Book excerpt: The Sorrels of Savannah is a story of tragedy and triumph. The family lived during tumultuous times in America's history. Francis, the patriarch, built for himself and his family a lavish, privileged lifestyle in Savannah made possible, in part, by the institution of slavery. Their family was among the last generation of antebellum slave holding southerners whose way of life was challenged and forever changed by the Civil War and Reconstruction that followed. The Sorrels of Savannah is an interesting and readable account of a remarkable family--their individual personalities and traits, both honorable and dishonorable.