El Paso

August 29, 2016
Groom’s (Forrest Gump) expansive, rich novel is set in the harsh deserts and mountains of northern Mexico during the 1916 Mexican revolution, with sharply drawn fictional characters in a bloody mix with Gen. Pancho Villa and a cast of true-life personalities. When Boston railroad tycoon Col. John Shaughnessy, his adopted son, Arthur, and their families visit the colonel’s vast Mexican cattle ranch, the ranch is attacked and his grandchildren are kidnapped by Villa and held for ransom. Frustrated and angry that President Woodrow Wilson refuses to help recover the children, the brash colonel and reluctant Arthur lead a party of hired cowboys on a rescue mission. As Shaughnessy’s Partisan Rangers pursue Villa’s army, a Mexican bullfighter and his four brothers also track Villa, hoping to rescue the bullfighter’s captive wife, resulting in a most unusual and vicious bullfight. Adding intrigue and suspense are a motley collection of real-life characters traveling with Villa, such as socialist journalist John Reed, cowboy movie star Tom Mix, cynical satirist Ambrose Bierce, and a mysterious German hoping to use Villa to ignite a war between the United States and Mexico. Battles, a tense prisoner exchange, and clever ransom negotiations round out this historically vivid and marvelously complex tale.

Prolific nonfiction author Groom returns to fiction with a Western saga far different from the novel (Forrest Gump, 1986, etc.) that later blossomed into a classic Oscar-winning film.Up-by-the-bootstraps Irish immigrant-turned-railroad baron John "the Colonel" Shaughnessy learns his ranching operation in Chihuahua, Mexico, is being threatened by Pancho Villa and his rebels. The Colonel lives extravagantly, and so his adopted son, Arthur, works hard to keep the Shaughnessy railroad afloat, and they both know losing the ranch might mean bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the overconfident Colonel turns a mission to rescue the ranch into a Shaughnessy family expedition and misjudgment that ends with Shaughnessy wives and Arthur's children being kidnapped by Villa's rebels. Groom casts bit parts for Gen. Pershing and George Patton, John and Ethel Barrymore, socialist journalist John Reed, Tom Mix, and the legendary Ambrose Bierce, who rides with Villa and offers sardonic observations on the haphazard revolution. Groom cranks up tension with bloody raids, bullfights, a cattle drive, and Shaughnessy's rugged Samoan bodyguard, Bomba, in a dangerous, separate, solitary pursuit. Groom's historical knowledge makes it all real, especially with references to oddities like isolated Chihuahuan descendants of Marrano Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition and tragic real-life figure Henry Flipper Jr., the first African-American West Point graduate, who joins Arthur's rescue party. Arthur and the Colonel evolve into admirable characters. Those changes are beautifully portrayed, but Groom too quickly sketches an unsatisfying conclusion for the remade Shaughnessys. There are other gaps: there's a Shaughnessy daughter who helps young Arthur assimilate but is later dismissed in one sentence; and also the story would be improved if more were heard from the Shaughnessy wives while they await ransom.It's not Lonesome Dove, but Groom's Searcher's-like rescue pursuit and his allusive homage to Treasure of the Sierra Madre make for an entertaining Western story. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from July 1, 2016
In the 30 years since Forrest Gump was published, Groom wrote some undistinguished fiction (including a Gump sequel), plus well-received military history that earned him praise as a narrative historian. Now he combines military savvy with storytelling skill for a satisfying saga pitting an American railroad tycoon against Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. Arthur Shaughnessy (adopted as an orphan in Boston by Colonel John Shaughnessy, founder of the New England & Pacific railroad) mortgages his father's yacht to keep the foundering NE&P afloat in 1916. The colonel prefers to sell cattle from his northern Mexico holdings and proposes a family trip to his huge ranch there. But Villa's forces strike the ranch for beef, slaughtering the manager and later taking Arthur's children, Katherine, 12, and Timmy, 9, hostage. When the colonel beseeches President Wilson for military help to no avail, he builds his own force to go after Villa. Groom weaves historical figures into this adventureincluding Tom Mix, author Ambrose Bierce, socialist journalist John Reed, and army officers John Pershing and George Pattonwith vivid portrayals of the Shaughnessys chasing the revolutionaries, plus side stories about Arthur's wife, his best friend, and an aspiring matador. An engaging epic that could be headed for the best-seller lists and then the big screen. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This is the big one that fans have been waiting for, and they'll grab it up like they would a delicious box of chocolates.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

May 15, 2016

Groom may be best known for Forrest Gump, but his nonfiction titles outnumber his fiction titles two to one, and they tend toward history. So it's not surprising that here he sets us down in the midst of the Mexican Revolution, with Pancho Villa kidnapping the grandchildren of the Colonel, a crusty New England railroad tycoon who has a sprawling ranch in Chihuahua. With an eight-city tour.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2016

Forrest Gump author Groom has written a brawny, sprawling novel, part legend and part history, about outlaws, revolutionaries, railroad tycoons, kidnappings, and daring rescues. While Europe plunges into the Great War, the Mexican Revolution intrudes on the still wild American Southwest. Railroad tycoon John Shaughnessy, known as the Colonel, learns that Pancho Villa has stolen cattle from his northern Mexico ranch, so he launches a partylike excursion to Mexico in his private rail car, with his family and chauffeur tagging along. Son Arthur flies his German-made, candy-apple-red Luft-Verkehrs across the country, hoping to beat everyone to El Paso, the gateway into Mexico. The Shaughnessy troop arrives at the hacienda only to encounter chaos, and Shaughnessy's grandchildren are kidnapped. When the Colonel's fiery telegrams to President Wilson are met with indifference, he forms Shaughnessy's Partisan Raiders to rescue the children. Woven into the rescue mission are colorful stories of soon-to-be movie cowboy Tom Mix as Villa's aide, Marxist journalist John Reed, writer Ambrose Bierce, and, in a masterly battle scene, Lt. George Patton and Gen. John Pershing. VERDICT Groom's epic narrative is a hefty yet entertaining page-turner, at times funny, heartbreaking, emotional, and brutal. An involving, intricate story vividly told. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/16.]--Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Grand Junction, CO

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2016

Forrest Gump author Groom has written a brawny, sprawling novel, part legend and part history, about outlaws, revolutionaries, railroad tycoons, kidnappings, and daring rescues. While Europe plunges into the Great War, the Mexican Revolution intrudes on the still wild American Southwest. Railroad tycoon John Shaughnessy, known as the Colonel, learns that Pancho Villa has stolen cattle from his northern Mexico ranch, so he launches a partylike excursion to Mexico in his private rail car, with his family and chauffeur tagging along. Son Arthur flies his German-made, candy-apple-red Luft-Verkehrs across the country, hoping to beat everyone to El Paso, the gateway into Mexico. The Shaughnessy troop arrives at the hacienda only to encounter chaos, and Shaughnessy's grandchildren are kidnapped. When the Colonel's fiery telegrams to President Wilson are met with indifference, he forms Shaughnessy's Partisan Raiders to rescue the children. Woven into the rescue mission are colorful stories of soon-to-be movie cowboy Tom Mix as Villa's aide, Marxist journalist John Reed, writer Ambrose Bierce, and, in a masterly battle scene, Lt. George Patton and Gen. John Pershing. VERDICT Groom's epic narrative is a hefty yet entertaining page-turner, at times funny, heartbreaking, emotional, and brutal. An involving, intricate story vividly told. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/16.]--Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Grand Junction, CO

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.