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)

Good but some parts should have been edited out

Where does Andersonville rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Above average

Would you recommend Andersonville to your friends? Why or why not?

yes if they were interested in the Civil War

Which character – as performed by Grover Gardner – was your favorite?

Most of the main characters were very well developed.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

No

Good book, if a little meandering

I enjoyed Andersonville, though I feel I could've done with some editing. it is a massive book with an expansive cast of character and story arcs but I feel that not all were equal in quality. Overall, I would recommend it however.

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

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.

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.

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.

3 hots and a cot, this is not!

Excellent historical fiction based on a horrific Civil War prison camp. It has good and bad guys who are supposed to be on the same side in the war, but in prison they break up into their own factions and make life easier for some and more miserable for others. The tide changes back and forth inside the prison to great tension and drama. Aside from the lives of the prisoners, the issues the Confederate overseer goes through are also played out, alongside the local civilians who have their lives changed also.

While there are many stories about prisons from the 20th century wars, and even from the middle ages, but I had never even thought about life in a Civil War prison until I heard about Andersonville (maybe 25 years ago). This book opened up exploration into other Civil War prisons, North and South, that people look back in horror at the treatment the inmates received all around.

Using characters inspired by history and demonstrating the power of hope in a grim situation, the reader gets lured in, absorbed even, by this daunting tale.

The narrator was good... I have other books he has narrated on my Wish List.

This would be a great read for any Civil War enthusiasts or history majors in general. A story worth knowing!

Gripping

I have always heard about Andersonville..I don’t think I was quite prepared for it all. Grover was outstanding in the reading and inflection of speech. I am not sure I could have read it so stoic. It is hard to believe that people will treat each other in this way.

War is Hell & Andersonville Captures it Well

I’ve read Andersonville before, but given the current state of the Union, I have read and listened to it with new eyes and ears. From the despicable Wirtz and Winder to honorable Dreyfoos and Claffey, MacKinlay Kantor brings the Civil War to life—and death. I highly recommend Andersonville.

What did I miss?

An avid reader of anything Civil War, I occasionally chose an historical novel. I visited Andersonville three times before I read the novel and was very familiar with the major events (horrific conditions, struggles to survive, hanging of the six) and characters (Wirz). Given the fact the author generally stuck to historical fact, I'm thoroughly disappointed that he left Wirz riding on a train to Washington, rubbing his neck. I thought, what a great way to follow on with his trail and eventual demise as the only Confederate to be hung for war crimes. But rubbing his neck is as close as we got. I actually reversed the recording, thinking I must have missed that part. Nope. Otherwise, a wonderful mixture of fact and fiction. Grover Gardner is the best. Period.