Antonio Elmaleh

The Ones They Left Behind is a sweeping, riveting, historically accurate account of post-Civil War America told through the journey of Harriman Hickenlooper, a Union veteran who sets off on a one-man peace march to heal the wounds of a bitter and divided country by retracing his steps on Sherman s March to the Sea. This time, instead of carrying a gun, he will carry a flag. Instead of marching for war, he will march for peace and find a reason to live and love again.

"A moving story of a Union Civil War veteran who makes an apparently quixotic journey through Georgia in 1867 reprising his march with Sherman's army, this time in a quest for peace and reconciliation to knit a divided North and South into one nation again. It is a page-turner that keeps the reader on the edge of his seat until the final pages reveal the outcome." --James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author, Battle Cry of Freedom and Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander-in-Chief 

"It takes a unique courage to go to war since the odds of survival do not hail out to the brave. It takes a great deal more to make the journey home again. Antonio Elmaleh's insight and empathy concerning just such a saga are wonderfully invoked and marvelously illustrated in this volume, The Ones They Left Behind. I for one am still on that journey and can attest to its authenticity of emotion." --Thomas Steinbeck, Author, Silver Lotus

"The Ones They Left Behind is a riveting and compelling read about a former Union soldier, Harriman Hickenlooper, who sets out on a personal odyssey to save his farm and heal the great wounds of the Civil War. Along the way, each person he encounters in this hostile environment reveals something of the bad and the good angels of our nature and forces Harriman to confront prejudice, fear, danger and violence. In his first novel, Antonio Elmaleh lifts our spirits as basic human decency prevails and a good man finds redemption and love." --Frank DeLuca, Senior Vice President, The Civil War Trust Washington, D.C.

260 pages.