Synopses & Reviews
The Civil War is seen anew, and a great American family is brought to life, in Robert Ropers brilliant evocation of the family Whitman. Walt Whitmans work as a nurse to the wounded soldiers of the Civil War had a profound effect on the way he saw the world. Much less well known is the extraordinary record of his younger brother George Washington Whitman, who led his men in twenty-one major battles almost to die in a Confederate prison camp as the fighting ended. Drawing on the searing letters that Walt, George, their mother Louisa, and their other brothers wrote to each other during the conflict, Now the Drum of War chronicles the experience of an archetypal American family enduring its own long crisis alongside the anguish of the nation. Robert Roper has constructed a powerful narrative about Americas greatest crucible, and a compelling, braided story of our most original poet and one of our bravest soldiers. Robert Roper's journalism appears in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, and other publications. His book Fatal Mountaineer won the 2002 Boardman-Tasker Prize. He teaches at Johns Hopkins, and lives in Baltimore and California. Walt Whitman's work as a nurse to the wounded soldiers of the Civil War profoundly affected his worldview as well as his poetry. Much less well known is the extraordinary war record of his younger brother George Washington Whitman, who led his men in twenty-one major battles almost to die in a Confederate prison camp as the fighting ended. Drawing on the compelling letters between Walt, George, their mother, and other brothers, and on original interpretations of the great poet, Now the Drum of War chronicles the experience of an archetypal American family enduring its own long crisis alongside the anguish of the nation. "Via letters and notebook entries, Now the Drum of War fills in important blanks; we end up with a sense of the individual as part of an impressive collective entity called Whitman."Nicholas Delbanco, The Washington Post Book World "In Now the Drum of War, Robert Roper captures a turning point in Whitman's lifethe transformation of his poetry but also the dramatic new chapter in the story of the Whitman family."Daniel Mark Epstein, The Wall Street Journal "The amazingly productive Roper . . . has turned the white light of critical analysis on the great poet. The result is a portrait more fully human, more emphatically flesh and blood, and exponentially more interesting than the Currier & Ives manquè we had come to know."The Star Tribune (Minneapolis) "Roper has written a well-researched, highly ambitious, thoroughly engaging, and humane history of the Civil War by means of a family portrait, presenting the war through the eyes and words of the Whitman family. Roper refers to recent Walt Whitman scholarship, as well as to the original correspondence, and tells a fascinating tale about an exceptional family amid the horrors of war. The book provides a simultaneous historical perspective on the war and on an exceptional family, giving general readers and students a vivid depiction of both and a deeper understanding of one of America's greatest poets."Library Journal
Review
“Fills in important blanks; we end up with a sense of the individual as part of an impressive collective entity called Whitman.”—
Washington Post Book World “Vivid and engaging…A superbly nuanced depiction.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Roper is often a cinematic writer, deftly shifting point of view to reveal telling physical details as well as large psychological ones.”—Boston Globe
Synopsis
Walt Whitman's work as a nurse to the wounded soldiers of the Civil War had a profound effect on the way he saw the world. Much less well known is the extraordinary record of his younger brother, George, who led his men in twenty-one major battles, almost to die in a Confederate prison camp as the fighting ended. Drawing on the searing letters that Walt, George, their mother Louisa, and their other brothers, wrote to each other during the conflict, and on new evidence and new readings of the great poet, "Now the Drum of War" chronicles the experience of an archetypal American family-from rural Long Island to working-class Brooklyn-enduring its own long crisis alongside the anguish of the nation. Robert Roper has constructed a powerful narrative about America's greatest crucible, and a compelling story of our most original poet and one of our bravest soldiers. "Together, the brothers Whitman define the complementary aspects of a full human response to a catastrophe like the Civil War. One is on the side of nurturing and empathy, a lover-figure who becomes a tender friend or father; the other more in line with classical definitions of masculine virtue, a man who protects his fellow-fighters while resolutely destroying the enemy...The Whitmans did not arrive at their vocations independently, or out of nowhere; their family's stalwartness in terrible trials, especially their mother's, and their own continuing awareness of each other as the war darkened, year by year, for both of them, awoke in both a kind of greatness."
Synopsis
Drawing on the searing letters that Walt Whitman, his brother George, their mother Louisa, and their other brothers wrote to each other during the Civil War, this work chronicles the experience of an archetypal American family enduring its own long crisis alongside the anguish of the nation.
Synopsis
The Civil War is seen anew, and a great American family is brought to life, in Robert Ropers brilliant evocation of the family Whitman. Walt Whitmans work as a nurse to the wounded soldiers of the Civil War had a profound effect on the way he saw the world. Much less well known is the extraordinary record of his younger brother George Washington Whitman, who led his men in twenty-one major battles almost to die in a Confederate prison camp as the fighting ended. Drawing on the searing letters that Walt, George, their mother Louisa, and their other brothers wrote to each other during the conflict, Now the Drum of War chronicles the experience of an archetypal American family enduring its own long crisis alongside the anguish of the nation. Robert Roper has constructed a powerful narrative about Americas greatest crucible, and a compelling, braided story of our most original poet and one of our bravest soldiers.
About the Author
Robert Roper has won awards for his fiction and nonfiction alike. His previous book, Fatal Mountaineer, won the 2002 Boardman-Tasker Prize given by Londons Royal Geographical Society. His journalism appears in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Outside, Mens Journal, National Geographic, and other publications. He teaches at Johns Hopkins and lives in Baltimore and California.