“Life Beneath A Cemetery — 1862,” by Bob Newkirk and edited by Michael J. Veith, is a historical fiction novel that will appeal to readers of Michael and Jeff Shaara, Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote, Larry J. Daniel, Owen Parry and Winston Groom’s works.
The author shares:
“A history professor visits a cemetery in western Tennessee. Through a chain of events he is taken back into the year 1862. In the camp of Confederate Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston, he eavesdrops on high-ranking officers as they plan to attack General Grant’s Union Army camped 20 miles away. He travels north to Pittsburg Landing, where he bears silent witness to the discussions of General Grant and other Union officers prior to the Battle of Shiloh. In the Union camp, he locates his 19-year-old great-grandfather and follows him throughout the two-day battle.
“The professor experiences sights, sounds and smells that cannot be conveyed in history books or photographs. Walking the battlefield after dark, he sees horrendous casualties on both sides and listens to the fears and pleas of the wounded and dying. He witnesses surgeries performed in and around hospital tents and General Grant complimenting his troops after the battle.
“Dodging bullets, soldiers and horses pulling limbers and cannon, he later swims for his life in the Tennessee River. The professor knows he cannot change the outcome of the battle — ‘our two worlds would not connect.’”
Newkirk — a lifelong student of the Civil War — retired after a 32-year career in air traffic control, serving as a general aviation pilot and a number of years as a federal air marshal. He now volunteers as a guide at the Air Force Armament Museum.
Newkirk’s fishing articles have appeared in The Palm Beach Post and Field & Stream Magazine. Most recently, his articles have appeared in The Retired Eastern Airlines Pilots Association Magazine.
His book is available for purchase through Amazon and available for checkout in the Crestview Public Library’s local author section.
Please contact the author at CivilWarNovel1862@gmail.com for more information about his work.
Marie Garcia is the Crestview Public Library's director.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: GARCIA: Focus on local author Bob Newkirk