Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran by Andy Taylor - Somewhat Revealing Look Behind the Scenes

After reading John Taylor’s recently released biography, I was motivated to seek out the older autobiography by Andy Talyor.  People I talked to said Andy was more forthcoming about some of the conflict within the group where John seemed to be a bit more gracious, shying away from any true ”gossip”.

Andy tells his story of a childhood that wasn’t conventional.  He dealt with abandonment issues by his mother and grew very close to his father in an English fishing village dominated by members of his family.  Answering an advertisement, he met up with the other members of Duran Duran and they embarked on superstardom.

Where John Taylor’s story was mostly about him and his honesty about his own problems and issues that caused fractures within the band when they were at the height of their popularity, Andy is more willing to call out other members and their spouses on the issues that arose.  This is perhaps because he isn’t part of the band right now where John Taylor is still touring with Duran Duran.

One of the prime examples of this is Andy Taylor’s attitude towards Nick Rhodes and his ex-wife Julie Anne.  Where girlfriends and wives usually did not accompany the band on the road, Julie Anne immediately insinuated herself in almost every part of Rhodes’ life according to Andy and caused fractures in the band.  There are other tidbits like this, not just about the members of Duran Duran but about other artists Andy Taylor worked with as well.  These include Power Station with Robert Palmer and Rod Stewart.

Andy is honest about many of his own failings as well.  Both he and John Taylor had issues with drugs and alcohol during their time with the band as well as after.  At the same time, he seems reticent to talk about other hedonism that surrounded the band, intimating that only the crew ever had anything to do with groupies and none of the band members themselves.  This is a trend I’ve noticed in a number of recent 1980’s musician biographies, where they seem to downplay the interaction with groupies.  Whether it’s a source of conflict still at home (Andy Taylor is still married to his wife Tracey whom he met before Duran Duran exploded onto the scene) or something else, I can only speculate.  I don’t believe any of these new autobiographies are forthcoming in this area for whatever reason, though.

That aside, Wild Boy does make for a good read, especially to anyone who does remember those days.  It is a bit more “gossipy” than John Taylor’s book and I think that’s the reason I enjoyed it so much.  It is well-written and easy to read.  If you were a fan of Duran Duran in the 1980’s, I suggest you grab this one for a bit more insight into what went on behind the scenes.

 

A Review of the Book Roller Coaster by David Bennett

One look at the beautiful cover photograph of Mantis, a stand-up roller coaster located at Cedar Point Park in Sandusky, Ohio, and I knew I had to have this book. I was so not disappointed. 

This is a coffee-table type book, but it is actually a whole lot more. Coaster enthusiasts should have this book for the great information as well as the amazing pictures. I cannot say enough about the photographs in this book. Each one made me want to drive to wherever that coaster is and ride it. I could be planning road trips well into the next century. 

There is so much more to this book than just pictures. Roller Coaster provides a tremendous amount of information not just about contemporary coasters, but it goes back through the history of the ride. It is believed they originated with ice slides in Russia as early as the 17th century. However, no one is certain exactly what spawned the enthusiasm for this ride. There were also wooden toboggan rides in Paris in the 18th century, as well as a gravity railroad in Pennsylvania in the 19th century. 

The first chapter touches on this origins debate. It contains a wide variety of sketches and drawings depicting these early coasters. I found that they aided greatly in imagining what these early "rides" were like. 

I found the depictions of the gravity railroad (used for hauling coal down from the mountain) to be very interesting as well. Could you imagine covering 18 miles of countryside after just a nudge to get started? The coal cars were hauled up the mountain first by mules and later on by steam engines, then controlled by a brakeman for 18 miles where they were offloaded. 

As they move into the latter half of the 19th century, photographs begin to come into play rather than drawings. The photographs of the early switchbacks are interesting, as well as the paintings and sketches from early advertisements or postcards. Looping coasters were in amusement parks as early as 1908! 

There is a lot of information about the development of Coney Island and its various amusement parks. This was part of the growth of amusement parks now that they were accessible to city-dwellers due to the trolley bus. All of the early photographs appear to have been perfectly restores and are absolutely incredible to see the contrast from almost 100 years ago. 

