Chase the Wild Pigeons
A Novel of the Civil War
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jeff Hays
About this listen
There was more to the Civil War than famous, glorified generals - much more. In this well-researched historical novel, you will see how the terrible Civil War affected the folks on the home front, too. The story is Civil War fiction. This history is real.
The Civil War South in 1863 is desperate and dangerous. For Joe, a 12-year-old boy suddenly alone and 600 miles from home, it's a nightmare come true. But for this rascal of a boy, it's also the adventure of a lifetime. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn have nothing on him when it comes to adventure.
This a story of a special friendship that only comes along once in in a lifetime. Joe, who is white, and Peter, sixteen and a free Black, become unlikely friends and learn to depend on each other as they try to escape the desperate Confederate South.
Follow these two as they trek through a war-torn countryside and witness war at its worse. They travel through a landscape decimated by brutal battles, and encounter people - black and white - who have suffered the extreme hardships and depredation of three years of war. All the while they learn to depend on each other, and they grow a binding love as special as any two brothers. They will need each other more than they know - unknown to them, they are being pursued by a deranged killer.
©2011 John J. Gschwend Jr. (P)2014 John J. Gschwend Jr.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Bone Necklace
- By: Julia Sullivan
- Narrated by: John Warren
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1877, the bedraggled remains of the Nez Perce tribe took on the US Army and, despite being badly outnumbered and outgunned, emerged victorious. Bone Necklace captures the intensity, violence, and unexpected conclusion of America’s final “Indian War”, told from the perspectives of a Nez Perce warrior, an Idaho militiaman, and an English painter who gets caught up in the violence. Combining heart-thumping action with an unforgettable cast, the novel centers on the relationship between two fighters, who are both enemies and allies in this war.
-
-
Bone Necklace
- By Salish54 on 05-25-23
By: Julia Sullivan
-
They Call Her Dirty Sally
- By: Amy Matayo
- Narrated by: Sean Cordry, Dana Dae
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, the town of Silver Bell, Arkansas has quietly mourned the hospital fire that claimed the lives of nine of its residents—the town doctor, a young expectant mother, and seven infants. So, when journalist Finn Hardwick is assigned the story as part of a national thirtieth anniversary memorial service, he arrives at the town ready to interview its residents, thinking they’ll be ready to share and eager to make headlines. He isn’t prepared for the resistance. Or for what appears to be a collective unwillingness to answer his questions.
-
-
A great read
- By Jada L. Lancaster on 11-08-24
By: Amy Matayo
-
Between Earth and Sky
- By: Amanda Skenandore
- Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Amanda Skenandore's provocative and profoundly moving debut, set in the tragic intersection between white and Native American culture, a young girl learns about friendship, betrayal, and the sacrifices made in the name of belonging. Told in compelling narratives that alternate between Alma's childhood and her present life, Between Earth and Sky is a haunting and complex story of love and loss, as a quest for justice becomes a journey toward understanding and, ultimately, atonement.
-
-
The true story of Native Americans and the settling of America
- By Bree on 09-01-19
-
A Land Remembered
- By: Patrick D. Smith
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this best-selling novel, Patrick D. Smith tells the story of three generations of the MacIveys, a Florida family who battle the hardships of the frontier to rise from a dirt-poor Cracker life to the wealth and standing of real estate tycoons. The story opens in 1858, when Tobias MacIvey arrives in the Florida wilderness to start a new life, and ends in 1968 with Solomon MacIvey, who realizes that the land has been exploited far beyond human need.
-
-
Excellent historical tale
- By Boysmom on 04-10-15
By: Patrick D. Smith
-
Beloved
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.
-
-
Author-read Books
- By John R Williford on 07-14-06
By: Toni Morrison
-
The Good Lord Bird
- A Novel
- By: James McBride
- Narrated by: Michael Boatman
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of Deacon King Kong (an Oprah Book Club pick) and The Color of Water comes the story of a young boy born a slave who joins John Brown’s antislavery crusade - and who must pass as a girl to survive. Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1856 - a battleground between anti - and pro-slavery forces - when legendary abolitionist John Brown arrives. When an argument between Brown and Henry's master turns violent, Henry is forced to leave town.
