Chris Brabson is full of hate. He hates the Yankee soldiers who are camping in his beloved Tennessee woods; he hates their snotty Northern ways and their belief that they know what's best for the South; he hates that they've taken all of his family's food to feed their own troops. And he hates that his own brother has joined the union side of the war when, to Chris, it is clear that the Confederacy is the side to fight for.

When his hatred proves more powerful than good sense, Chris spies for the Confederates, revealing that a Union wagon train is camped in a valley near his home-and his brother is probably in that train. Caught in the bitter battle at dawn, Chris discovers that in war, nothing is clear-cut-good and bad are equally laid to waste by the horrors of the battlefield.

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AUTHOR
William O. Steele (1917-1979) published thirty-nine books over his long career, many of them award winners. A native of Franklin, Tennessee, he set many of his historical adventures in the hills and valleys where he grew up.

NARRATOR
Ramon de Ocampo, a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, has performed in numerous Off-Broadway and regional theater productions. He has appeared on television and in films, as well as, in radio plays and video games. He is a winner of both the Princess Grace Award for excellence in Acting, and an OBIE award.

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REVIEWS
Kliatt
"The narrator does a superb job of getting into the emotions of the young protagonist, reproducing the accent and style of speaking of the time. This is the kind of old-fashioned story many seek, and would be suitable for vacation-trip family listening."

School Library Journal
"The tale is told in a gentle Southern accent by Ramon de Ocampo. With the same accent coloring almost all the characters, his narration doesn't differentiate much between speakers; instead, it emphasizes the brother against brother aspect of the Civil War, and the fact that many people from the mid-South had split loyalties. However, each character is easily discerned from the context of the story. This recording should appeal to fans of historical fiction and adventure stories."

Publishers Weekly
"This is one of Mr. Steele's best books, an engrossing, realistic story of a Tennessee mountain boy who, during the Civil war, comes to realize that war is terrible no matter where one's sympathies lie. An engrossing, realistic story!"

The New York Times Book Review
"Mr. Steele makes us feel deeply the emotions of a boy."