John Gschwend's SPIRIT IN RED AMBER captures the spirit of America's West in all her wide-open plains, broad-river-flowing, pioneering treaty-breaking Imperialistic manifest destiny glory and ingloriousness. If you want the truth about how the West was won, about how the Civil war was fought, read Mr. Gschwend.SPIRIT IN RED AMBER unfolds like the Missouri Trail must have to our pioneering ancestors. Step by step, Mr. Gschwend takes us through his fascinating tale, opening up new and invigorating vistas with every twist and turn of his racing plot.He begins his story with a simple device: an old man and a young boy watch Atlanta burn during a screening of GONE WITH THE WIND, but the old man leaves, telling the younger this is not how the war truly was. And so begins a series of stories within stories as Mr. Gschwend takes us back in time to trace the ancestry of John Gillette and to unfold the mystery of the spirit in the red amber.His descriptions are gorgeous, as gorgeous as America and her wide open plains and flowing rivers was when brand new and unblemished. The writing is reminiscent of Twain and his beloved Huck ambling down the Mississippi. But Mr. Gschwend will not leave you with simply beauty passages invoking an America gone with the winds of time.The action is almost non-stop, and it is wild and fun and leaves the reader on the edge of his or her seat. And just when you think you've got it all figured out-- here comes another plot twist you never expected.Middle school boys will love this book-- but so will middle-aged women, as will any reader who loves American history and action and adventure and truth, or simply loves good stories.Finally, Mr. Gschwend leaves us with immeasurable hope, hope that will make your own spirit soar.This is a beautiful journey. Take it.