“It is well that war is so terrible—lest we should grow too fond of it" ~ Robert E. Lee

On August 30th, 1862 twenty-four year old William Goodman left his wife and three small children to join the 5th Michigan Cavalry. He participated in numerous conflicts under the leadership of George Armstrong Custer including the battles at Hanover, Gettysburg, and Monterey Pass. On October 11, 1863, he was captured near an obscure town on the James River and died nine months later at Andersonville Prison.

In William Goodman, the author tries to re-create his great, great grandfather’s journey through the civil war until his death at Andersonville. The story is as historically accurate as the author could write it. Beware: this is not a fun novel. There is no way to sugar-coat Gettysburg or Andersonville, but like the Diary of Ann Frank, it is a story that needed to be told.