“I absolutely loved Without Warning!  My knowledge of the Gettysburg Battle came from reading Killer Angels many years ago and two walking tours of the battlefield over 20 years ago.  Until I read Without Warning, I knew very little about Meade and his subordinates and what they did to win the battle.  This book is, however, most important to me because it shows the amazing influence of character on one’s leadership abilities.  My father, Technical Sergeant Charles Henry Coolidge, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in France in 1944.  He is still alive and when I recently visited him in Chattanooga and I told him Without Warning. I’ve told the Tennessee Medal of Honor Heritage Center Board of Directors that when Without Warning is published I want it sold in the Center.  This novel should be mandatory reading at all our military service academies as well as at our Command and Staff and War Colleges.  In fact, I would recommend it to anyone interested in developing character traits for leadership.”

– Lieutenant General Charles Coolidge
USAF, Retired; Senior VP, Airbus

“Fighting men and women want leaders of character…it’s a central theme, unchanging aspect of the Profession of Arms. In this brilliant historical novel, Terry Pierce extracts from the chaotic tapestry of Gettysburg the moral character of General Gordon Meade, an individual who reluctantly took command of the Potomac Army and let it to victory over the forces of the vaunted General Robert E. Lee some 6 days later. In the process, he replaced the Napoleonic frontal attacks learned at West Point with the dominance of tactical defense. Most importantly, he demonstrated that camaraderie and combat effectiveness are forged by character, not charisma and popularity. This lesson continues to today.”

– Lieutenant General Erv Rokke
USAFA, Retired; Harvard PhD

(General Rokke was former Dean of the US Air Force Academy and the Senior American Military Attaché at US Embassy in the Soviet Union.)

“Without Warning is one of the most compelling war novels I’ve ever read. It captures the Fog of War in such a raw and visceral way that it catapults the reader back in time, placing them squarely on the battlefield of whizzing bullets and blasting cannon fire. But perhaps even more powerful is the way in which the book places you inside the minds of the different decision makers – sharing in the turmoil and gnawing responsibilities that plagued each decision made. The descriptive narrative of the book paints a vivid and vital struggle – man between man, General between General, decision between decision, each of which carries a degree of moral ambiguity where there often exists no definitive correct decision – only a tactical gamble. Therefore, the reader shares the weight of command – the unenviable position of comprehending the fear of failure and fittingly, walks away sharing in the exhaustion of the men who led and struggled, lived and died. This book should be mandatory reading for all those who aspire to grasp the entire spectrum of decision-making during those few overwhelmingly trying days that helped shape our country.”

– Lieutenant Colonel James Ryan Cutchin

(Cutchin’s heroic actions in Iraq were portrayed by Matt Damon’s character in the The Green Zone.)

“Without Warning is a well-researched and written ‘you are there’ style historical novel of the Battle of Gettysburg whose central character is General Meade. His characters seem to ‘come alive’ as they were at the time to inform and inspire about their fears, intentions and actions in combat. Without Warning is a surprising story that discloses the inner most thoughts and feelings of those engaged. Pierce’s solid research into battle reports, correspondence, diaries, and other reference works demonstrates a deep insight into the minds of the featured participants. Using possible colloquial speech and jargon that soldiers generally used, he places the reader in the middle of the action, thereby altering the reader’s vision of the historical event. The result is a story which strives for historical accuracy, albeit in a personalized context that makes his approach both fascinating and compelling. In sum, Without Warning is a character- and voice-driven revelatory historical fiction. Some will face crises without warning such as Meade did. How it is dealt with depends on character and leadership. This novel depicts how Meade dealt with his life-changing moment and became America’s reluctant hero.”

– Dr. Andy Waskie, PhD
Professor, Temple University; President, General Meade Society

(The General Meade Society’s goal and mission is to promote the life and career of George G. Meade.)