Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Information
Review: I am writing in not so much to review the novel, though I did read it and found it interesting, but to provide information to all who have or will read this book. I was shocked to find out that no one had pointed out that the home and cemetery at Franklin are a both a state park and a private venture. The house is still there and you can tour it, complete with blood stains from the surgeon's feet as they operated near the south facing windows of the home. The cemetery is well kept and offers a unique Confederate experience in that, whereas most of the Southern dead were simply buried in mass grave trenches scooped out by mules of the union armies, there are tombstones on most all of the graves. In several instances there are markers from the UDC from years ago that are still there. Markers are present from Texas, Mississippi, Louisana, and Arkansas. Located just outside of Franklin, Tennessee, it is open to the public and is one of the two cemeteries that I am aware of that fly the Stars and Bars rather than the American flag (the other one is located in the section of the City of Vicksburg, MS cemetery where the Southern dead were buried by Southern citizens during that struggle. There is an admission charge, but it is worth the price and admission goes to support the foundation's work that keeps the place open to the public. A word of warning to those who might be offended--the operation is distinctly Southern in character and you will find none of the National Park Service distortions are present to ease the feelings of all.The book of course, will put on a much different character for one who has walked the "set". Thank You.
Rating:
Summary: Army of Tennessee
Review: This is a truly wonderful book. I study the Army of Tennessee and the Western Theater and find the attention to detail in this novel awesome. I love the stories about Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Kennesaw Mountain. They bring the book alive. Bahr is a great writer and knows his history. You will truly understand the sufferings of the men in the Army of Tennessee. The cameo of Nathan Bedford Forrest is a classic. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Battle of Franklin
Review: Some authors portray war as horrible, and some find beauty in it. This author has combined both aspects of war, and created a unique perspective. The language is almost poetic at times, and reminds me of "Flanders", a novel about WWI I also enjoyed tremendously. There are a lot of gushing words on the book cover and back comparing the author to Faulkner, Hemingway, et al.. I don't know about that, but I do know that this book is one I will remember for a long time, for the power of the writing alone. It's a somewhat sad, but ultimately triumphant tale, and one well worth reading. I've begun the author's next work "The Year of Jubilo", also about the Civil War, and I'm anxious to see if he has kept to his excellence of presentation. There will be a report of that one in several days.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not great.
Review: I really wanted to like this book. Early on ,I could see the author was looking at the great psychological effects of the war on the people caught up in it. This is an interesting and moving concept, and I was more than ready to be pulled in, but never was. I found my mind wandering and frequently had to reread paragraghs. I think the main reason for this was the emphasis on the relationship between Anna and Bushrod, the protagonist. I wasn't looking for a romance novel, which in large part, this became.
Rating:
Summary: A great terrible book
Review: The content of the book is very heavy--a personal perspective of the horror of the civil war. However, Howard Bahr is a great writer. This is great literature. I met Bahr at a book signing in Charlottesville and he seems to be the southern gentleman portrayed in the novel.
Rating:
Summary: The real thing
Review: It is rare indeed to encounter writing of such elegance and power when one is not prepared for it. Such was the case when I picked up my copy of "The Black Flower", a gift from some dear friends in Tennessee. This is a bravura performance of the kind one seldom finds on the shelves of our purveyors of "modern fiction". Every phrase is beautifully sculpted, yet there is not a single word out of place or an unnecessary flourish. Bahr is a writer's writer; or at least a writer to make other writers green with envy. This is a book I plan read again.
Rating:
Summary: Humility of war
Review: I do not remember being so moved by a story so eloquently told.
Rating:
Summary: Cold Mountain meets Red Badge of Courage
Review: Bahr's book captures the personal hell of war in general, and of the Civil War in particular. In a small corner of a fairly obscure battle in a forgotten part of the war, the fearful lives of both civilian and soldier come together for a day and a half. The book causes one to question how such an awful experience could have become so glorified as The Noble Cause. Gasps and tears are the experience of this book. The characters are too real to let you escape.
Rating:
Summary: You are There
Review: A unique voice, Bahr manages to find humanity in the face of so much waste and brutality and does it with richness. I particularly liked his description of the sound of battle being like a thousand men in Hell.
Rating:
Summary: Takes you to the battlefield and beyond
Review: Among the exploding artillery shells, musketry and realities of the battlefield, are human beings. In this novel they are: Bushrod Carter, Virgil C., Jack Bishop and Anna. They live and -- some of them die -- in the pathos called the Civil War. Bahr weaves a haunting and bewitching tale of soldiers, humanity and war. His use of chracterization -- excellent. His insight into human nature -- incredible. His use of imagery --brilliant. "The Black Flower" isn't only a war novel, but a novel that brings to live that long ago tragic period in American history. His is a new voice in southern fiction. Highly recomended for Civil War and non Civil War enthusiasts alike.
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