Review of The Winter Family by Clifford Jackman

The Winter Family

Shocking, difficult to put down, I found The Winter Family to be a good western/grit lit novel with a feverish pace. The book provided a very good exposé on human nature, demonstrated through unbridled violence together with the deep contradictions of progress in America during the second half of the 19th century. There are no heroes in this book, but you become drawn to the lawlessness of the characters and their view of justice.

Clifford Jackman holds back no punches with his haunting, hard edged style. I believe his goal is to describe the brutality and the many crimes against humanity that were perpetrated back then. The story opens with an assembled gang of men, The Winter Family, delivering without conscience and accountability, their own form of justice during the American Civil War and then further refining their collective cruelty in subsequent chapters in Chicago, Phoenix. Oklahoma. The author achieved his goal through an honest examination of life during the Civil War and its aftermath and how the violence of war and territorial expansion carried over into the supposedly civilized areas of politics and business.

This book would be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys a Wild West thriller that is filled with war, violence, dirty politics, and lawlessness. Readers who gravitate towards characters who see the world as it is – a violent grasping place where opportunities arise for men willing to recognize it when they see it, will enjoy this book. Readers who are interested in early American history would appreciate an unconventional view of this period of history. The book is complex with numerous characters, which at times I found hard to keep track of them all. This was particularly true in the opening Georgia period. I found myself at times being overwhelmed by the extent of violence as the Winter Family becomes pushed into America’s new reality of becoming a “civilized” nation. This is not a read for the faint hearted.

Reviewed by Scott Brown

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