As a high school history teacher, Tyler Alexander is always trying to figure out how to make events like the Civil War feel relevant to young Vermonters. Well, what’s more relevant to teenagers than the frustrations of love?
Alexander is the author of a new nonfiction book about the Civil War called "If I Can Get Home This Fall: A Story of Love, Loss, and a Cause in the Civil War." It tells the story of Dan Mason, a Union soldier from Glover who wrote over 100 love letters to his lover from the front lines of the war. The book highlights his views on slavery, the violence of war and his long-distance love.
This episode also includes a conversation with Montreal painter Robin Crofut-Brittinham about her new book, "The Illuminated Book of Birds."
Broadcast live on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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![This rare portrait shows an identified Confederate noncommissioned officer, Sgt. Andrew Martin Chandler (left), and his named slave, Silas Chandler (right). It is the only Confederate photograph in the book by Rod Coddington, <em>African American Faces of the Civil War</em>. Born into slavery, Silas "was one of thousands of slaves who served as [body servants] during the war," writes Coddington.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8ee1686/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1706x1129+0+157/resize/260x172!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F10%2F30%2Fchandler_custom-0d2b41fe6008fb95cc2446b5227d88fc118b32ba.jpg)
