Two Million Steps

De: Tommy Anderson

Narrado por: Nathan Agin

Two Million Steps is the story of two men from western Wisconsin who were members of the 25th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company A. It tells their journey from the formation of the regiment through the end of the war. During the Civil War men from both sides rushed to volunteer seeking excitement, adventure, and to defend their state along with their country. This is the regiments story.

In 1862, the 25th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment was formed in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from mostly volunteers from the western part of the state. The regiment went to war with 1,018 men. The Twenty-Fifth Wisconsin would go on to fight in seven major campaigns and numerous smaller skirmishes with a common motto amongst its men that was coined by Chauncey H. Cooke, a private from Company G and was picked up by the regiment, "I have no heart in this war if the slaves cannot go free".

During the war, the Regiment lost the largest percentage of soldiers from Wisconsin units. They were often called to lead the attacks in Major General Sherman's March to the Sea and onto the end of the war because of their ferociousness in battle.

©2021 Tommy Anderson (P)2021 Tommy Anderon

Part personal story, part unit history.

Two Million Steps is the story of a young man whom joins his local unit and serves though to the end of the war. It blends his personal story with that of the unit and their exploits. I was unfamiliar with the 25th Wisconsin, more so with their battle field doings. They saw quite a bit of action in several of the major well know campaigns.

For this being a deeply personal story for the author he does a great job of not getting to involved with admiring his great great grandfather. He simply tells his story letting his achievements do the talking.

He also did a great job is illustrating the engagements without dropping into a fiction first person battle story. We see what happens but it is reduced to just enough to show of the fighting and then tie it into the units movements within the greater campaign. It’s a go break up and flow of battle and march. We see camp life and then bits of history booking telling what’s developing on the strategic level.

The book was well read by the narrator as well. He slips in a bit of accent to differentiate the characters but takes the subtle approach as to not cheese things up or turn the character is to cliches.

I was given this book in exchange for a voluntary review. I am very happy to have listened to it and would recommend it to someone looking for Wisconsin civil war history or simply military history in general.

A compelling Civil War odyssey.

I don't often listen to audio books, but I highly recommend Two Million Steps as an excellently narrated story of one soldier's personal journey combined with lucid descriptions of the larger events and strategy affecting his regiment. Mr. Anderson clearly did his homework as I was "second screening" most of the time I was listening and learned matters that I as a Civil War buff and a Cheesehead was unaware of.

Two Million Steps - R for content

Narrator: pleasant voice, decent differentiations
Language: moderate language (no Fbombs)
Violence: it’s the civil war however, it’s not ultra detailed in terms of gore.
Mature content: moderately detailed intimate scene, female nudity, prostitutes, etc
Parents: not for under 18 based on mature content.
Story: slow. Painfully slow. Is this realistic and historically based? Sure. Does this give you a solid image of what it was like as a soldier? You betcha. Is this a book that I gravitate towards? No. Like others have mentioned, this reads as sort of a hybrid between a historical text and an homage to the author’s relative. That isn’t a negative by any means, just that this book is suited towards a very specific audience.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Big book that makes you proud to be an American!

The 25th Wisconsin had a long journey from fighting Sioux in Minnesota did the feeding the Confederates in the south. It was long and treacherous and some didn’t make it back. For those who did it was a vastly different march back to Washington than it was or the first approach the war. Reading this book made me proud of these men I didn’t even know fighting for a cause that they all believed in. Made up of farmers and business owners in every walk of life in West Wisconsin they all became soldiers and eventually the victors. I love this book and thought the narrator did an awesome job. I was so happy when Sergeant ham and saw his brother David but that is just one moment out of many this was such a great book and makes you sad and then happy and then say it again but for the most part it just makes you proud. This is a book I highly recommend!