I found this book to be long, rambling, and uneven.  Some things were described in detail, but other times the story was fast-paced.  At times I thought the writer was trying to be Hemingway and write a moody epic, and other times he was trying to be Tom Clancy and entertain us with cloak-and-dagger.  Overall, I just thought it went on and on and on, and I was soon forcing myself to read through it.

I never could connect to the main character: he just seemed to move through a series of events.  Some parts of the book I just didn't understand.  Other characters in the book didn't really connect with me, and didn't seem to add much to the story.  As one example -- when we first met Robert Eidenbaugh, he is engaged, and we learn a little about his fianc.  Then he goes off to war, then comes back home, but we never hear anything else about his marriage.  Did it happen, or did it fall by the wayside with the war?  Why was he introduced into the story in the first place?  I get the impression the author was a bit obsessed with defining the American spirit, and to do this, he introduced Eidenbaugh.  Not a big deal, but this is a small example of things that didn't really hang together and made the book seem to be a bunch of disjointed events.
I found this book to be long, rambling, and uneven. Some things were described in detail, but other times the story was fast-paced. At times I thought the writer was trying to be Hemingway and write a moody epic, and other times he was trying to be Tom Clancy and entertain us with cloak-and-dagger. Overall, I just thought it went on and on and on, and I was soon forcing myself to read through it. I never could connect to the main character: he just seemed to move through a series of events. Some parts of the book I just didn't understand. Other characters in the book didn't really connect with me, and didn't seem to add much to the story. As one example -- when we first met Robert Eidenbaugh, he is engaged, and we learn a little about his fianc. Then he goes off to war, then comes back home, but we never hear anything else about his marriage. Did it happen, or did it fall by the wayside with the war? Why was he introduced into the story in the first place? I get the impression the author was a bit obsessed with defining the American spirit, and to do this, he introduced Eidenbaugh. Not a big deal, but this is a small example of things that didn't really hang together and made the book seem to be a bunch of disjointed events.