Book excerpt: It's difficult to read the life story of Dorence Atwater and not believe it's a work of fiction. His normal 1800s life became a nightmare that turned into a fairy tale. From his lifelong friendship with Miss Clara Barton to marrying a Tahitian princess, it was a life that comes along once every 500 years-maybe. From growing up in Terryville CT, surviving the terrible Civil War Prison at Andersonville, living through the Great San Fransisco earthquake to, in the end, being given a royal Tahitian funeral, he truly lived a life surrounded by Angels.