Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Ghost Riders by Sharyn McCrumb Sharyn McCrumb. The Civil War in the Appalachian Mountains where the wrong side was to take a side. There the war was fought house to house and farm to farm, and the enemy was not a uniformed stranger, but a neighbor, possibly a kinsman. Order Ghost Riders Now. Trade paperback signed by the author. $16.95 plus $4 domestic shipping. Virginia state sales tax added to orders shipped to Virginia addresses. Kindle Edition. Audio CD Edition. Rank Strangers/Ghost Riders CD. Music and reading from Rank Strangers , the original title of Sharyn's novel, Ghost Riders . This extended single CD includes the ballad The Battle on Shiloh's Hill performed by Jack Hinshelwood and a reading by Sharyn McCrumb. Running time 19:52. $7 plus $4 domestic shipping. Virginia state sales tax added to orders shipped to Virginia addresses. Rich in Historical Detail. Critically-acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb chronicles the Civil War in the Southern mountains in Ghost Riders , an extraordinary tale of the war that was fought farm-to-farm, neighbor to neighbor in the part of the South that never wanted to leave the union. Ghost Riders won the 2004 Audie Award for Best Multi-voiced Narration. The award was announced June 4 at the Audio Publishers Association Conference, part of Book Expo 2004 in Chicago, Illinois. Sharyn also won the Wilma Dykeman Award for Regional Historical Literature by the East Tennessee Historical Society. This award is given annually to an author whose writing reflects the excellence, heritage, culture and diversity of Appalachia. The winner also must demonstrate a dedicated commitment to the best interests of the land and the people of the Southern mountains through their writing. Hear Sharyn read from Ghost Riders : Listen. As in her previous novels, The Ballad of Frankie Silver ; The Rosewood Casket ; She Walks These Hills ; The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter ; and The Songcatcher , the last of which The Atlanta Journal and Constitution hailed as "a ballad in itself to the Appalachians and the history of the people who have settled it," McCrumb celebrates her heritage and the land of the mountain South, crafting a story rich with tradition and the true character and spirit of that breathtaking region. The novel's primary narrators are the historical figures Malinda Blalock and Zebulon Vance. Malinda Blalock, a young mountain woman whose husband was forced to enlist in the Confederate army, disguised herself as a boy and went with him. Discharged soon afterwards, it isn't long before the Confederacy wants Keith to take up arms again, and he does, only this time it is as a bushwhacker for the Union. With not many people left to trust in a war that has pitted brother against brother, the couple head for high ground to avoid the county militia, and soon become hard-riding, deadly outlaws who avenge the deaths of their kin and neighbors at the hands of the Rebels. North Carolina Governor Zebulon Baird Vance, a young lawyer from Asheville, rose from humble beginnings on a frontier farm to serve in the U.S. Congress. Although he opposed secession, Vance remained loyal to his home state when the war broke out, leaving Washington to become colonel of the 26th North Carolina, and later the Confederate governor of North Carolina. In the present, the war resonates like a half-remembered nightmare. It lingers on in the Confederate battle flag flying in the yard of a trailer, in the church names “Union Baptist” and “Cumberland Presbyterian,” which are expressions of politics not faith, and in the minds of scholars and weekend warriors who continue to relive the war. In Wake County, Tennessee the local Civil War re-enactors' group is planning a mock battle. Most of the local men who participate in the re- enactments prefer to fight on the Confederate side, and most of them are unaware that in all likelihood their mountain ancestors favored the Union. Rattler, an old mountain root doctor who has the Sight speaks for the present, fearing that the zeal of the re-enactors will awaken the restless spirits of the real soldiers still wandering the mountains. Ghost Riders captures the horrors of a war that tore families apart, turned neighbors into enemies, and left the survivors bitter long after the fighting was officially over. It is a fascinating narrative, rich in historical detail that once again highlights Sharyn McCrumb's gift for story-telling and her love of the mountain South. Sharyn McCrumb. MostlyFiction.com links to Amazon.com, but we wholeheartedly encourage you to buy books from your local brick-n-mortar stores and to visit your library frequently. If you happen to click on one of links and make