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Welcome Are Lands
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by:
ISBN:
0-7414-2469-X
©2005
Price:
$23.95
Book Size:
5.5'' x 8.5''
, 564 pages
Category/Subject:
HISTORY / United States / 19th Century
Though Stephen Shevley survived an unhappy home life, the hardships of logging camps, and the trauma of war, it was life’s happiest interludes that bedeviled him amid the fires of Hell.
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Abstract:
Welcome Are Lands is a story of the American frontier, and how the land’s promise of limitless opportunity and wealth transformed the lives and shaped the characters of its settlers. The Shevleys of Maine “go west” to Minnesota Territory in the 1850s to cut the timber that will help build a nation. But in struggle to tame the northern wilderness and found a great city, the family is torn apart. Just as Minnesota lumber still may be found in homes across the Great Plains, so does the emotional legacy of the family’s tragedy extend into the lives of succeeding generations.
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Customer Reviews
In Pursuit of the American Dream
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05/25/2005
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Reviewer:
BookWire Review
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WELCOME ARE LANDS: A NOVEL JAMES IRWIN KRUGER, INFINITY PUBLISHING.COM, West Conshohocken, PA, $23.95, paperback, (564p) ISBN: 0-7414-2469-X
James Irwin Kruger's "Welcome are Lands: A Novel" is a moving tale set against the background of the American Civil War. It relates the experiences of a family caught in the pursuit of the American Dream and shows how one person's unrelenting ambition can impact an entire society. The main protagonist Vincent Shevley, an ambitious and adventurous man, leaves his loving family and the safety of his home to make a name for himself on the frontier. He becomes a successful real-estate businessman and uses the enormous natural wealth present in the Wild West for his personal gain. He sends for his wife, Eleanor, and son, Stephen as soon as he is settled.
However, Eleanor struggles to adapt to the rough, unsophisticated Wild West. Eleanor's unhappiness with her situation and husband culminates in her adulterous relationship with Lieutenant Jonathan Wells. When Vincent's fourteen- year old son Stephen discovers his mother's illicit affair, it creates an indelible impression on his mind; and he decides to leave the family. His only source of affection is a little servant maid Sarah Carpenter. Meanwhile, Wells marries Stephen's beautiful and charming music teacher and moves away, leaving Eleanor broken-hearted. In an attempt to forget the social stigma resulting from his wife's illicit relationship, Vincent drowns himself in his work as he tries to build the city of Minneapolis single-handedly. Vincent also becomes increasingly intolerant of his son's whims and fancies.
As years pass, Stephen's resentment towards his parents' apparent lack of love for him increases, and he expresses it by running away to become a manual laborer and then becoming an alcoholic. However, he cannot forget his sorrows. Later, he takes an active part in the Civil War. The hardships of the war and the loss of a dear friend seriously affect his health, and he is soon declared insane. Through all of his trials and tribulations, Sarah stands by his side, and he finally marries her. But Stephen has to face another sorrow almost immediately, as she dies in childbirth. Does Stephen manage to recover from his sorrows? Does Vincent realize his dreams? The answers to these questions form the climax of this intensely passionate and emotional drama.
Kruger brilliantly depicts the dilemmas that a dreamer has to face and portrays his characters with a lot of insight. "Welcome are Lands: A Novel" is a must- read for anyone who dares to dream and has the strength to pursue those dreams unflinchingly.
BookWire Review
May 25, 2005
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