Chapter two talks about the roller coaster designers. In modern times, enthusiasts are used to hearing names like B & M, Vekoma, Schwarzkopf, Arrow Dynamics, and The Philadelphia Toboggan Company. They owe their heritage to men like John Miller, Frederick Church, Harry G. Traver, and Herbert P. Schmeck There are design specs of roller coasters in this chapter. Some of the coasters from this era still exist today. Most notably is the Cyclone at Coney Island, and Thunderboltat Kennywood Park which was originally called The Pippin. 

So much is made of safety concerns today, but fatalities were common on the coasters of years ago. Sometimes this drew more people to them - go figure. 

The second golden age of roller coasters has come around thanks to Walt Disney, according to the book. It credits him with being the savior of the amusement park industry. The book then takes us into modern times and the modern design of coasters; wood, steel, inverted, suspended, and hyper coasters are all talked about and shown with the same incredible photographs. Each one makes me want to ride that coaster! 

I also liked seeing the photographs of some of the coasters from overseas. Since the chance of my getting to ride all of them is slim to none, I enjoy flipping through the book trying to imagine what it would be like to ride on these. 

Chapter three talks about how a roller coaster works. This is a great chapter for people who can't bring themselves to ride coasters for fear of it flying off the track. There are drawings and specs showing the various safety devices, as well as the physics of coasters. It even talks about where to sit on the ride; the various pros and cons of both the front and back of a roller coaster train. 

The difference of wood and steel coasters is also discussed in this chapter, as well as the different terms used to describe the type of coaster. Out and back, twister, and racer are terms usually applied to wooden coasters while corkscrew, vertical looping, shuttle looping, boomerang shuttle looping, suspended, stand up, hyper, mine train, and wild mouse are all varieties of steel coasters. 

Chapter four goes into the greatest rides of today. Since this book was published in 1998, it is a bit dated since so many new coasters have been added at amusement parks since then. However, all of the coasters which are talked about are accompanied by the same incredible pictures which entice the reader/enthusiast. (We prefer not to be called "Coaster nuts" or "Coaster Freaks", thank you!) 

In particular, as I look at the photographs of a coaster called Nemesis at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England, I know I have to go there someday. Quite a few of the coasters here I have already ridden. There is a certain beauty to these structures which this book manages to capture. Many of them seem to be works of art - especially the wooden structures. 

Chapter five talks about the amusement park industry. In it the author takes a look at a typical day in the life of three parks: Kennywood in West Mifflin, PA, Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England, and Alton Towers in England. This part does not deal specifically with coasters, but with the actual park operation. The author then turns to other prominent amusement parks: the Six Flags Theme Parks, Cedar Point, Buffalo Bill's Resort Casino, Elitch Gardens, King's Island, and Disney Theme Parks. He also devotes some discussion to theme parks in japan and the far East. 

Finally, we are given some statistics on theme parks showing attendance figures for parks in the U.S. and the world from 1989 and 1995. 

One of the last items in the book is a listing of roller coasters by state, followed by country. There is a key to ride symbols, so the reader is given a general overview of each coaster listed. This is followed by a compilation of roller coaster records as of 1998, a page-long dateline of the roller coaster, and the picture credits. A bibliography including picture credits, source material and useful reading precedes the index. 

If you like roller coasters and want a book with great photographs as well as a veritable treasure-trove of information, this book is for you! 

A Review of the novel Blood & Iron by Harry Turtledove

This is the first novel in Turtledove's American Empire series, which picks up where his last series, The Great War leaves off. 

Turtledove writes a genre known as alternate history. These series of novels were crafted on the presumption that the Confederacy won the Civil War and achieved independence from the United States. They fought again twenty years later in the Second Mexican War (How Few Remain) and again in the World War I period. The U.S. aligned itself with Germany while the Confederacy aligned itself with England and France. The U.S. was finally able to defeat the Confederacy this go-round. 

Blood & Iron picks up following the end of the war. In the Confederate States, they are plagued by having to pay reparations to the U.S. causing tremendous inflation. Enter Jake Featherston, who we know from the previous series of novels. Convinced that the aristocracy present in the Confederate War Department is largely to blame for losing the war as well as his own inability to advance in the military despite a great record, he forms the Freedom Party. The tactics of the Freedom Party, as well as Featherston's own speeches are eerily reminiscent of the Nazi Party. At one point he even talks about "giving the gas" to blacks on whom he also lays a great deal of the blame for the lost war. Their Socialist uprising in the middle of the fighting hurt the Confederacy a great deal. 

