SOLDIER'S HEART

Gary Paulsen's golden touch with words makes the Civil War come alive-in all its squalor and misery-in this very short novel about a boy who joins up at age 15 and learns that the boring times in camp are the best part of any war. Reader George Wendt gives young Charley Goddard a matter-of-fact quality that works beautifully with the material, and there's a bonus question-and-answer session with Paulsen in which we learn that what we now call "post traumatic stress syndrome" used to be called "soldier's heart." A must for any Civil War buff. M.C. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 00]