Books in Print Reviewed by Ann Rives Zappa Joe G.

Bax is a rancher who lives in Richards, Texas, with his family. He has degrees in American History and Southern History from Houston University and Texas A&M. He practiced law in Houston for twenty-five years. The General is Leander Wilhite, a respected plantation owner and a returned War Between the States cavalry hero. He keeps to his Catalpa property, which he runs with son Luther and grandson John Ross, and seldom goes into Monaville. This novel takes place during Reconstruction and tells a riveting story. Citizens of Monaville struggle to rebuild lives in the face of a drunken sheriff in league with a carpetbagger district attorney. Confederate veterans, many in dire poverty, cannot vote. Freed slaves work alongside poor whites as sharecroppers at Catalpa and Oakridge Plantation, the property of Colonel Reams Whitworth, a boyhood friend of the General. Kluxers in this novel are the worst rabble, backing the district attorney in his illegal attempt to get hold of all the Southern land he can by any means. Author Bax has created believable, strong Southern characters. Men are in the forefront of this story. The women, except for former slave Momma Mae, are little more than a backdrop. Bax has also captured the essence of Southern church ladies and their motivations for performing charitable deeds. By being set during Reconstruction, this novel provides a different aspect of life in the South following the War Between the States. The events take place in about a year as John Ross matures into a young man. Readers are fascinated as he learns personal details about his grandfather, Colonel Whitworth, and several slaves who were all childhood friends. The General is a first-rate novel, a real page-turner with an unforgettable chain of events. Lovers of Southern history must read Joe G. Baxs outstanding piece of writing about this part of Texas after the War.