Meanwhile, in the U.S., winning the war is not enough to secure a third term as President for Teddy Roosevelt. He is unseated by the Socialist Upton Sinclair as former soldiers react to coming home and finding themselves at the mercy of capitalist factory owners. 

The main characters are people known from the previous series. If you haven't read it, chances are you will be lost if you pick up this book and try to read it. As always, he has a great deal of them. However, he does not promise that all of them will survive and I believe that he has started out with so many because of this. It can be confusing at times because he jumps around so much. Each chapter contains some vignettes about certain characters and it can be hard to follow. I also found it hard figuring out how much time had passed in certain instances. 

Some of the characters we've known seem to have nothing to do here. They are just living their lives and not doing anything spectacular. People who seemed interesting during the war seem somewhat dull now. However, my general feeling is that Turtledove is building up towards the Second World War. Most of his characters talk about the Confederacy and the U.S. fighting once again. 

The novel didn't really grab me until about the last one hundred pages. Before that, I found it hard to plow through. In this last bit, Turtledove seems to get his groove and many characters become interesting again. In particular, I liked how he contrasted two Canadian farmers. Lucien Galtier is in the new Republic of Quebec. The war benefitted him and he is living a good life now. Arthur McGregor lives out in Manitoba and is embittered at the U.S. for the execution of his son who may or may not have been involved in a bombing back during the war. His bitterness is focused on punishing the U.S. and the soldiers who are occupying Canada. His bitterness allows him to justify the killing of innocents to "punish" the U.S. for its wrongdoings. Lucien reading about McGregor and lamenting about how his life could have been so different is a really profound part of this story. 

If you are already reading the series, this novel is good because of what it is building up to. However, if you haven't read the series, you will be confused. I thinkThe Great War novels were much better, but I am excited as to what this novel is leading up to. 

One Door Away from Heaven By Dean Koontz

Lately when I read a new Dean Koontz novel, I have one of two reactions: either I feel like throwing the book against the wall, or I want to abandon it halfway through.

His novels never used to do that to me. I could hardly wait for the next one to come out. 

The last new Koontz novel I read, From the Corner of His Eye was one where I felt that the characters were falling into too much of a formula writing; it was as if the characters from other Koontz novels had all been picked up and plopped down in a different novel. Of course, no matter what problems they face, the police and government can never be of any help at all or are actually involved in the conspiracy. 

When I began One Door Away from Heaven, my initial reaction was "Oh no, here we go again." We have the Koontz trademark of a super-smart dog; we have the genius child prodigy; we have a former detective with a heart of gold who grows up to be on the straight-and narrow despite a background of misery. 

What redeemed the novel was the character of the boy who comes to call himself Curtis Hammond. The character was intriguing all the way through. In the beginning, I had one theory as to what was wrong with him, only to be completely sideswiped when the truth about him came out. Following him throughout the story was a complete and utter joy. 

The child prodigy is named Leilani Klonk. Her psychopathic step-father briefly sets them down in a trailer park where she meets Micky Bellsong and her Aunt Geneva (have I mentioned that odd names also seem to be a fascination of Koontz?). Despite being homeschooled by a psychopathic mass-murderer and a drug addict, the child seems to be growing up to be the perfect image of goodness and with a brain that would put John Nash of A Beautiful Mind to shame. She is also handicapped and needs to wear a leg brace. Koontz' description at times made me feel as if this is supposed to be a sort of amusement during the novel - a feeling I am not entirely comfortable with. 

The novel itself takes off in all kinds of crazy directions once the characters are in place. Koontz does a bang-up job with Curtis' storyline, but takes Leilani's in a somewhat predictable direction. At times I felt as if the book was written by two entirely different people who had to some how agree on how to wrap it all up at the end. 

And that's the biggest problem I had with the book: the ending. While the rest of the book carries the reader along at a breakneck pace with all sorts of twists and turns, the ending falls into a typical they-lived-happily-ever-after fairy-tale that I've unfortunately come to expect from recent Koontz novels. This is when I feel like throwing the book against the wall since I've invested so much into the characters only to be let down by the ending. Koontz novels such as Dark Rivers of the Heart with its ambiguous but hopeful endings are so much better. 

