A nice story from Rhett's perspective. He wasn't so swarmy after all. ( )

If you like "Gone with the Wind" then you will like this novel. In GWTW, Scarlett was the main character with Rhett walking in and out. This story tells where he went and what he did. It has the rich detail and character of Margaret Mitchell's Book and it rounds out the story nicely. It's a true love story of bygone times. ( )

I have been an enormous fan of Gone with the Wind since I first saw the movie and then realized after reading the book how much had been missing, so when I saw this book on the Library shelves, and saw that it was authorized by the Margaret Mitchell estate, I had to read it. I'm certainly glad I did. All those nagging questions that made me read and re-read GWTW, were finally answered to my satisfaction and delight.

This is the story based on the character Rhett Butler from Gone of the Wind. Rhett is the same dashing, witty, rogue who scandalizes Atlanta and yet manages to win every lady's heart. In GWTW, Rhett just appears at the Wilkes Barbecue at Twelve Oaks, and then proceeds to get involved with all the characters of that book. This book which runs concurrently with GWTW answers all the behind the scenes questions that are just innuendos there.

Why was Rhett at the BBQ, how did he know the Wilkes', why was he 'not received' in Charleston homes even his own, what's his relationship with Belle Waitling? All these questions and so many more are detailed and explained through a riveting and poignant love story that is seen in a new light.

It's as if Donald McCaig, the author, sat down with Margaret Mitchell and said, I don't understand this point in GWTW, how did this happen and she explained it - every last detail. This book is so intertwined with the story of Scarlett & Rhett that you'd think that there would be no room for anyone else, but no Mr. McCaig (amazing that a man can write with such feeling) manages to tell the tales of not just Scarlett and Rhett, but his sister Rosemary, his friends, Melanie and Ashley, and even Belle Waitiling.

I can understand if some Southerners do not feel that their area came off in a good light in this book, however, since Mr. McCaig was dealing with pre-existing characters and events, it would have been extremely bad form to try to change them beyond how they were originally written. I have read other sequels and they did not appear to be as well researched or written as this book when laid alongside of Margaret Mitchell's original masterpiece. Obviously, Donald McCaig studied and I definitely mean studied GWTW to find all the tiny incidents that reference Rhett, his family and his character so that he could expound on them and broaden Rhett's persona to where it would rival Scarlett. They truly were a pair that belonged together. This book, IMHO,in the same regard, belongs with Gone With The Wind. ( )

Whenever I read a book I often wonder about the characters own history. What has brought this character to this moment? So when I saw this book I thought who wouldn't want to know more about the rogue Rhett Butler. I wasn't as thrilled with the story as I wanted to be. It skipped around a lot and each story was interesting but I was expecting more information on Rhett and not on everyone else too. ( )

I was surprised when I saw this on the library shelf. How could I have missed a GWTW sequel? I found out soon enough when I listened to it. It's bad. Go to the bottom of this review, though, for some things I liked.I'm not a "Windy," although I know sorta-"Windies," and have seen the movies and listened to the audio books. Explanations: "Windies" are like "Trekkies" only mostly female and, of course, better dressed. The other movie is "Scarlett." I've lived in Atlanta and visited the Margaret Mitchell Museum as well as the Road to Tara Museum in Jonesboro. I enjoy the quirky, half-true Civil War and cinematic history of GWTW. So, I wanted to like "Rhett Butler's People" but couldn't. It shares the same problems "Scarlett" does. It fluctuates between continuing the story and starting all over again. It views the South critically and then sympathetically. The plot works and then blows up and then works and then blows up... It's a historical novel, no it's a romance, no it's an apology, it's antireligious, no it's not, it's unbelievable, it's only a story... You know how in the slasher movies you cringe when you hear "let's split up." Nobody could be that stupid, right. Well there are dozens of those situations here.Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. What wonderful, larger-than-life, amazing characters. Handsome and beautiful. Tough and competent. Shrewd and conniving. Hateful and loving. What I liked: At the end of the printed version, the author admits his inaccuracies. I like to think he was jerked around by editors and the estate to explain the other problems with quality and plotting. Some of the descriptive scenes are marvelous. So much so in the beginning of the book, I was enthralled. I liked Tunis and Tazewell.Most of all I liked the narrator's "Clark Gable" voice. ( )