Sergeant York: Last of the Long Hunters

by Tom Skeyhill

Tan softcover, [xviii] + 240 + 4 pages, 262 total pages, 21 b/w photos and illustrations with captions. *** Originally published 1930. This is new edition with new foreword by Evangelist Tim Lee, 2000. *** Inspirational biography, written for evangelical Christians, holding up Sergeant Alvin C. York, pioneer, patriot, and hero of World War 1.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1930

Reviews

[Yibbie]

I’m perfectly familiar with books written in medias res. This book follows that perfectly. It begins with York’s amazing feats in the woods of the Argonne then jumps back - all the way to Daniel Boone tramping the woods of Tennessee. Then for the next 100 pages, we don’t really hear about York again. It’s all about Boone, Crocket, ‘Old Hickory’, muzzle-loaders, hunting dogs, hunting, trails, cabins, turkey-shoots, and speech patterns. Every once in a while, York’s opinions on a subject, such as bees, will be included, but it’s not really about him.
Then finally around page 138, we get to the story of his life. I had always heard that York was a staunch Christian and that he had a definite salvation story, but you wouldn’t know it from this book. That was almost glossed over. It talks about how ‘hog-wild’ he was and then suddenly he decided to change. This book attributes his change mostly to his mother with a brief nod to an evangelist and his future wife. Was he actually saved? There is no way to tell from this book. It does say that he became very active in the church and later describes the struggles he had trying to decide the best way to obey God’s Word, but there is absolutely no Gospel in this book.
Now we have reached page 147 and he is drafted. The next 23 pages are about his shift from conscientious objector to dough-boy.
From there on out it’s about his time in Europe, and the following ten years. The whole book is only 240 pages so there really isn’t much detail. The author included numerous official accounts of York’s famous capture of the machinegun battalion from his officers, official inquiries, eyewitnesses, and York himself. It got very repetitive. Then the last few chapters explain his life after the war.
There were a few stylistic things that bothered me. I have never read a book by an author so addicted to superlatives. Most, greatest, purest, surest, bravest, best the world had ever seen, expert, and marvelous were repeated over and over and over and over. After a while, it started sounding more like a piece of propaganda than a biography or history. The funniest one though was when he referred to York’s dough-boy companions as ‘the most human men who ever donned the American uniform’. Then there was this phrase, “The purest Anglo-Saxons in the world, speaking the language of Chaucer and Shakespeare – the men in jeans and overalls, ‘toting’ muzzle-loaders, and the women in linsey dresses and split bonnet…” or variations of it, were also repeated ad nauseam.
It was informative, just not about Sergeant York. I still don’t know very much about him. I don’t know if I’d recommend it as anything other than as observations about the mountain lifestyle.

[Ross Heinricy]

To read about this man and his life story is to stand in the presence of greatness. His greatness was matched from his abilities and skills to his faith and humility. Wrestling with the idea of remaining a conscientious observer, through extended prayer on a hillside he found an answer from the Divine and a peace from the Lord.
After an unmatched heroism in the first great war, and following in the steps of other pioneers of being an expert marksman, York never traded his fame for fortune, though offered in his day the amount of 1/4 of a million dollars, he replied "keep their (your) thirty pieces of silver".

[Jeanne Modisett]

Fascinating book

[Phillip]

Found this book in my personal library and don't remember how I got it. At any rate, I quickly picked it up and began reading. This book could be read in a couple of days. That's how easy of a read it is. Was informed a movie with Gary Cooper was made from the subject matter. Hmm, I'll have to check it out. From the very first chapter, I was hooked. The author included a lot of back history leading up to Sergeant York himself. Men like him are a rare find and probably aren't around anymore. Too bad! At first I had planned to read and then donate the book. Not now after reading it. I'll definitely keep it on my bookshelf for years to come.

[F]

Excellent! Interesting, educational, uplifting!