What I also liked was the fact that he brought up a subject here to that educated me. I had never heard of bioethics or the movement Koontz speaks about both throughout the novel and in an Author's Note at the end. It is unnerving to realize that there are people out there who still think along Nazi-like lines of a human super-race where anyone who is not physically, emotionally, or mentally perfect does not have a place. 

I can't say this is the worst of the novels I've read - not even the worst of the novels I've read by Koontz. The parts that are good are really good. Unfortunately, the bad parts really seem to bring down the rest. Had he done the ending differently and parts of Leilani's storyline, this could've been a fantastic book. 

Name Your Link

The Great War: Walk in Hell by Harry Turtledove

If there's one definite sentiment in this book, no matter who's side you're looking at it from, it's that war is hell. 

This is the second novel in Harry Turtledove's alternate history series about the first world war. The series itself was set up in his novel How Few Remain where he gives us his version of what would have happened had the Confederacy won the Civil War. Turtledove's The Great War series sets up the sides for the first World War somewhat differently than what history has actually given us. 

The Confederacy is aligned with France, Great Britain, Canada, Russia, and the Japanese against the United States, Austria, and Germany. We hear a great deal about Teddy Roosevelt, who is now the President of the United States, but quite a bit less about his counterpart in the Confederacy. 

There is a rivalry between Roosevelt and General Custer - who did not make his "last stand" shortly after the Civil War, but lives on in this novel as an ancient Union General. Other than these two, we hear little about familiar historical figures of the time. 

This novel is about the great stalemate of the war. Battles are raging everywhere, yet little progress is being made by any side. All that is rising is the body count as neither the Confederate nor Canadians yield to the United States forces in the least. The Confederacy is also dealing with the uprising of the Socialist Negroes, and the United States is containing a secession attempt by the Mormons in Utah. 

Because of the lack of great movement on either side, I found that the novel seemed to drag a bit at times. However, this is the effect I believe Turtledove wants us to feel. How could the people of the time feel about the war when there are so many battles, yet not much actually happening. 

Turtledove introduced us to many characters in the first novel of the series, The Great War: American Front, and he follows them throughout this novel. The characters are magnificently written. I felt as if I really knew them as the fighting stretched from the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) to the Atlantic Ocean. Even as the fighting machines change, the people throughout the story largely remain the same. 

And the machines do change. Aeroplanes, once used only for spying on the enemy's troops, begin to evolve into something with which to take the offensive as machine guns with interrupters are strapped on them. Barrels (or tanks as we know them) are first introduced to move in on enemy lines. 

Turtledove is not above sacrificing his characters for the story; something I commend him for and cringe at the same time. I felt an emotional investment with them, though not with any one definite side. Neither the Confederacy or the United States is completely righteous, making the war all that more grueling. 

At times the novel is somewhat hard to follow, as Turtledove jumps around between the various characters. However, this is necessary to convey what is happening to each of them at the same time. It is just as fascinating following a displaced former owner of a Southern plantation as it is the former Atlantic fisherman now drafted into the U.S. Navy; the unhappy Confederate soldier who will forever be denied a promotion; the flying ace over the Canadian provinces; the ambitious Confederate submarine captain; the adjutant trying to stop Custer from causing incredible amounts of death; the Canadian farmers in Manitoba and Quebec who are adjusting to living in an occupied land; and many more. 

This novel is not one to be put down and picked back up at will. Since there are so many characters to follow in such a different historical context than we are used to, reading Walk in Hell requires a great deal of concentration. 

I highly recommend these writings for people who are history buffs. Those these books are usually listed in the science fiction and fantasy area, a person really needs to be able to stick with the history aspect of the times. 

False Memory by Dean Koontz Just Didn't Ring True

Dean Koontz and Stephen King have always been in competition to be my favorite author. I think after reading this book, King definitely took the lead. 

False Memory is a book that left me feeling like I had bought a book that I'd read before. While someone who isn't an avid reader of Koontz' books may find this story keeps them on the edge of their seat, if you read a great deal of his book you may feel a bit cheated. 