-
-
Abolition Huck Finn arouses interest in history
- By Abram H on 12-13-13
By: James McBride
-
Bone Necklace
- By: Julia Sullivan
- Narrated by: John Warren
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1877, the bedraggled remains of the Nez Perce tribe took on the US Army and, despite being badly outnumbered and outgunned, emerged victorious. Bone Necklace captures the intensity, violence, and unexpected conclusion of America’s final “Indian War”, told from the perspectives of a Nez Perce warrior, an Idaho militiaman, and an English painter who gets caught up in the violence. Combining heart-thumping action with an unforgettable cast, the novel centers on the relationship between two fighters, who are both enemies and allies in this war.
-
-
Bone Necklace
- By Salish54 on 05-25-23
By: Julia Sullivan
-
They Call Her Dirty Sally
- By: Amy Matayo
- Narrated by: Sean Cordry, Dana Dae
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, the town of Silver Bell, Arkansas has quietly mourned the hospital fire that claimed the lives of nine of its residents—the town doctor, a young expectant mother, and seven infants. So, when journalist Finn Hardwick is assigned the story as part of a national thirtieth anniversary memorial service, he arrives at the town ready to interview its residents, thinking they’ll be ready to share and eager to make headlines. He isn’t prepared for the resistance. Or for what appears to be a collective unwillingness to answer his questions.
-
-
A great read
- By Jada L. Lancaster on 11-08-24
By: Amy Matayo
-
Between Earth and Sky
- By: Amanda Skenandore
- Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Amanda Skenandore's provocative and profoundly moving debut, set in the tragic intersection between white and Native American culture, a young girl learns about friendship, betrayal, and the sacrifices made in the name of belonging. Told in compelling narratives that alternate between Alma's childhood and her present life, Between Earth and Sky is a haunting and complex story of love and loss, as a quest for justice becomes a journey toward understanding and, ultimately, atonement.
-
-
The true story of Native Americans and the settling of America
- By Bree on 09-01-19
-
A Land Remembered
- By: Patrick D. Smith
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this best-selling novel, Patrick D. Smith tells the story of three generations of the MacIveys, a Florida family who battle the hardships of the frontier to rise from a dirt-poor Cracker life to the wealth and standing of real estate tycoons. The story opens in 1858, when Tobias MacIvey arrives in the Florida wilderness to start a new life, and ends in 1968 with Solomon MacIvey, who realizes that the land has been exploited far beyond human need.
-
-
Excellent historical tale
- By Boysmom on 04-10-15
By: Patrick D. Smith
-
Beloved
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.
-
-
Author-read Books
- By John R Williford on 07-14-06
By: Toni Morrison
-
The Good Lord Bird
- A Novel
- By: James McBride
- Narrated by: Michael Boatman
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of Deacon King Kong (an Oprah Book Club pick) and The Color of Water comes the story of a young boy born a slave who joins John Brown’s antislavery crusade - and who must pass as a girl to survive. Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1856 - a battleground between anti - and pro-slavery forces - when legendary abolitionist John Brown arrives. When an argument between Brown and Henry's master turns violent, Henry is forced to leave town.
-
-
Abolition Huck Finn arouses interest in history
- By Abram H on 12-13-13
By: James McBride
-
Wish You Well
- By: David Baldacci
- Narrated by: Norma Lana, David Baldacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1940 and a tragedy sends Lou and her little brother, Oz, along with their invalid mother, from New York City to the rugged mountains of Southwest Virginia to live with their great-grandmother. The story is told with both heartbreaking elegance and large doses of touching humor as the lives of Lou and Oz are changed forever.
-
-
Not your usual Baldacci
- By John on 06-07-07
By: David Baldacci
-
The Thicket
- By: Joe R. Lansdale
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jack Parker knows all too well how treacherous turn-of-the-century East Texas can be. His parents did not survive a smallpox epidemic. His grandfather was murdered. Now his sister Lula has been kidnapped by a criminal who may believe wearing a dead man's clothes protects them both from death. With bounty hunter Shorty, a charismatic and cunning dwarf, and Eustace, a gravedigging son of an ex-slave, the heartbroken young Jack sets off on an epic quest to rescue his sister from the corrupt men who control much of the new territory.