a purchase, we earn a commission and we always appreciate your support. Thank you. and don't forget to tell your friends about us. "Ghost Riders" (reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer MAY 15, 2004) “I don’t hold with talking to dead people, but still and all I would give anything to exchange words with her . To see her draw rein and turn around so I could look into those eyes. I’d ask her where it is they’re riding to, or maybe I’d just wish her well or ask if she’s content with this endless ride or if she wants me to try to help her. I want to say, You lived through the war, hon. It’s over. Don’t you remember? She never stops, though. She rides on by, looking straight ahead, as if I was the ghost instead of her.” The framing story runs like this: Civil War reinactors have come to the Appalacian Mountain home of Nora Bonesteel and Rattler, well-beloved McCrumb characters from previous novels. Rattler can feel the unrest under the very ground as the innocent weekend warriors awaken ghosts and passions that should have been long buried. and that’s where we get the title. But as I said, this is merely a framing story, one that we revisit, from time to time, a tale that creeps in along the edges and gives us a bit of a tense ghost story that builds as the narrative continues. The main story is split into two, and tells the stories of two very different historical figures: Malinda Blalock and Zebulon Baird Vance. Their lives will intertwine in odd ways, beginning with the first chapter. When Malinda’s young husband Keith runs off to join the Confederate army, she puts aside her skirts and pride to follow him dressed as a boy and posing as Keith's younger brother. After awhile Keith tires of the army. not from lack of bravery, per se, but from sickness over the politics, and no longer sure if he believes in what he’s doing. He rolls in everything he can find until he gets a rash that will let him leave temporarily. When this happens, Malinda, known as Sam, wants to go with him, so she goes to her commander, Zebulon Vance. When she lifts her shirt she gives indisputable proof that she is a woman, and instead of punishing her and her husband, he lets them go. He will also leave soon enough to follow a career in politics, urged on by his thirst for power, for civilization and a life utterly different from the one he lived in North Carolina (a birthplace he shared with the Blalocks). The Blalocks will also continue to avoid their former simple life; when Keith becomes AWOL from the Confederate army, they have to run away. they will find ways to serve the Northern cause, and try to fight the horrible depredations the war has brought to their home. I’ve read a lot of Sharyn McCrumb -- who can resist titles like She Walks These Hills and If I’d Killed Him When I’d Met Him ? -- and because of the fact that Rattler and Bonesteel were in the book, and because of the title, I thought I was settling down to a ghost story. I’m not a reader who expects the same kind of story every time from a writer, I love it when a writer stretches out, tries new things, but I didn't expect a historical Civil War novel. Once I got into it, though, I really began to enjoy myself. Vance grew on me, and Malinda’s story, her heartbreak, her bravery, are very effectively created. I couldn't help but root for her. It also helped me really understand how awful the Civil War was and for the Appalachian people in particular. many terrible war crimes were committed, and what made it worse was that people committing them were people the victims knew. They weren’t faceless men in blue or gray, they were neighbors. We have all heard of the Hatfield's and McCoy's, a story that has since become a caricature of itself. Here we see how such a deep down bloody feud could have happened, we see the roots of it and feuds to come. You should read this novel for Vance and Malinda’s tale. The story is extremely well done, bursting with historical detail, an excellently done portrait of the times and place. McCrumb truly loves the setting of these books, and it’s wonderful to see the Applachia, which she has lovingly immortalized for me in previous stories, in a new time period, so that I can see what it was like back then. This is fortunate, because the ghost angle, filled with clever things that really build and build upon your expectations, doesn’t quite work in the end. Still, it is a fabulously wrought historical novel. Amazon readers rating: from 27 reviews. Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com) The Elizabeth MacPherson Series: (1984) (1985) (1986) (1988) (1990) (1991) (1992) (1995) (2000) Omega / Farley Series: (1990) (1992) (1994) (1996) (1997) (1998) (May 2001) (July 2003) (June 2010) (March 2006) (June 2008) Book Marks: The official website for Sharyn McCrumb BookPage interview with Sharyn McCrumb Rambles review of The Songcatcher TeenReads.com review of The Songcatcher BookReporter.com review of Ghost Riders Greenman review of Ghost Riders. About the Author: Sharyn McCrumb graduated from the University of North Carolina and in 1985 received her MA in English from Virginia Tech. She taught journalism and Appalachian studies at Virginia Tech as well as worked for a newspaper as a reporter until 1988. In 1988 McCrumb decided to devote her time to writing novels and working the lecture circuit. Shr has been writer-in-residence at King College (Tennessee) and Shepherd College (West Virginia), and she has lectured on her work at universities and libraries throughout the United States and Europe. McCrumb is a New York Times bestselling author whose work has been cited for "Outstanding Contribution to Appalachian Literature." She has received the Chaffin and Plattner Awards for Southern fiction, two Best Appalachian Novel awards, and many other honors. Sharyn McCrumb. There are stories hidden in the hills and hollers of Appalachia, and you can find them if you do your homework. Sharyn McCrumb is just the author to unearth the facts, sprinkle them with a little mountain magic and bring them to life in her fiction. McCrumb's latest book, Ghost Riders , continues the immensely popular ballad novel series for which she is best known. Set in the Appalachian Mountain region of North Carolina and Tennessee, the books are inspired, or perhaps more accurately fortified , by musical soundtracks she compiles herself before beginning the writing process. "When I'm developing a character," she explains in a telephone interview, "one of the things I ask myself is what music does this person listen to? I have a theory that people who listen to Eminem, for example, and people who listen to Bach probably don't have the same speech patterns, or even the same cadences. So while I'm working on a particular scene, I listen to music that the character would listen to. I use a lot of Irish music: harp, hammered dulcimer, fiddle tunes. I try to get into their heads via the music." During her tours and readings for the previous ballad books (which include The Songcatcher, The Rosewood Casket, The Ballad of Frankie Silver , and If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O ) McCrumb noticed that people outside the Appalachian region, even great fans of her novels, were not familiar with the music that was tied to them. "I realized that some people didn't even recognize the song reference in some of the titles, so I devised a program with a folk singer, Jack Hinshelwood. He's an award-winning bluegrass musician, and he often tours with me now. I do readings from a novel and he does the songs and music related to it." Aside from collecting the "character music" and completing the actual writing, McCrumb also does an abundance of historical and geological research for her books, particularly with a novel like Ghost Riders that takes place largely during the Civil War. "I spent four years doing research for this book," McCrumb points out, "because even though it's fiction I had to understand politically what was happening." Since Ghost Riders uses present-day Civil War re-enactment as a vehicle for the historical part of the story, McCrumb had to make the re- enactment scenes authentic, as well. There are many Civil War buffs, historians and re-enactors who would be unforgiving about a slip-up. "You see," she says, "they take it very seriously why, the color of the horse could be a three-day debate so you really have to do your homework." (The mother of teenagers, McCrumb probably gets a lot of mileage out of that advice.) The two characters who really come alive in the novel are Zebulon Vance, North Carolina's Civil War governor, and Malinda "Sam" Blaylock, historical figures McCrumb says she chose because she not only "really wanted to tell both sides," but because she wanted to show the difficulties in choosing any side. "Prior to the firing on Fort Sumter, Governor Vance had been going all over the mountains begging people not to leave the Union, but when his state pulled out, he felt he had no choice but to go with her, so he was kind of forced into it. I thought he was perfect to tell the Confederate side." Malinda is the wife of Keith Blaylock. She cuts her hair, straps down her bosom and takes off to join the Union army after her husband enlists (despite his own misgivings about the side he chooses) to "look after him." With characters as colorful as this, a story as potent as the Civil War and a writer as competent as McCrumb, who would argue with the odd inaccuracy? But as she writes in her Author's Note at the end of Ghost Riders , the nitpickers