A Cruel Thing: A Tale Of American Spirits Book

A Cruel Thing is a tale of the true human
cost and consequences of the American Civil
War. It is set in Northern Virginia at the
confl ict's beginning in 1861. A time when
loving, rational, men and women North and
South were seduced by the tempting allure of
violence to settle their differences, succumbed
to their inner beast, and walked with idealistic
zeal down the path of rash action into a four
year national suicide. All too soon the naive
American public became tragically aware of
their previous mistaken overconfi dence, while
the professional soldiers on both sides of
the confl ict had their worst fears confi rmed.
Overnight they found themselves locked in
a lethal and desperate struggle with former
friends, neighbors, relatives and countrymen.
Their story continued for another four
long terrible years. While many good men
were killed or broken by battle; others were
consumed by their inner hate. It destroyed
their grasp on humanity, scarred them
emotionally, and ultimately unleashed brutal
primal sadism and wanton savagery. For
everyone who survived, it drastically changed
their lives forever. Out of the defeat and ashes
of the old South came independence for the
fi rst generation of freed black Americans; and
in the end a terrible reckoning came due to
satisfy long overdue debts of honor. This story
is dedicated to the memory of this generation
of American people who fought, struggled,
and died, brother against brother, neighbor
against neighbor; to preserve and defend the
nation we cherish today.