Bruce Catton, whose name is identified with Civil War history, grew up in Benzonia, Michigan, probably the only town within two hundred miles, he says, not founded to cash in on the lumber boom. In this memoir, Catton remembers his youth, his family, his home town, and his coming of age. With nostalgia, warmth, and humor, Catton recalls it all with a wealth of detail: the logging industry and its tremendous effect on the face of the state, the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic who first sparked his interest in the Civil War, the overnight train trips on long-gone "sleepers," the days of great resort hotels, and fishing in once clear lakes. Although he writes of a time and place that are no more, his observations have implications that both underline the past and touch the future. One of America's great Civil War historians recounts his days growing up in Benzonia, a small town in Michigan's lower peninsula. During the first years of the 20th century (Catton was born in 1899), Catton listened to the tales of old Civil War veterans and gained an interest in the War Between the States that would never leave him. But this book, unlike Catton's other works, isn't primarily about the Civil War. It's about growing up in a particular time and a place. Written with grace, warmth, and wit, it describes an era of trains and timber. People who know and love the forests of northern Michigan will appreciate this book immensely, as will anybody who has enjoyed Catton's other books and wants to learn a little bit more about the historian who is one of America's great storytellers. "There is real fresh air in this wonderful book which captures an American past that is gone forever but deserves the dignity of being mourned without false emotion. Bruce Catton, that renowned, crusty Civil War scholar, writes luminously of his boyhood. He has managed to look back with a crisp, winter-morning clarity and to stirringly recreate some of the simple truths and granite facts of a hard life in a hard land."― Newsweek "There is real fresh air in this wonderful book which captures an American past that is gone forever but deserves the dignity of being mourned without false emotion. Bruce Catton, that renowned, crusty Civil War scholar, writes luminously of his boyhood. He has managed to look back with a crisp, winter-morning clarity and to stirringly recreate some of the simple truths and granite facts of a hard life in a hard land."— In this memoir, Catton remembers his youth, his family, his home town, and his coming of age. Bruce Catton is known for such classics as A Stillness at Appomattox, This Hallowed Ground, and Mr. Lincoln's Army. Used Book in Good Condition