This book is a very informative look at a single year in American history. I liked learning about the British and Loyalist point of view as well as the problems Washington had in keeping the army together. The portraits, letters and the maps also add to the experience.

It's days later, and I'm still thinking about this book. Choices people make, even with the best intentions, don't always work in the long run. This book is a compelling look at how an epidemic during wartime affects a small town in early 20th century America in ways both large and small.

I started this one last night and its soooo good! Its about the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918. very good, but very scary considering today "bird flu" scenarios.

so, i finished it last night.... and wow. It did not end like I thought it would. It is not tied up all nicely in the end like most novels, which I found refreshing. It feels very real. I definitly recommend it.

A man is in dire need of your help, but aiding him could threaten the lives of your family . . . as well as your whole community. What would you do?

A deadly flu epidemic spreading to and through America, this is the story of a town that decides to take its fate into its own hands. The committee members of the Washington town of Commonwealth decide to set up an armed outpost to prevent those infected with influenza from getting in. Mullen unfolds the plot, using historical facts as a springboard. His long absorbing novel is a timely and sobering look back at a nation during a deadly war involving a human enemy far away, a disease at home, fear, and political and cultural forces. An interesting read.

This is a book I could not put down. An interesting time in history with the story being written around WWI, labor unions, and the Spanish flu. It was about a (fictional) town that quarantined itself to keep the flu out (it did happen), and the resulting quandary it got itself into. I would highly recommend it to others.