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167th out of 341 books
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269 voters
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No Certain Rest
by
Jim Lehrer
On a hillside overlooking Burnside Bridge—the focus of the Battle of Antietam—souvenir hunters find the unmarked grave of an unknown Union officer.
Don Spaniel, an archeologist in the National Park Service, is called in to examine the remains. He soon discovers that the officer was murdered and that his identification disk could not possibly belong to him, since its right...more
Don Spaniel, an archeologist in the National Park Service, is called in to examine the remains. He soon discovers that the officer was murdered and that his identification disk could not possibly belong to him, since its right...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
May 13th 2003
by Random House Trade Paperbacks
(first published 2002)
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Never having read Mr. Lehrer but being an admirer of his work on Public Television I had looked forward to this read. Alas, it proved to be a disappointment.
This is an uninspiring look at the battle of Antietam and the search for the identity of a fictional officer who died in the battle. Mr. Lehrer's writing is flat and leaden, his tale predictable, and his characters either too obvious to be interesting (Spaniel) or too far-fetched to be believable (the modern Albritten). Though h...more
This is an uninspiring look at the battle of Antietam and the search for the identity of a fictional officer who died in the battle. Mr. Lehrer's writing is flat and leaden, his tale predictable, and his characters either too obvious to be interesting (Spaniel) or too far-fetched to be believable (the modern Albritten). Though h...more
Don't get me wrong, Mr. Lehrer is a good writer, but his books, at least the two I have now read, all read like extra-long short stories. It's obvious that Mr. Lehrer loves the research and sharing the background history he uncovers, but I find his characters a little thin and unengaging. "No Certain Rest" revolves around the discovery of the remains of a Union officer discovered on the Antietam Battlefield and the revelations the forensic investigation of the remains uncovers and thei...more
The remains of a Union officer are found in 2003 outside the Antietam battlefield. Why? who? Anthropologists, criminologists, etc. work to find out the answers. A diary written 10 yrs. after the war is interwoven with the discoveries. Facts about the battle are interesting. i.e. Gen. Burnside and McClelland were idiots. If the north had gone after the south quickly, it might have ended the war 3 years earlier and saved 100,000 lives.
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Great idea for a plot. Not well executed. Characters aren't developed well, and some of the plot situations find me with difficulty suspending disbelief. The best novels make you forget you are reading a novel. I really would have liked this novel to be so. It wasn't. I can think of several authors who could have taken this idea and created a much better novel. I like Jim Lehrer ... but as a newsman and not an author.
Lehrer tries to build this book around the interplay of past and present. While the story of murder on the battlefield of Antietam is a compelling one, this narrative falls well short. The characters are flat, the descriptions are bland, and even for history fans like myself, this book really doesn't offer very much.
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Lehrer's a pretty good writer. I really enjoyed the history part of this one. It's about Antietam Battle of the Civil War. My mom's family lives back East and I spent my childhood visiting the battlefield. It was pretty cool to read a story about the battle there. Some parts were a little gory...and I have to admit I expected that since this was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Spun a good yarn and it was a great story about the effects of history and our study of it.
This is a novel about a murder that happened in the civil war and the modern day archaeologist that figures it out. Without the confession that a historical society just happened to have, the mystery couldn't have been solved. The ending was a bit disappointing.
Not my genre, so I wasn't too crazy about it. I like some hisorical fiction, but have never been too fond of the civil war. And trying to figure out who killed a man 145 years ago is just not that gripping for me. But, it was a well enough told story.
A skeleton is found buried on a farm adjacent to the Antietam battleground. Who is he and why is he there? A present day
archaeologist with the National Park Service vows to find out.
Amateurishly written with some improbable plot twists.
archaeologist with the National Park Service vows to find out.
Amateurishly written with some improbable plot twists.
I picked this up because Jim! Lehrer! mystery! Which sadly set the bar quite high. Well, sort of high. Well, let me put it this way -- I didn't expect it to suggest that it's protagonist was Indiana Jones awesome on the first page. He isn't. As written, he's stiff, humorless, and just sexist enough to make me growl. The historical research is as impressive as I expected, and the parts of the novel that take place in the past, I give a thumbs up to. As for the present storyline, if you like chara...more
The imagery of the battlefield scenes in this book stayed with me a long time--amazing writing.
Well done, interesting story. It really deals with human nature as much as the Civil War.
First half was interesting, but I hated to ending. Way too abrupt.
Very interesting.
I finished, and it was a novel to remember. It was thrilling and exciting, I just couldn't put it down.
However, I don't suggest it to young readers...even though I am a young reader, it's gruesome and overall can be a little, "EW!!!" When I started to read it, I had no intentions of it being gruesome, BUT IT IS.
It was an easy read, I suggest it to kids 11-12 and up (because of the gruesomeness) and it's just a great novel for all ages. I hardly give books 5 st...more
However, I don't suggest it to young readers...even though I am a young reader, it's gruesome and overall can be a little, "EW!!!" When I started to read it, I had no intentions of it being gruesome, BUT IT IS.
It was an easy read, I suggest it to kids 11-12 and up (because of the gruesomeness) and it's just a great novel for all ages. I hardly give books 5 st...more
I liked the mystery of the unknown remains of a union general who was accidently unburried, and how the plot evolved from an old letter, piece by piece, as the characters began researching history. I had trouble with the ending. It was abrupt and unresolved.
This is a good story. It has some spots that's a bit slow, but it has a good historical mystery to it. A quick read with 12 chapters, it has drama, suspense and an unexpected ending. I think the ending could be a bit better than how it ended.
Although I'm not crazy about the ending, this is a very interesting book about war. It makes me want to go to Civil War battle sites; especially Antietam.
Kk
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Kelsey Samples
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Alicia
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James Charles Lehrer is an American journalist and the news anchor for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, known for his role as a frequent debate moderator during elections. Lehrer is an author of non-fiction and fiction, drawing from his experiences and interests in history and politics.
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