The characters seem like we know them from somewhere. I began noticing this in the last Koontz book I read, From the Corner of His Eye. The characters from book to book are being to seem very similar to each other. There are always people in the story who, for one reason or another, are very very good. They usually have a perfect life, are rich, and do a tremendous amount of good for their fellow man. 

These characters then seem to be thwarted in doing all their goodness by someone so deeply evil, yet charming, that they have managed to get away with their evildoings until meeting our heroes. Somehow, the heroes and heroines (with the help of a very smart dog - usually a Golden Retriever) manage to conquer whatever obstacles the villain throws in front of them. By the end of the book, everything is wrapped up nice and neat and they are more perfect, rich, and happy than they were in the beginning of the story. 

False Memory is the story of Martie and Dusty Rhodes (could that name be any more of a cliche?). One day Martie begins having terrible panic attacks that lead her to believe by the end of the day that she will kill her husband. 

Dusty, meanwhile, is dealing with his own demons int he form of his half-brother, Skeet. Skeet has substance-abuse problems and became suicidal that day while helping Dusty on a painting job. After managing to stop Skeet from jumping off the roof, Dusty brings him to a clinic for treatment, then returns home to find Martie in the midst of her own breakdown. 

After ruling out a physical or medical problem, Martie seeks treatment from Dr. Mark Ahriman, the same psychiatrist who has been treating her friend Susan Jagger. Up until a few months prior, Susan had been a very successful real-estate agent and happily married. A severe case of agoraphobia ended both her career and her marriage. 

Dr. Ahriman is not all that he seems, and Martie and Dusty soon begin to gather bits of information that lead them to suspect this. Despite everything Ahriman has done to manipulate people, Martie and Dusty are somehow able to catch on to his machinations and try to gather facts to prove what is going on. 

The book actually only takes place over a few days as Martie and Dusty go through the beginning of her attacks into her treatment. She only has a couple of appointments before they begin to suspect Ahriman. The one thing Koontz always does well is give incredible detail. The book does not plod at all despite the fact that it takes place over such a short time. Instead, I felt like I was in a whirlwind and couldn't see how anyone's life could go through so many of the abrupt changes that Martie and Dusty go through without doing some major damage to the psyche. 

One thing Koontz has always done well is write villains. I think he enjoys them more than heroes since he seems to give them more depth. Ahriman is no exception. He is not simply a one-dimensional villain, but someone who's very core of being seems to be evil, going right back into childhood. Despite having so many advantages, something is not right in his life - his "wiring" is off - and at various times we see just how he came to be as twisted as he is now. Ahriman is the best part of this book. 

However, Ahriman's connection to Martie and Dusty is not just her accidentally stumbling into his office, and that bothered me to no end. It was too coincidental; too contrived. The ending was a tremendous disappointment and letdown after I'd invested the time in these characters. Has Koontz begun to rest on his laurels? This book really has me asking that question. 

I wish I could put in a "maybe" where it asks if I would recommend False Memoryto a friend. It would depend on just how many Koontz books that person had already read. That option not there, I'll put in a NO since I think there are much better Koontz books out there to read. 

The Warriors by John Jakes

In the entire American Bicentennial Series, this novel is one of the weakest. I don't know if Jakes was getting tired of writing it by now, or if it was just a harder time to write about, but two out of the three characters this novel focuses on do not read as well as the rest. 

This 682 page (in paperback) novel focuses on the impact of the railroads on this country. The main characters are Louis Kent, Michael Boyle, and Gideon Kent. Louis is the son of Amanda, who comes down the line of the Kent family not tainted by "Fletcher blood." Michael was Amanda's personal assistant and helped raise Louis after Amanda was killed. Gideon is the son of Jephtha Kent, who is a Methodist minister in New York City. 

Michael reads the best of all the characters. In previous novels, he left his employ with Louis after a dispute over profiteering during the Civil War. At this time, he is now working on the railroad as it attempts to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific. The goal of his line is to get to the 100th meridian before weather stops them. Along the way, he is sorting out his own principles. Following his service during the Civil War, he has developed a general disdain for fighting of any kind and loathes when he is forced into it. So many time he tries to just turn and walk away, but events seem to just draw him right back into fighting. 