-
-
JESUE FORGIVES, SO WHY NOT ENJOY YOURSELF
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-11-14
By: Joe R. Lansdale
-
The Angels of Morgan Hill
- By: Donna VanLiere
- Narrated by: Donna VanLiere
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The small town of Morgan Hill, Tennessee, is turned upside down in 1947 when the Turners become the only black family ever to move into the area. Nine-year-old Jane Gable first lays eyes on young Milo Turner the day that her trouble-making, alcoholic father is buried in the Morgan Falls cemetery. When the Turners begin work as sharecroppers on a local tobacco farm, their presence challenges the comfort of many in the close-knit town and Jane leans heavily on her best friend, 53-year-old general store owner Henry Walker, for guidance. Then tragedy strikes the Turner household
-
-
The Angels of Morgan Hill
- By marcella deckard on 11-06-17
By: Donna VanLiere
-
Rifles for Watie
- By: Harold Keith
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With fighting erupting around his Kansas farm, 16-year-old Jefferson Davis Bussey can hardly wait to join the Union forces. He wants to defend his family from the dreaded Colonel Watie and his Cherokee Indian rebels. After enlisting, Jeff discovers the life of a soldier brings little glory and honor. During battle, his friends die around him. And when he infiltrates Watie’s camp as a spy, he discovers the enemy is much like himself—only fighting for a different cause.
-
-
Great coming of age story
- By Chris on 01-27-15
By: Harold Keith
-
Woods Runner
- By: Gary Paulsen
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston.
-
-
good but bit unlikely story
- By Lisa on 11-18-10
By: Gary Paulsen
-
Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen
- By: Sarah Bird
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Powerful, epic, and compelling, Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen shines light on a nearly forgotten figure in history. Cathy Williams was born and lived a slave - until the Union army comes and destroys the only world she’s known. Separated from her family, she makes the impossible decision - to fight in the army disguised as a man with the Buffalo Soldiers. With courage and wit, Cathy must not only fight for her survival and freedom in the ultimate man’s world, but never give up on her mission to find her family, and the man she loves.
-
-
A Missed Opportunity
- By M Jones on 11-01-18
By: Sarah Bird
-
The Widow of the South
- By: Robert Hicks
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer, Lorna Raver, Stephen Hoye, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on a true story, this debut Civil War novel follows a Southern plantation woman's journey of transforming her home into a hospital for the war. This debut novel is based on the true story of Carrie McGavock. During the Civil War's Battle of Franklin, a five-hour bloodbath with 9,200 casualties, McGavock's home was turned into a field hospital where four generals died. For 40 years she tended the private cemetery on her property where more than 1,000 were laid to rest.
-
-
A Story Of The South
- By Sara on 03-10-17
By: Robert Hicks
-
The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson
- A Novel
- By: Nancy Peacock
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sitting in a jail cell on the eve of his hanging, April 1, 1875, freedman Persimmon "Persy" Wilson wants nothing more than to leave some record of the truth - his truth. He may be guilty but not of what he stands accused: the kidnapping and rape of his former master's wife. In 1860 Persy had been sold to Sweetmore, a Louisiana sugar plantation, alongside a striking light-skinned house slave named Chloe. Their deep and instant connection fueled a love affair and inspired plans to escape their owner, Master Wilson, who claimed Chloe as his concubine.
-
-
Just so-so overall
- By Henwhisperer on 04-22-18
By: Nancy Peacock
-
Those Across the River
- By: Christopher Buehlman
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Failed academic Frank Nichols and his wife, Eudora, have arrived in the sleepy Georgia town of Whitbrow, where Frank hopes to write a history of his family's old estate - the Savoyard Plantation - and the horrors that occurred there. At first, the quaint, rural ways of their new neighbors seem to be everything they wanted. But there is an unspoken dread that the townsfolk have lived with for generations. A presence that demands sacrifice.
