GIVE US THIS VALLEY

A pioneering story, which, while not literature with a capital, is good reading and whose characters are real rather than stereotypes. Dealing with George Washington Stonecypher, a gentle, hearded giant of 26, it follows his travels with his new bride of 16 as they migrate from Pennsylvania to Georgia in 1837. There are the expected hardships -- Wash is almost frozen to death in a snowstorm, their baby is born without even a midwife, the work of establishing a farm and a home in a new country -- and their traveling companions, the Williams, become loyal friends until quarrels turn into a feud which is sided and abetted as more kinfolk arrive in the green valley. There's a nice pace and a sustained interest as incident succeeds incident and there's happiness in leaving this pleasant couple, and all who have joined them, finally at peace in the land they strove so hard to reach. A novel which tells a story, which makes the people come alive -- is the answer to why people read.....