Book Description

"Like all great writers, Temple reveals general truths by focusing on the particular. In Whisperwood's young Confederate soldier Anderson Flowers, we have a 19th-century Odysseus, caught in a tedious, bewildering, brutal, and terrifying struggle and longing to return home to his true love. In Flowers's unique experience are reflected not only the epic sweep of the Civil War but also Temple's grand themes of the absurdity of war and the redemptive power of love."--Terence Gleeson, Professor of Theater, English, and Humanities, Neumann University (retired). My paternal great-grandfather, Anderson Flowers Temple, died more than two decades before I was born, but he whispered in my ear when I was twelve years old through a narrative of his life written by his youngest son. I was captivated by Anderson's story of humble roots, struggle against adversity, and search for a true path. At the age of twenty-five, after four years in the Civil War, Anderson vowed that he would never again take up arms. For the rest of his life he helped quarreling neighbors talk through their differences and become friends. Whisperwood is a work of fiction based upon my great grandfather's lived experiences, a rifleman's view--not a general's perspective--on the Civil War. The story focuses on the depravity and addiction of war and Anderson's hard-earned wisdom about war and honor. The life lessons in Anderson's story guided me during the Vietnam War when I faced the prospect of becoming a soldier.