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The dawning of 1860 brings rising tensions between the North and South that threaten to escalate into full-scale war. Corrie Belle Hollister finds herself thrust into the political arena with her new reputation as "California's woman reporter." Handsome political aide Cal Burton approaches Corrie to convince her that Lincoln--even the nation itself--depends upon the influence she can wield through her writing and speaking. Corrie is resolute in her belief that slavery is wrong, and that she should do what she can to help Lincoln get elected, but mounting conflict within the Hollister family makes her realize that taking a stand sometimes goes deeper than drawing a political line.

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1992

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288 people want to read

About the author

Michael R. Phillips

250 books611 followers
Librarian Note: there is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Michael Phillips has been writing in the Christian marketplace for 30 years. All told, he has written, co-written, and edited some 110 books. Phillips and his wife live in the U.S., and make their second home in Scotland.

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5 stars
171 (40%)
4 stars
132 (31%)
3 stars
110 (25%)
2 stars
9 (2%)
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3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for Amanda.
1,010 reviews
November 26, 2011
Another good read. I'm learning a lot about the history of our country in the years that led up to the Civil War, especially about what went on out west. I also found books 6-8 at a local used book store!
Profile Image for Massanutten Regional Library.
2,882 reviews73 followers
July 18, 2016
Sue, North River patron, July 2016, 5 stars:

This is book # 5 in the series of The Journals of Corrie Belle Hollister. Corrie's dream of becoming a newspaper writer is coming true. President Lincoln is elected and Corrie is writing and speaking to help the election. A surprise move for her and her father. The Pony Express was started and lasted 18 months. The year was 1860-62.
Profile Image for Penny.
159 reviews5 followers
September 21, 2013
During the Civil War, I never knew that California tried to break up into two separate states, nor that California sent the Union gold & money often to help finance their cause for the war. True or not?
Profile Image for Susan Robinson.
316 reviews5 followers
October 7, 2017
Very good. I liked how the story portrayed the struggle, inwardly and outwardly of the issue of slavery, states rights, and power. It was a sad time in our nation's history when emotions were running so hot. Many wasted lives. The Pony Express element in the story was interesting as well.
Profile Image for Valerie.
4 reviews
Read
September 20, 2009
I enjoyed the learning of the historical facts within this book.
Profile Image for Linda Bell.
2 reviews
September 2, 2012
I read this book many years ago and I've recommended it to my daughter.
Profile Image for Ruth.
100 reviews1 follower
April 8, 2015
My least favorite although there are definite highlights to this one......Overall I would skip in a re-read of the series. Boys might find this one more interesting. A Library read for sure.
41 reviews1 follower
April 1, 2020
Again, way too many words and rehashing of her thoughts.
764 reviews6 followers
August 6, 2025
This was as good as the previous book i read from this series.

Corrie Belle continues to pursues her dreams of being a newswoman, despite it being a time when female reporter weren't a thing yet.

I loved seeing how hard Corrie worked to get the stories she wanted to write for the paper. It was really brave of her to travel to Washington to write her articles about the election.

Another thing that was happening in this book was Zach leaving the family because of a rift between him and Pa. I'm glad that was resolved by the end of the book.

I plan to read the rest of this series, for sure!!
Profile Image for Bruce Dinsman.
1,554 reviews3 followers
February 27, 2020
Every time I read these books again I get something else out of it. I didn't know Abraham Lincoln faced 3 Democratic opponents in 1860. I didn't know the Republican Party was so young then either. I did know that Southern Democrat slave owners controlled most of the congress leading up to the civil war either. Great research, great historical backdrops for this series of books. Corrie goes through a lot, gets her heartbroken, becomes well known all the way to President Lincoln's invitation in the final chapter.
Profile Image for Linda.
646 reviews19 followers
November 26, 2019
Sea to Shining Sea is the companion book to Grayfox; the story about Corrie Hollister’s brother Zach. This book fills in the background information that is missing in Grayfox.
It also gives great early Civil War history.
Corrie does a lot of traveling in this book. She speaks for California’s new Republican Party, their candidate Abraham Lincoln and raises money. In the end, she is betrayed by a young man she has fallen in love with. It isn’t until he is out of her life that she realizes how blind love is. Corrie is also invited to go to Washington and visit the new President.
26 reviews3 followers
March 14, 2025
Filler

The storyline was great, very unexpected. I got bored with the pages upon pages of internal reflection. It didn't really add anything because it was so repetitive. First of the series I struggled to finish
Profile Image for Violet Ashmore.
109 reviews
August 12, 2023
I realized halfway through that it was the 5th of a book and now I wanna read the 6th but I should read the first ones first
Profile Image for TheRoer.
Author 4 books28 followers
October 1, 2024
Terrible at reviews but had to comment. Cal…he’s really like…charming…and totally unlikeable. 🤣
Profile Image for LeAnne Kilman.
102 reviews
June 29, 2025
I can’t finish this book. The story is great, but some of their conversations just drone on and on.
Profile Image for Leslie Finn.
16 reviews
August 31, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. I love the US History woven into it. It kept me interested enough in it that I just had to finish it tonight and may read others in the series.
15 reviews
March 7, 2015
very good Christian history read
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews

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