ i always find this level of obsession quite fascinating.



"Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter, Gettysburg"
from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, 1865
Often called "the most famous photograph made during the war"
and the source of endless controversy thereafter.

Comments

[gwyn-hwyfar.livejournal.com]

That poor guy.....the schlepped body, I mean.
Wouldn't you know, I've been poring over these very photos, and all the others, for the past several days.....

[babalueye.livejournal.com]

Ok, so....just the phrase "body schlepping" has made my entire week. It evokes a whole host of wonderful visuals to be pondered.

Everyone needs a good, solid schlepped body in their life....immediately. Its inspired me to a new level of creativity...can you imagine the titles of my magnificent works of art? "Body Being Schlepped", "Schlepping of the Masses" and "I was a Teenaged Schlepper"......im going to make a million dollars, at the very least.

Thanks Churchie, for giving me something completely worthless to get all excited about, I owe you one.

[java-fiend.livejournal.com]

Civil War photos always fascinate me. Actually, the entire Civil War fascinates me. But the pictures are always so haunting. And Gettysburg... yeah... Lee's biggest and most fatal mistakes. Bad, bloody day.