Comments from the Book Discussion Group at DeSoto Library regarding our December 2011 selection:

Lawrence: Survivors of Quantrill's Raid by Katie Armitage
Below are the group members' comments about this work.

This selection is a pictorial record of the people and places that survived Quantrill's raid on Lwarence, Kansas in 1863. First reactions to the content were varied:

"It [the raid] was much worse than I realized."

"I didn't realize that so many major events happened in 1863--Quantrill's Raid, the Battle of Gettysburg and the Siege of Vicksburg."

"I never knew why the raid happened before I read this book."

"I was surprised at how quickly they rebuilt the town."

"I was surprised by the ugliness of the wars and how much personal revenges played into the raid."

"It was so devastating. Almost every family was affected."

"I knew a lot of people who were connected to the generation that experienced the raid. Many houses are still standing. I enjoyed the pictures."

"It was very cut-and-dried. No story. I found it confusing."

"Order No. 10 and the Union Prison collapse were causes for the raid."

"I was surprised by how much the people traveled in that time as many of the family members went elsewhere, came back, left again. I was surprised by how many died elsewhere but were brought back to Lawrence for burial."

Members also noted how many of the names of those pictured had endured either as family names or as the names of landmarks. Other comments made note of the strength of the women and their bravery in resisting the invaders as well as the ability of the widows to pick up and move forward, often through remarriage; and of sadness at the number of survivors who later died.

The group also discussed the amount of work it would take to produce such a book and alternate ways of organizing the material. Some found the record less compelling than if it had been presented in narrative form.

Members felt they would recommend the book to those interested in the history of Lawrence and Quantrill's raid in particular. They decided to organize a trip to Lawrence to take the Quantrill's raid tour and to set a date to watch Ang Lee's movie, "Ride With the Devil," in upcoming months.