THE BOYS’ WAR

Often overlooked are the roles that boys between the ages of 10 and 15 played in the Civil War. THE BOYS’ WAR provides vignettes of these experiences through excerpts from diaries and letters, which are woven into a basic history of the war. Mindful of the age of his subjects, Ed Sala reads into their memoirs all the naïveté, horror and loneliness of the war years. Daily experiences, from outfitting to drumming to fighting, are vivid. The poignancy of these moments from both Union and Confederate units will not be easily forgotten. At some point, especially with school use, the listening experience would be enriched by an opportunity to view the exceptional photographs of the book. A.R. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 00]