Skip to main content

Critical Praise

"The now-stilted language of the nineteenth century is reproduced in the novel with care; to his credit, Jones does not follow Michael Shaara in updating the verbiage of the war’s participants. Nor does Jones condescend to the past when describing the beliefs and motivations of his characters, no matter how outdated or wrongheaded those beliefs may seem to modern readers. In these respects, the novel adheres to historical fact --- even if it does sometimes shade into Southern apologia… I can recommend David H. Jones’s Two Brothers to readers new to Civil War fiction and to those for whom the story of the war – no matter how familiar --- bears repeating. Both groups will find profit in the book, less for its portrait of Whitman than for its attention to what the poet-nurse treasured above all else: the humanity that both shaped and cursed America’s most costly war."

—Craig A. Warren, Assistant Professor of English & Professional Writing, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Penn State Erie, Civil War Literature, December 2008

"...a highly dramatic and original storyline... meticulously researched for maximum believability... The characters in Two Brothers read very real, because they are... it is very refreshing to find examples when historians can find a new and exciting way to present these struggles on a personal level. David Jones has managed to do just that with the highly innovative Two Brothers: One North, One South... Two Brothers is a wonderful read that will appeal to history buffs on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line."

—Michael Aubrecht, Historian & Author, Pinstripe Press Blog, June 2008

"With a diligent handling of the primary sources and a creative approach, David Jones has crafted a fine story of Maryland brothers who are Civil War soldiers, one in blue the other in gray... With a writing style that is direct and to the point, Jones handles the myriad of characters well… Jones has achieved writing an intriguing tale of the nation and several individuals' stories while allowing the individuals to tell them."

—Rea Andrew Redd, Associate Professor, Waynesburg University, Adjunct instructor in U.S. history, Civil War Librarian, January 2009