Along the way he also meets up with Hannah Dorn, the daughter of a German immigrant who is trying to make a profit selling whiskey to the railroad workers. Hannah disproves of her father's money-making scheme and knows it could get him killed, along with her younger brother who is out working with him. Michael is drawn to her after she challenges all that he believes and feels. He is also trying to overcome thoughts of Louis' wife Julia. Michael all but raped her in the last novel, and feelings of guilt as well as desire still reside within him. 

I found Michael to be the best-honed character of the lot. Jakes seems to have gotten a real feel for him, and the work he does on the railroad. It is a fascinating read, especially when Michael meets up with an outlaw who turns out to be one of Jephtha's boys who was believed killed in the Civil War. His experiences during and after have caused Jeremiah to have a very callous attitude about killing people - and he has become very good at it as well. This also helps Michael examine who he is and who he wants to be. 

While the character of Michael was written so well, I didn't find the other two to be as believable. 

We are given hardly any information on Louis or any look into his life. He seems to be motivated by power and money, though what he needs more money for is beyond me. It cannot be to leave to his family, since his wife, Julia, has taken their son and left him after becoming involved in the woman's suffrage movement (fodder for the next novel). He becomes involved in the struggle between Jay Gould and "Commodore" Vanderbilt for the Erie Railroad. It is all a game to them, and I found the whole interaction that went on to not be interesting most of the time. I guess because I did not feel that I knew any of the characters involved enough to care about them, it wasn't that interesting to me. 

Gideon was perhaps the character I felt was the most wasted potential. He has a fortune waiting for him from the gold mines in California, yet he keeps his wife and child living in squalor in a shack near the railroad yards where he works in Jersey City. I could maybe understand a man being too proud to lean back on the money, but I would think that once a child came into the picture, he would think about what is best for her - providing a good education; having a decent home where he don't have to worry about keeping them warm; not having his wife have to take in sewing just so they can put food on the table. I just found it totally hard to believe that a man with these resources behind him would not fall back on them. 

This is especially true when he begins to get "Union Fever" as he sees the way workers are treated. He is especially affected after two incidents occur in the yard where he works. In one, a man is left with no legs, and unable to work. His pregnant wife hangs herself since she doesn't know how to cope with three kids to feed and a husband who is an invalid. In the other, Gideon is working one snowy night coupling railroad cars together when everyone else has called in sick. His best friend is killed during the night. Again, the family is left behind with five mouths to feed and no source of income. 

Gideon uses the fact that he is Louis' cousin to get money for the families, but almost gets himself killed in the process. It also ends up having a disastrous effect on Louis' schemes within the Erie board. I still found the whole situation hard to believe - that Gideon would continue to live in squalor while attempting to form a Union in the Railroad Yards. I could see if he drew only a small enough amount so that he was not lauding it over the workers he was trying to organize, but I really didn't see the point of his entire lifestyle. 

Jakes most definitely wanted to show the roots of the Union movement in this country, but choosing to do so through a man who was wealthy beyond belief but refused to touch the money fell short. Perhaps having Michael be the Unionizer would have read better, but we'll never know. 

I can only recommend this book in that you have to read it to complete the series. The character of Michael is a good read, but much of the rest of the story here left me wanting. 

North And South by John Jakes: Two Families, One Fate

If you've only seen the mini-series by the same name, you're missing out on quite a lot. There is more of everything in John Jakes' novel North And South: more characters, more intrigue, more story, more history. 

In studying American History in school, and the Civil War in particular, we are often given clinical reasons behind the war. I always found it hard to understand the climate of the times. Jakes translates it well in this novel. Beginning almost 20 years before the start of the Civil War, North And South tells us the story of two families: the Mains of South Carolina, and the Hazards of Pennsylvania. 

The Mains are rice planters who own slaves. Though not harsh slave-owners, they nevertheless treat their people as property. Clarissa and Tillet are the parents, Cooper, Orry, Ashton and Brett are their offspring. 

Cooper is the eldest son, but he frequently clashes with his father, especially on the subject of slavery. Instead of managing the family's rice plantation, Mont Royal, he begins his own very successful shipping company in Charleston. 