are out there. "My personal favorite so far was the Texas gentleman who tried to tell me how they pronounce Arrowood in east Tennessee, unaware that Arrowood was the name of my east Tennessee grandparents." Oops. He should have done his homework. "I grew up with this whole idea of narrative connected to song," McCrumb says, describing her childhood in the Appalachian region. "We would be making the several hours' journey to see one set of grandparents or the other and my father would tell me stories. But he would also sing, and the songs that he liked tended to be short stories set to music, like the ballads." McCrumb now lives on 80 acres in the Virginia Blue Ridge, less than 100 miles from where her great-grandparents settled in 1790. "We have a pen full of ducklings and geese we've raised for the last eight weeks that are due to go out on the pond soon," she says enthusiastically. "We get them from a nearby hatchery when they are just three days old. They arrive looking like dandelions. [She pronounces it "dandy-lions."] But I love to sit on the bank and watch them gliding along; it's my tranquilizer." Of course, McCrumb does a lot more than watch the ducks swim and daydream. "I try to write between 500 and 1,000 words a day," she says of her writing schedule, "depending on how hard it is, and where I am in the book." Ghost Riders. Recently Sharyn McCrumb posted on her Facebook page that her next novel will be out in August 2011, and suggested that we should read her earlier book Ghost Riders before then. The new book will be about Tom Dooley, of "Hang down your head, Tom Dooley" fame. His lawyer in the real story was Zebulon Vance, who is a major character in Ghost Riders. By the way, Tom's real name was Tom Dula but everyone mispronounced it. I had a copy of Ghost Riders on my shelf so I have now read it. The characters i Recently Sharyn McCrumb posted on her Facebook page that her next novel will be out in August 2011, and suggested that we should read her earlier book Ghost Riders before then. The new book will be about Tom Dooley, of "Hang down your head, Tom Dooley" fame. His lawyer in the real story was Zebulon Vance, who is a major character in Ghost Riders. By the way, Tom's real name was Tom Dula but everyone mispronounced it. I had a copy of Ghost Riders on my shelf so I have now read it. The characters in this book are some of McCrumb's best work. A few are real, others fictional, but all totally believable and fascinating. Everyone's favorite McCrumb character, Nora Bonesteel, makes a sort of cameo appearance in it, but another character with "the Sight" is one of the main characters. He is called "Rattler" and he is inseparable from the mountains he lives in, the Appalachians of western North Carolina. He's a loner but frequently reenactors of the Civil War camp in the mountains and if he wants some conversation he'll go visit them. Problem is, their uniforms and firing of period weapons seems to be bringing back ghosts of the real war. In flashback we meet McKesson (Keith) and Malinda Blalock, union sympathizers in a "secesh" area. This is one of the toughest couples you'll ever meet. When he is forced to join the Confederate Army, Malinda dresses like a boy and joins up too as "Sam Blalock." Turns out she's a good soldier and they plan to cross over to the Union army as soon as they can. It's only when her husband is wounded and is to be sent home that she reveals her sex and goes home with him. That isn't the end of their wartime experiences though, far from it. There are other superbly drawn characters to fill out the story of mountain people divided by a war they have little stock in, the cruelty shown toward the women, children, and old people trying to survive at home while the young men fight and die, and the lingering feuds that result, a la the Hatfields and the McCoys. This is the war I'm interested in rather than battles and generals and tactics so I greatly enjoyed this wonderful story. Above all, the people's sense of belonging to the Appalachians and their knowledge of the mountains prevails. I highly recommend this book regardless of whether you are a Sharyn McCrumb fan or not. If you aren't, you will be after reading this book. . more. Here is another book that I may have never read if it had not been lent to me. I love how sharing books can open up new ways of thinking for people! I am so glad I read it as it has wet my appetite for learning more about the Reconstruction following the Civil War. "Ghost Riders" is set in the Appalachian Mountains and tells the tale of the impact of the Civil War on those who lived in these mountains bordering North and South Carolina, in particular. Sharyn McCrumb poured over historical documen Here is another book that I may have never read