-
-
Recording glitches, but a great gruesome tale
- By Wild Wise Woman on 09-11-11
-
Elijah of Buxton
- By: Christopher Paul Curtis
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you first walk into a room in a house, or into a stable, they have a way of telling you they know you're there. It ain't nothing particular noticeable, but the air inside of �em changes like it's saying, "I'm watching you". But I'd got into this stable so quiet and sneakish that nothing knowed I'd cracked open the door, held my breath, and took a step inside.
-
-
Great Book, but not for young children
- By Michael Yardley on 12-09-08
-
Chasing the North Star
- By: Robert Morgan
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free, Carra Patterson
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a moonless night in the spring of 1851, a young slave makes a bid for freedom with only the North Star to guide him. Best-selling novelist and historian Robert Morgan returns with a stunning new work of historical fiction.
-
-
Not what we thought
- By bds on 05-07-19
By: Robert Morgan
-
Song Yet Sung
- By: James McBride
- Narrated by: Leslie Uggams
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the days before the Civil War, a runaway slave named Liz Spocott breaks free from her captors and escapes into the labyrinthine swamps of Maryland’s eastern shore, setting loose a drama of violence and hope among slave catchers, plantation owners, watermen, runaway slaves, and free blacks.
-
-
Spellbinding
- By Roberta on 11-05-09
By: James McBride
What listeners say about Chase the Wild Pigeons
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dan
- 03-16-15
A young boys journey in the Civil War
If you could sum up Chase the Wild Pigeons in three words, what would they be?
Meandering. Thought-provoking.
Would you be willing to try another book from John J. Gschwend Jr.? Why or why not?
I would be willing to try another book by Mr. Gschwend but I don't think I would actively seek one out. His writing was good, but I found that the book seemed to drag on, especially the last 1/3 of the book. If I was at the library and saw another book by him I would give it a read.
Which character – as performed by Jeff Hays – was your favorite?
I think I enjoyed Jeff's portrayal of Joe the most. I found that Jeff did a very good job producing a childlike sense of enjoyment in world as well as the slow erroding of Joe's innocence in the tone and inflection of his voice.
If you could rename Chase the Wild Pigeons, what would you call it?
Journey through War.
Any additional comments?
I enjoyed Chase the Wild Pigeons for the most part, but I did find that the narrative dragged on and sometimes meandered off in parts. I especially found the last 1/3 of the book seemed to drag and the parts that I believe the author meant for us to fear for the characters and what they are going through fell somewhat flat.
When the main characters are confronted by their past in the last bit I wasn't actually worried for them and I wanted them just to get to Virginia. If the novel had been about 100 pages shorter in length I think the ending would have had more of an impact on me, but I was beginning to get tired of their journey.
I am Canadian, so that may be part of the reason I did not have the same connection with the characters and their journey because I don't have that past to relate it too. It is certainly interesting how one word can cause a visceral reaction even outside of the book. At the beginning when the N-Word was used so casually it definitely caught my attention and I know the author did his research and portrayed the racism, both overt and subtle very well.
I thought Jeff's performance of the many assorted characters (and there were many) was quite well done, although at times I felt that it was sometimes confusing when the main character Joe (a boy of 12-13) was talking to some women because the voices sounded somewhat similar. There were a couple of places that I actually had to rewind to figure out who said what because they blended together.
But Jeff did a very good job differentiating between the black and white characters of the book and there were only minor problems.
Overall the performance was better than the book and I think it helped me to give the book 3 stars, whereas if I had read the book I may have only given it 2-2.5 stars.
If you are a history buff, especially a civil war history buff I would recommend the book. I think you would enjoy it and would definately be able to connect with the characters more than I did.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John Rasmussen
- 05-21-15
An enjoyable historical fiction
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Well written and well read. A nice coming of age story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marian
- 12-16-15
Fun and thoughtful
First of all, Jeff Hays is quickly becoming my favorite reader. He juggles quite a few characters quite well.
The story was like a modern day Mark Twain novel, with a sense of adventure and a lot of heart.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful