The Blue Wound - "live blog"

As promised, I begin my "live blog" of Garet Garrett's Blue Wound, published in 1921. Blue Wound was Garrett's first novel.

Prior to this week, my only knowledge of this book came from Bruce Ramsey's brief description in the "Introduction" to Salvos Against the New Deal. Ramsey (p. 12) described Garrett as having imagined, in 1921, a war of the future taking place in 1950.





I have read the foreward (or "Proemial"), which begins the plot by depicting a newspaper office. A mysterious visitor leaves a manuscript describing the visitor's quest to discover and interview the man responsible for starting "the war".

On that note, the story is off and running. I will not provide spoilers in this "live blog." I will not describe the plot twists as I discover them. Instead, I will provide my own impressions and the lessons that Blue Wound has for all of us.


The Garrett works I have read have always been imaginitive. His fictional works create scenarios out of historical events that provide insight and perspective. My experiences reading these works have created expectations for me. The Proemial has sharpened these expectations. I hope not only to enjoy a story but to benefit from Garrett's message about the world of 1921 and his expectations for the world of 1950.

I want to see not only how close Garrett's predictions were to the actual world of 1950, I want to learn something about 1921 that the intervening years prevent us from seeing. Garrett's novels have always remained as mysterious as the fictional manuscript that the editor found on his desk in Blue Wound. Little is known about these novels, as they have become quite rare. But Garrett was favorably reviewed and somewhat influential in his time.

Today, with a financial crisis looming over the United States and government growth out of control, I am driven to discover how Garrett's writings may help lead the way back to the Republic that once existed in this country.

update - click here for part II.