Their Last Ten Miles. This item is unavailable.Their Last Ten Miles

Civil War buffs will enjoy this historical novel, which uses a range of characters, from politicians to privates to generals to civilians, to explore the motivations behind the war. The climactic scenes take place at the final battle of the war, in Selma, Alabama, in April 1865, where Union general James H. Wilson defeated Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest. To reach that point, first-novelist Jim Harrell goes back to the beginning of the war, introducing characters on both sides whose varying philosophies and motivations reflect the deep internal divisions within the nation. Then, as the war progresses, Harrell's interweaving plotlines show how the South was gradually and relentlessly cornered. Fine period details and interesting characters bring the ruinous history to life.

JAMES N. HARRELL was born in Selma, Alabama in 1924. He flew 28 missions as a B-17 gunner during World War II. After the war, he attended the University of California (Berkeley) and did post-graduate studies at The Sorbonne. In 2006, Harrell announced the Jim Harrell Poetry Scholarship Awards, open to Alabama high school students. Winners will be recognized at the Mentevallo Literary Festival, held every year in April. Additionally, Harrell donated to the libraries of every Alabama high school and college, public and private, a copy of These I Would Keep, an anthology of verse by Alabama’s poet laureates, edited by Helen F. Blackshear, eighth poet laureate, and his Civil War novel, Their Last Ten Miles.