Title: American Spirit: A Story of American Individualism
Author: Roger Smith
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
ISBN: 1475965273
Pages: 340
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis
His family’s sons and daughters fought the Revolutionary War against the most powerful army on Earth, and two generations later refused to bow to their perception of a tyrannical Federal government that threatened to take away their newly found freedom during the Civil War. Stewart’s dreams come full circle when his twin great-grandsons, Hiram and Martin, are faced with a heart wrenching dilemma: do they fight against the very country their ancestors established by supporting the Confederacy … or do they defend their families on the horrific home front in North Carolina?
American Spirit tells the fascinating story of these early Americans through touching scenes of love, humor, sad farewells, and faith in God combined with action-packed and detailed descriptions of battles and home front dilemmas. Author Roger Smith shares years of research along with maps, photographs, illustrations, and a detailed bibliography to create both a delightful story based on facts and a historically accurate portrait of a pivotal time in American history. In doing so, he poses an underlying, yet poignant question to the reader: Do the noble virtues our forefathers displayed in meeting the many challenges they faced still exist in American society today?
About the Author
Roger Smith was raised in rural Rutherford County, North Carolina, and in Lynchburg, Virginia. He earned a BS in history and was commissioned a USAF officer from the Air Force Academy in 1977. He flew F-4 and F-16 fighter aircraft at bases throughout the United States and in assignments in Iceland, Germany, Japan, and as a military adviser at the US Embassy in Athens, Greece. He received an MS in management from the University of Northern Colorado and served as assistant professor in the Air Force Academy Department of Military Studies. After twenty years of service, he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1996 and was employed as a pilot for Southwest Airlines. He still flies for Southwest and lives with Patti, his wife of thirty-four years, on the Tennessee River, north of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
