From the first Union rout in Virginia to the last tragic moments of surrender, here is a gigantic five-year panorama(全景)of the Civil War! Hostilities divide the Hazards and the Mains, testing them with loyalties(忠诚)more powerful than family ties. While soldiers from both families clash on the battlefields of Bull Run(布尔河战役), Fredericksburg(弗雷德里克斯堡，南军重创北军之地) and Antietam(安提塔姆，李将军的战术杰作), in intrigue-ridden(勾心斗角的) Washington and Richmond(里士满，南部邦联的首都), strong-willed men and beautiful women defend their principles with their lives ... or satisfy illicit(不正当的)cravings(渴求)with schemes that could destroy friends and enemies alike!

John Jakes

Praised as "the godfather(教父)of the historical novel," "the people's author," and "America's history teacher," Jakes mingles the lives of his fictional characters with those of historical personages, and involves them in the great events of U.S. and world.

His devotion to a unique blend of strong storytelling and historical accuracy(精确度)has won him a worldwide audience. More than 55 million copies of his Kent Chronicles are currently in print, along with nearly 10 million copies of The North and South Trilogy. Six of his major novels have been filmed as television mini-series(电视连续剧).

Born in Chicago in 1932, John Jakes began writing professionally during his freshman year at Northwestern University, where he was studying acting. He decided to trade the stage for the typewriter(打字员) when, at age 18, he sold his first story for $25. "That check changed the whole direction of my life," says Jakes.