AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: The Leaves of Autumn : by Nathan S S Mitchell ISBN: 0-595-12900-5 Publisher: Author's Choice Press Pub. Date: 30 September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Simply Excellent/Adult reading
Comment: Mr. Mitchell reminds me of a painter who paints with bold colours, firm brush strokes, and a sharp sense of style on a canvas primed with melancholy sepia tones. In this story, the author skillfully weaves commentary on the human condition, on the history of an era still close to our own times, and on the hearts and minds of a remarkable cast of characters. Lucid writing, vivid dialogue, and fascinating accounts of action kept me up late to read to the end. I found a wisdom in Mr. Mitchell's writing that touched me. This story exudes so much authenticity, it deserves five stars.

Rating: 5
Summary: 'Autumn' Has Something for Everybody
Comment: "The Leaves of Autumn," the best of Nathan S. Mitchell's four novels, is a case study of an abusive, proud black man and his family during a pivotal time for African Americans in the U. S. It is interlaced with abject racism, poverty and deprivation, subtle humor, and thrilling aerial combat episodes during the Vietnam War. The main protagonist, Norman Morris, emerges from a dysfunctional, hostile environment and becomes an all-American hero. His close friend, a white youth named Noah Brooks, refuses to let rural Georgia's biased racial attitudes interfere with his friendship with Morris. Morris' cynical, despotic grandfather, Paul Bass, offers something for everybody to hate; especially the verbal and physical abuse he constantly directs at his wife, Mamie. Yet, in the final analysis, it is Bass' sage advice and courageous conduct that influence the type of man Norman Morris ultimately becomes.

Steering away from the cloak and dagger, spy vs. spy themes of his first three books, Mitchell offers a stark contrast in "Autumn..." The cogent character development, crisp dialogue that lingers long after it is read, and the cleverly interspersed subplots make "Autumn..." a compelling book for readers of any genre. The author takes the reader on a paced rollercoaster ride through much of the 20th Century. There are episodes of pain and suffering, happiness and satisfaction of marriages and births, and sadness and trauma of killings and deaths. Not surprisingly, most of the adverse incidents occur in autumn - a time when too many living things die.

Mitchell's lucid writing style places the reader in the thick of things: from the cotton fields where poor blacks toil to eke out a living, to the cockpits of supersonic jet fighters where aerial dogfights are too real to be imagined. Though the story was motivated by actual events, it is difficult to determine where the facts end and fiction begins. This book is highly recommended and warrants the highest rating.

Rating: 5
Summary: It Has Something for Every Reader
Comment: Not since "Forest Gump" has a book come along with an exhilarating combination of pure human interest and spine-tingling action in military combat. "The Leaves of Autumn," the author's fourth book published in 2000, sets a deliberate pace by getting the reader involved early. It chronicles the trials and tribulations of two poor rural families - one black, the other white - during post-Great Depression Georgia. Boys from these families become friends as toddlers, grow up in a polarized environment, and are separated when the black leaves home. They are reunited during military combat in Vietnam where the black pilot saves his white friend's life. Ironically, this is payback for when the white youth risked his life for his black friend when they were teenagers. Interwoven throughout this magnificent story are the tyrannical activities of the black youth's psychopathic grandfather whose cruelty to his family would send him to prison today. Along with excessive drinking, gambling, and abuse, the grandfather keeps the Ku Klux Klan and other white racists at bay by showering them with "Uncle Tomisms" and blind obeisance. The two friends, grown men and seasoned war veterans, return home heroes - only to find the life they once knew has succumbed to a quieter, less threatening time. This book has something for everybody - everything from the heart-rending struggle of a tyrant's wife to survive his cruelty, to aerial combat scenes so real the reader feels like the co-pilot. Clearly the best of Mitchell's four novels, The Leaves of Autumn is "must" reading for anyone who likes a perfect combination of high drama and great literature.