“Too Much for Human Endurance”

The George Spangler Farm Hospitals and the Battle of Gettysburg

By: Ronald D. Kirkwood

Narrated by: Bob Neufeld

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to “Too Much for Human Endurance” and learn about the George Spangler farm hospitals and the Battle of Gettysburg.

©2019, 2020 Ron Kirkwood (P)2021 Ron Kirkwood

Great Research

Very interesting. Great research and presentation. Excellent facts and history. A must for Gettysburg enthusiasts!

Very Impressive

Ron Kirkwood’s book is an engrossing and informative work that will delight both Civil War enthusiasts as well as history buffs. Packed with facts and personal accounts, Too Much for Human Endurance gives voice to the hundreds of ordinary soldiers, doctors, nurses and volunteers who made the George Spangler Farm the hub of activity for the Union Army during and after the battle of Gettysburg. The embedded Spangler Farm short stories provide richness and fullness to the larger story of the farm and the human suffering and healing that took place there. This book shines a light on an untold story. Like all good books, you will be a little sorry when you finish it.

Great read!

I truly enjoyed reading this book. As a history buff (in particular, Gettysburg), I am always looking for a fresh perspective. Too Much for Human Endurance tells a story that is unique...especially because the Spangler farm played a vital role that many other farms did not.  While it is true that other properties in Gettysburg experienced similar events, I doubt there is another home that experienced collectively what the Spangler family did. This book not only tells a great story, it is also a fantastic reference.

A Story About Real People

This audio version of the written book is an outstanding way to learn the story.

A Groundbreaking Study on a Topic Too Long Ignored

It’s seldom these days that anyone writes anything completely new and fresh about an aspect of the Gettysburg campaign in the American Civil War. Ron Kirkwood’s “Too Much for Human Endurance” is a refreshing exception. The author provides an unparalleled look at a topic that has escaped so many Civil War writers, i.e. What happened to the soldiers after they were wounded and how did nineteenth century civilians, farms and towns handle unthinkable mass casualty events like the battle of Gettysburg?

Ron Kirkwood has done a stellar job of doing the primary source research required to craft such an authoritative and gripping work. It’s replete with not only never before published facts about the Eleventh Corp Union hospital at Gettysburg but also human interest stories of the George and Elizabeth Spangler family and the hundreds of soldiers treated at their farm.

Bob Neufeld’s excellent narration brings this book to life as only Neufeld can do. So if you want ground breaking research written in a clear comprehensive style coupled with riveting stories of real people living through the horrors of war, this is for you. I believe that Ron Kirkwood’s work will become a classic of the genre. Don’t miss this one.

Important Place in History

Novices and experts of Civil War history will gain insight into this thoroughly researched and documented account of the George Spangler field hospital at Gettysburg. Kirkwood offers the reader a deeply personal, factual look into not only the bloodiest battle fought on American soil, but also the Civil War as it represents mankind's propensity for war and the suffering that inevitably ensues. His focus on this specific field hospital draws the reader into intimate proximity to a place and to the human souls who succumbed and endured there. Kirkwood presents medical procedures, warfare technologies, unbearable sights and sounds, filth, squalor, human tenderness and anguish, heroes and scoundrels. First person accounts speak to the reader's basic humanity in ways that connect them to this important setting: one that has now taken its rightful place in the annals of the shared history of this nation. Sections peppered throughout the book labeled, "Spangler Short Stories" reveal individual lives and the stories they told. Some are comical, some touching and many beyond tragic.
High praise goes to Ron Kirkwood in revealing this time and place to the listener. Expert narration by Bob Neufeld lends itself to the story and makes the listener wonder how these people endured that which was indeed: Too Much for Human Endurance.

Amazing

Great stuff amazing author. Pleased and will be listening to again history rich and powerful

Readable and Entertaining

Fascinating details about two groups underrepresented in general histories of the battle: the medical personnel struggling to save lives behind the battle lines, and the local farm families caught up in the maelstrom of war. Ron does an excellent job of placing their stories within the context of the larger battle, and bringing to life many of the individuals who worked or were treated at the farm. very readable and entertaining.

Fantastic Book on a portion of Gettysburg.

This book adds to the untold story of the 11th corps field hospital. It brings together many of the brief stories of this important portion of the Gettysburg battlefields.