Orry wanted a career as a soldier. He attends West Point after Cooper turns down the appointment to reach his dream. Fate dictates that he ends up managingMont Royal - a consuming task especially after he fires the overseer. He has qualms about the slavery issue, but also knows how much they rely on the labor to have a successful crop each year. He also is realistic enough to be very nervous about how the slaves would act towards their former masters should they ever be freed. He is a loner, who's one true love is another man's wife. 

Ashton is power hungry politically. Having been cursed to be born a woman rather than a man, she manipulates men into doing her dirty work. She is powerfully jealous of her sister and anyone else who manages to have any good fortune and happiness. She marries James Huntoon, a rising star in the South's political situation, figuring this is how she will become powerful as well. 

Brett is the more practical sister. She takes over helping Orry manage the plantation after their father dies and their mother turns feeble. She asserts her independence, yet is much more a lady than her sister. She falls for Billy Hazard, but will the love they have overcome the turbulent times? 

Charles Main is the ruffian cousin who lives with the family after his parents are killed. Blessed with incredible good looks, he manages to cruise by in life until challenged to a duel. It is only then that he learns just how much the family - and Orry in particular - care about him. He eventually lives Orry's dream of having a soldier's career. After he attends West Point, he battles Indians on the Texas frontier and distinguishes himself in the eyes of his commander, Robert E. Lee. 

The Hazards are iron-masters in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. William and Maud are the parents, Stanley, Virgilia, George, and Billy are their offspring. 

Stanley is much like Ashton Main in that he aligns himself with rising stars in the new political world, hoping to come up a winner with an appointment in Washington. He fails miserably in his attempts at running the family's iron works, simply because he is too cautious and afraid to take risks. His wife is a shrew who pushes him into doing things against his own better judgment. 

George attends West Point but strictly for the education. He intends to give the service only the four years he is required to give. For better or worse, he decides to serve with his friend Orry, meaning that he sees battle in the war over Texas. He brings home an Irish-Catholic bride from Texas, who is not accepted easily into the Pennsylvania society. Since he has much more vision than his brother, George ends up in charge of the Iron Works. 

Virgilia is a staunch abolitionist who uses any opportunity she gets to make trouble for anyone she perceives as the enemy. She falls for one of James Huntoon's slaves while in South Carolina and helps him escape. Later he is killed in the Harper's Ferry incident. This only serves to reinforce her deep hatred of anyone and anything southern. 

Billy initially falls for the wild Ashton Main, but later turns to Brett when he sees her as being the more stable of the two. He attends West Point with a year's difference between himself and Charles Main and enters the Engineering Division where he hopes to save enough to support himself and Brett. Billy proposes just before Lincoln is elected, setting in motion a great rift in the country. Can their love overcome the rift? 

The two families' futures become intertwined when Orry and George attend West Point Military Academy together and become fast friends. Along the way, they make friends who's names are familiar in history: Robert E. Lee, George McClellan, Tom Jackson, and George Pickett. Jakes intersperses these characters from history so well with the fictional characters in the novel that it gives the reader a sense of what the time was like. 

I have always enjoyed history, and North And South is an excellent combination of the history of these turbulent times as well as a wonderful fictional story. The tension mounts throughout the novel as the tension is building in the country. Can these two families have their friendship survive? At times it doesn't seem likely. Despite their own reservations about the peculiar institution of slavery, the Mains do not like outsiders coming in and criticizing their way of life. Likewise, the Hazards have trouble understanding how their friends -who are decent and moral people in every other sense of the word - can continue to subjugate other human beings based on the color of their skin. 

There is turmoil and pressure on the friendship from inside of the family as well as outside of the family. One thing that is a trademark of Jakes' novels is an embittered enemy holding a grudge and wanting to exact revenge throughout the story. Elkanah Bent is that character this time around, though Ashton and Virgilia do provide additional strain as a power-hungry southern belle and outspoken abolitionist respectively. 

The families are great friends, spending summers together as well as entering into business together. Billy and Orry's cousin Charles also attend West Point together. A romance blossoms between the two families, but can love really conquer all as the country is being torn apart? 

This novel uses history to tell the story, but it also really shows how the tension was building in this country as the inevitable war approached. It's easy to take a clinical look at the causes of the Civil War, but this helps us to have a real understanding of what was going on, as well as being entertaining and a great story. We know what the ending will be, yet I found myself hooked on every single page of the 803 page paperback novel.