Andersonville

By: MacKinlay Kantor

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Acclaimed as the greatest novel ever written about the War Between the States, this searing Pulitzer Prize-winning book captures all the glory and shame of America's most tragic conflict in the vivid, crowded world of Andersonville, and the people who lived outside its barricades. Based on the author's extensive research and nearly 25 years in the making, MacKinlay Kantor's best-selling masterwork tells the heartbreaking story of the notorious Georgia prison where 50,000 Northern soldiers suffered - and 14,000 died - and of the people whose lives were changed by the grim camp where the best and the worst of the Civil War came together. Here is the savagery of the camp commandant, the deep compassion of a nearby planter and his gentle daughter, the merging of valor and viciousness within the stockade itself, and the day-to-day fight for survival among the cowards, cutthroats, innocents, and idealists thrown together by the brutal struggle between North and South. A moving portrait of the bravery of people faced with hopeless tragedy, this is the inspiring American classic of an unforgettable period in American history.

©1955 MacKinlay Kantor (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"A classic narrator reading a classic work is an unbeatable combination. Grover Gardner is one of a handful of readers who could make the phone directory sound interesting, but when he reads this novel about the infamous Confederate prison camp, the result is a performance that is hard to turn off...." ( AudioFile)

Too Long!

Takes every story remotely related to Andersonville and add it to they story! Seemed like it would never end. Went on and on

Epic story

I loved the branches of storylines and characters and how they all inevitably make it back to Andersonville. It helped build the world and context around Andersonville and made me appreciate it more.

interesting story

it is a good story of Andersonville marred by repetition. every scene seems to be narrated with multiple similes repeated from endless points if view. wanted to finish but lost patience with repetitions.

Civil War Andersonville prison

MacKinlay Kantor has written this historical novel that includes more truth than nonfiction books.
Also the reader is fit for the task of narrating this classic.

Long but worthwhile

This is a very good read. It is long and prosy, however it is also a brutal expose of a POW camp from the American Civil War. It is brutal and sad, but also uplifting and hopeful. Many people think that the world hasn't changed for the better, however, if you read history, you cannot argue that we have come a long way regarding human rights in the last 100 years. Man's brutality to man has been a constant thru the ages. This book shows the human side of some inexplicably tragic historical events.

History is good to know. Horrible as it was.

Hate it that our people live this way. History is powerfull knowledge. This was enlightening to the brutal ways people mis-treated people in the most inhumane careless cruel and hateful ways possible. It so sad but it shows how far mankind has come since those days. This book was worth buying though I wish it was not so very long.

Grover Gardner deserves an Audible Oscar

Gardener's performance best by far after having listened to 50 plus Audible books. The content was worthy of its Pulitzer Prize. It was as if you were there.

Fantastic!

This is a book that my parents had all my life, yet I never read it. I am glad I listened to Griver Gardner's performance. as long as this novel is, I was sorry to have it end.

GREAT SUBJECT - JUST WAYYYYYY TO LONG!

I'm not going to write a long review on a book that's about 20 hours too long. Historically, it's interesting and compelling. I could even deal with the length if the writer hadn't chosen to use prose to tell it. Just imagine 37 hours of Shakespeare. There's just so much "Out, out, damned spot" or "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee" that a listener can stand, especially in an historical account about a cruel, oppressive, racist prisoner-of-war camp. There is nothing poetic in statements like "Dem Yankees is as shiftless and lazy as de niggers"! This would have been better told in plain Civil War era English.

Detailed Yet One Dimensional

What did you like best about Andersonville? What did you like least?

Fleshed out many details in the lives of some of the characters. One thing that becomes apparent early on is that the 50% of the characters in the conflict that just happened to be black were portrayed in a one dimensional fashion.The following soldiers gave detailed accounts of the black Andersonville prisoners:

Frank Maddox (Mardix), Private, 35th USCT
William Henry (C.) Jennings, Private, 8th USCT
Lewis Dyer, Unknown rank, Unknown Unit
Archibald Bogle (Boyle), Major, 35th USCT
John Fisher, Unknown rank, 8th USCT
Alexander W. Persons (Parsons), Colonel, CSA

And yet the author somehow saw fit to completely color these soldiers out of his story. Furthermore the slaves are portrayed in the simplest manner possible. I found this almost as disappointing as the overall southern apologist point of view the entire story took on.

If you’ve listened to books by MacKinlay Kantor before, how does this one compare?

Never

What three words best describe Grover Gardner’s performance?

Very consistent throughout

Could you see Andersonville being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

None