cover image TAPS: Notes from a Nation's Heart

TAPS: Notes from a Nation's Heart

Richard H. Schneider, . . Morrow, $19.95 (144pp) ISBN 978-0-06-009693-9

This homage to the dolorous military tune "Taps" is light on substance but heavy on sentiment. Schneider, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge in WWII and author of the forthcoming children's book Zeek the Christmas Tree Mouse, begins with the history of the song, dispelling many myths along the way. On a balmy Virginia night in 1862, with Union and Confederate soldiers weary during the Seven Days Battles, Union general Daniel Butterfield ordered the brigade bugler, Private Oliver Willcox, to write a soothing tune to send the troops to sleep. The poignant tune quickly spread throughout the North and the South, and today it is played at many official funerals and is the last sound soldiers hear before extinguishing their lights. The pace slows when Schneider discusses the origins of the bugle, the national monuments where "Taps" can be heard (such as Arlington National Cemetery) and how the tune has been remembered in literature. Highlighted throughout, however, are many interesting pieces of Americana and sidebars of quotes from such personalities as Yogi Berra, himself a WWII veteran. Schneider also explores the evolution of the lyrics that have been set to the tune (one of the most popular being "Day is done,/ Gone the sun,/ From the hills, from the lake, from the skies") and interviews the bugler at President Kennedy's funeral, whose broken note was seen by the press as a "tear" and was repeated by other buglers for weeks afterwards. While more solid books on a single song have been written before (e.g., Danny Boy by Malachy McCourt), Schneider's story is the only one devoted to "Taps"; it will strike a chord with those browsing the bookstores this Memorial Day. (May)