Bull Run

De: Paul Fleischman

Narrado por: George Guidall, Christina Moore, Andy Paris, Peter Francis James, Barbara Caruso, Robert Sevra, Johnny Heller, Tom Stechschulte

Winner of the Newbery Medal, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and a Publishers Weekly Best book of 1993, Bull Run has become a modern classic of historical fiction for young adults. In this brilliant narrative, Fleischman re-creates the first great battle of the Civil War from the points of view of sixteen different participants. Through an unflinching narrative of the battle of Bull Run, human faces begin to emerge from the faded pages of history. Read by a varied cast of narrators, the characters on both sides spring to vivid life as they share their feelings as the battle of Bull Run rages around them. Intimate and instructive, this recording is a tour de force that will please parents and teachers who are looking for a way to interest youngsters in reading and history.

The complete list of narrators includes George Guidall, Christina Moore, Andy Paris, Peter Francis James, Barbara Caruso, Robert Sevra, Johnny Heller, Tom Stechschulte, Richard Poe, Paul Hecht, John McDonough, Jeff Woodman, Sam Gray, Richard Davidson, Sally Darling, and Mark Hammer.

©1993 Paul Fleischman (P)1995 Recorded Books

Writing and performance both good; together, great

The story is told in the first person by the narratives of 16 different people, which could have been confusing, but is so adroitly handled that it isn't. The voices of the characters are so distinct and so true to the period that I stopped to check whether it was really a novel and not actual personal recollections. I was quickly immersed in the story. The fact that there are characters on both sides of the conflict keeps the overall viewpoint neutral. Telling it in the first person keeps it from being a dull description of battle strategy.

Because this was the first major battle of the war, the troops and many of the officers were green. So many mistakes were made on both sides, it's amazing that either side won. Casualties were heavy.

The narrators do a fine job and are well cast. It felt like listening to people who were there. Not once did the narration jar me out of the story.

Because it is, after all, an account of a battle, there is violence and bloodshed. It's not glorified, but it's not omitted or prettied up. I tend to be sensitive about violence and this was within my limits, but parents might want to listen to it first before playing it for younger children.

Though it's a YA novel, at no time does it talk down to the reader. It's just as good a book for adults as for children.

I highly recommend it.

The voices

I liked how in the story the characters have personalities.I also liked how realistic the book was.