Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Civil War historical fiction

The best-selling writing team of Valley Forge presents The Battle of the Crater, a tale inspired by a crushing 1864 Union defeat, tracing the investigation of reporter and Lincoln confidante James O'Reilly, who retraces the tragedy and how a promising campaign went wrong. Civil war buffs and fans of American historical fiction will be interested in checking out this book, co-authored by 2012 presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

Civil War historical fiction - Battle of the Crater

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