McIvor, James 1957–

PERSONAL: Born 1957.

ADDRESSES: Home—VA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Penguin Group, Viking Publicity, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

CAREER: Freelance writer.

WRITINGS:

God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers: A True Civil War Christmas Story, Viking (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: James Mclvor's God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers: A True Civil War Christmas Story discusses how Union and Confederate soldiers celebrated Christmas in the days before Congress officially declared it a national holiday. The focus of the book is on a Union and a Confederate camp that were within shouting distance from each other in Murfeesboro, Tennessee, in 1862. On Christmas day the two separate camps, while staying in their respective sites, joined together to sing "Home! Sweet Home!" A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented that even though this "charming" book "skips lightly over dense history … it's distinctly readable and moving throughout." John David Smith reviewed this "splendidly concise and deceptively powerful book" on the BookPage Web site. He concluded that Mclvor's book "underscores the meaning of Christmas for nations at war, when memories of home and longings for the safe return of loved ones preoccupy families rich and poor."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Entertainment Weekly, December 16, 2005, Gilbert Cruz, review of God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers: A True Civil War Christmas Story, p. 88.

News Reporter (Washington, GA), December 22, 2005, Peg Barnett, review of God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers,.

Publishers Weekly, September 26, 2005, review of God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers, p. 76.

ONLINE

BookPage Web site, http://www.bookpage.com/ (February 24, 2006), John David Smith, review of God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers.