Today, while I head home from West Virginia, Kevin Tipple reviews a western for us, a book that came out last year. Thank you, Kevin, for your review of Tom Sharp: The Man and the Legend by Charlie Steel.
Tom Sharp: The Man And The Legend (A Novel) by Charlie Steel is a book that is
fiction based on factual history. Historical fiction, the read is crafted to highlight Tom
Sharp’s accomplishments from the late 1860s through the next several decades as Mr.
Sharp formulates his businesses and helps others.
The book begins during the Civil War when Tom Sharp-is severely wounded in the
service of the Army of the Confederate States of America. His wounds are so severe,
he is released from duty by General Sterling Price. The General also arranges for Sharp
to join a wagon train heading west. Sharpe does not want to return to the south. He
plans to earn enough and have a high enough station in life to follow through on the
marriage pact with the Durrett family. It had been agreed that once he was well
established, he would marry 17-year-old Katherine. She barely knows him, but was full
of admiration for his going to join the Confederate Army.
It takes him some time to heal enough that he can be a productive member of the
wagon train. He eventually is and finds various ways to help his fellow travelers even
when not all of them appreciate his efforts. As the group heads west on the Oregon/
California trail, Sharp realizes more and more how much he does not know. He also
realizes more and more that it is time to leave the slowly moving wagon train and make
his own way west. Encountering the man called Tex is another lucky break that helps
make all of his dreams come true.
An interesting read, Tom Sharp: The Man And The Legend (A Novel) by Charlie
Steel, is a solidly good blend of fact and fiction. While some author liberties are taken in
the fictionalization of dialogue in relationships and other matters, it is clear that those
fictionalizations and other details have a solid basis in fact.
Those interested in learning more on the man and his life will appreciate the nice list of
subject resources found at the back of the book. Also appreciated are the numerous
illustrations by Barabash Sviatoslav scattered throughout the 300 plus page read.
If you like westerns and western history, Tom Sharp: The Man And The Legend (A
Novel) by Charlie Steel is a solidly good read. It certainly is well worth your time.
My reading copy came from the publisher, Condor Publishing.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
