TO MAKE MEN FREE: A Novel of the Battle of Antietam

The bloodiest day of the Civil War, a Union victory that crushed Lee's first invasion of the North and gave Lincoln a triumphal pretext for the Emancipation Proclamation, is the subject of this rousing, panoramic debut historical. Documentary filmmaker Croker skillfully fictionalizes a meticulously researched account—of the battle, the campaign that preceded it and its momentous political fallout—that is more comprehensive than many nonfiction treatments. In vivid, punchy scenes, occasionally illustrated with maps, readers follow the strategic maneuvers of the Union and Confederate armies, learn how to operate a cannon and amputate a leg, and get swept up in the panic and pathos of combat. Croker fleshes out the gore and gallantry on the battlefield with a sprawling cast of well-drawn characters, from Lincoln and his cabinet down to lowly privates. Particularly interesting is his portrait of Union General-in-chief George McClellan, one of the more fascinating psyches in American history, whose mixture of insufferable vainglory and paralyzing insecurity constituted a major obstacle to a Northern victory. Croker's didactic impulses occasionally get the better of him—one scene is inserted mainly to correct a common mispronunciation of a general's name—and his determination to convey the entire range of perspectives on Antietam sometimes clutters the stage with incidental figures. But his combination of period detail, gripping battle scenes and psychological insight bring the epic to life. (On sale Mar. 2)