Get Discount 5% Off
Subscribe to our newsletters now and stay up-to-date with new arrivals, updates and deals.
Currency
Couldn't load pickup availability
Recreating heretofore little-known-but important history is an obligation of a conscientious historical novelist. Little known but essential history is found in To Forge a Nation.
During the second half of the 19th century, driven by hope and ambition, men and women of all European nationalities came to the New Country, with some North American geological areas having newspapers, books and conversation in the native language. But the trade and legislative language of business, intelligentsia and national leadership was English, and many immigrants, much of the American melting pot, would need to learn English. Competent teachers, often in one-room church schools, would be bilingual in English and whatever the community common language was. Meanwhile, religious persecution continued in Europe, attracting many more to America, and while most American histories deal lightly with the missionary movement in the U.S., it was significant.
Most immigrants bypassed American customs when coming to America, as did main character Amos Nordquist who, initially searching for an uncle already immigrated and enlisted in the Union Army, immediately found himself in the latter part of the American Civil War where he saw the aftermath of the Shenandoah Valley burning, and the battle that placed the nails in the Confederate coffin: Sailor's Creek. The 1865 Battle of Sailor's Creek also solidified the apotheosis of Gen. George Armstrong Custer. Little Big Horn's fame is explained in one word: Custer. But, 11 years earlier, Sailor's Creek had made it so.
Following the formal surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by Robert E. Lee, Amos witnessed the laying down of arms ceremony and silent, poignant exchange between Union General Joshua Chamberlain and Confederate General John Gordon at Appomattox Courthouse. As Gordon approached, Chamberlain gave the command for buglers to sound the Carry Arms marching salute. Seeing what was happening, General Gordon spoke to his horse, "Up Marye," and the horse reared as Gordon pulled his saber from its scabbard, raised it aloft, and as Marye came down, the trained horse bowed while Gordon touched the saber tip to his boot, saluting Chamberlain and the Union troops. He turned Marye around and gave the Carry Arms order to his own marching troops, who responded in kind, both sides honoring the other - honor for honor - along the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road.
Thereafter Amos Nordquist headed north, joined by an ex-slave, Abraham Cole, and as they rode, Amos gained significant insight into antebellum slavery. Going their separate ways north of West Virginia, Amos continued to Minnesota, where he was ordained and began planting churches, meeting a beautiful woman, getting married and having children while braving Minnesota winters.
The church called him west to Murray, Idaho springing up among gold strikes, where he met a fascinating cast of characters led by the most interesting woman of the Old West, a beautiful Irish immigrant and madam, Molly B'Dam'.
Then west to Seattle, he experienced contention during the Chinese expulsion, to the point where he resigned his pastorate and moved north to the Skagit River Valley where the greatest socialism experiment in American history and further contention were about to commence. The experiment ended badly.
Amos was called to Everett and witnessed the IWW shootout on the Everett waterfront where more men were killed in 30 minutes than during the three-year Lincoln County War.
But Amos is now old, worn out, his wife has died, and he has decided to make a trip back to where he started, Goteborg, Sweden. The homecoming was large, a surprise gathering where Amos met many relatives for the first time, concluding that God had given him five talents to be invested wisely, and he had.
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.
Subscribe to our newsletters now and stay up-to-date with new arrivals, updates and deals.
Thanks for subscribing!
This email has been registered!
Product | SKU | Description | Collection | Availability | Product Type | Other Details |
---|