if it had not been lent to me. I love how sharing books can open up new ways of thinking for people! I am so glad I read it as it has wet my appetite for learning more about the Reconstruction following the Civil War. "Ghost Riders" is set in the Appalachian Mountains and tells the tale of the impact of the Civil War on those who lived in these mountains bordering North and South Carolina, in particular. Sharyn McCrumb poured over historical documents to learn more about the people who lived in these mountains and the way the war affected them. Families were divided on which side they were on from farm to farm and that made for a very unique war. McCrumb used the real stories of a woman who dressed as a male soldier to fight alongside her husband, a famous governor of North Carolina (Zebulon Vance), and a few other central characters to provide a frame of realistic reference and offer credibility to her story. The story is told from the perspective of several characters and weaves its way through modern and past times to show the way the Civil War left a massive impact that is still felt to this day. The tales of those who faced the war head on are juxtaposed with the modern-day reenactors and those who have "the sight" and are able to communicate with the ghosts that play a significant part in the story. At times, these changing perspectives can be confusing and it is easy to mix them up, but the style offers a comprehensive way of viewing the way the mountains bore the horrors of war. She uses the supernatural presence of ghosts of soldiers on both sides to signify the ways in which the war is still not over. Grudges were formed between families who sided with either the Confederacy or the Union that she suggests are still felt today. Having grown up in both North and South Carolina, I have often visited Grandfather Mountain, a unique mountain that is now known for its mile high suspension bridge between the twin peaks. Grandfather Mountain is an important character of sorts in the book as it serves as a haven to those resisting joining up with the Confederates and also a death trap for those who are caught. Thinking of all of the time I have spent there hiking and visiting, it is difficult to fathom the role it played during the Civil War. At the end of the story, I was struck by how difficult it must have been to go on after the war was over. In the story, one of the characters sagely suggests that it is easy to start a war but almost impossible to make it stop. Despite the fact that the Confederacy had surrendered, there were still scores that many felt needed to be settled and the war was far from over for them. This was a dark time for our country and a time of healing that I imagine many thought was not possible. McCrumb does a wonderful job of proving this difficulty and making her readers really think about how such a war tore apart our country. . more. On the downside: what was this story supposed to be about? I was drawn to it because of the title and the summary I saw in the book club newsletter: it's the Civil War and a young woman dresses up like a man and follows her husband off to war. There were not-s. What a frustrating book! On the one hand, I liked the voices of the characters very much. I could just about hear them speaking in my mind. I truly enjoyed some of the characters very much but they didn't appear as often as I liked. On the downside: what was this story supposed to be about? I was drawn to it because of the title and the summary I saw in the book club newsletter: it's the Civil War and a young woman dresses up like a man and follows her husband off to war. There were not-so-subtle hints about a ghost story, too. Well. look at the title, Ghost Riders . But . I feel like I was misled! Yes, young Malinda Blalock dressed up like a soldier and followed her husband to war . that was about one chapter. There were small chapters interspersed that told of the spirits of Civil War soldiers stirred up by the re-enactments going on around them. There wasn't enough of that. There was an awful lot about Zebulon Vance, an ambitious mountain boy who becomes a lawyer, then a politician, then a soldier, then the governor of North Carolina. so? I kept waiting for him to have more encounters with the Blalocks but he never did. Their paths crossed just once, back when Malinda disguised herself as "Sam". What was the point of the book anyway? Feuds don't die? Be careful not to stir up the restless ghosts by dressing up in Civil War uniforms and shooting off weapons of the time? I couldn't figure it out. It's not a bad book because I think Sharyn McCrumb has a way with words and characterizations. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone though. I wouldn't know what to tell them it's about!