A vivid portrayal of the Civil War. Johnny, fourteen, convinces his mother to let him join a wagon train carrying food to Confederate soldiers. He has been brought up to believe that all blacks are stupid; thus, when captured by a black Union soldier who insists that Johnny teach him to read, he deliberately tricks him. The boy is surprised the soldier saves him from imprisonment and their relationship grows throughout the book. "A strong, affecting picture of the Civil War era, of the grueling work and privations of the home front as well the chaos and carnage of the battlefield." "Narrator Alston Brown becomes Johnny in this poignant first-person account of the Civil War from a Southern perspective. He also excels at creating Yankee and African-American accents as well as the speech patterns of the day." "A vivid portrayal of the Civil War…Richly drawn…Authentic battle scenes add spice to the story." "The text offers controversial viewpoints without intrusive moralizing. A fine supplement for textbooks on the Civil War, capable of provoking exciting discussions and insights."

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