Lay Down My Sword and Shield

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Hack Holland is a product of the South, both old and new. Hard-drinking ex-POW and wealthy, progressive Democrat, he stands in the long shadow cast by his ancestors.

When Holland's candidacy for a congressional seat brings him increasingly into conflict with those around him, his almost unwitting involvement with a violent civil rights conflict forces him to reassess his future - and his past....

©1971 James Lee Burke (P)2010 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"A fantastic novelist…so far above the prevailing standards of crime fiction that it is pointless to make the comparison" ( Daily Express)

Not the best, but good for background

I am puzzled by the combination of profound poetry and humiliating torture in these books. Not sure where the author is going with this.
Redemption, yes, but how exactly?

Anyway, despite its rather greater limitations than most of JLB's books, this one sets the stage for the recent Holland novels to good effect. By chance I had just read Robert Caro's volumes on Lyndon Johnson, so the depths of Texas politics came as no surprise.

One of the great strengths of the Robichaux books is Dave's bromance with Clete Purcell. I miss a best bud in the Holland series.