Rating: 
Summary: this is a sit down and read it in one session kind of book
Review: I loved this book! I've always been interested in history and this book brought history to life. My wife and I have been planning a tropical vacation. After I finished the book I said,"Babe what do you think about maybe going to Gettysburg..."
Rating:
Summary: More than a Civil War novel
Review: This book is usually spoken of as "a great novel about the battle of Gettysburg," but it's more than that -- it's a great novel about why men fight one another, at any time or place. Shaara shows that all the horrors of war (which he presents in brutal detail) sometimes stem from the noblest of human beliefs and aspirations. This book is a beautifully crafted piece of writing; there are scenes and passages I expect to carry with me always. A real classic.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!! WHAT A BOOK!!!
Review: History has always been one of my worst subjects in school. It's not that I don't like it, I just find textbooks <encyclopedia type writing> that interesting... but this book was amazing. Each page captivated me, each character brought to life, every person shown for who he really was. Recommended by a, civil war buff, friend, saying that it was written great and was, as far as he knew, historically correct. This book was my perfect opportunity. It combined information that I wanted to know with the things I like best about my favorite fictions. Wow... what a book.
The character developement is truly great. Each person comes alive, whether soldier or spy. I came to know each character, his fears, his hopes. When someone died, it would be very sad. When a character is anguished over a lost one, I was. From joy to anger, each emotion was shared.
I have one warning. READ 'GODS AND GENERALS' FIRST. My friend having warned me about that, learning from self experience, I think I enjoyed 'The Killer Angels' even more then I would've otherwise. Many of the main characters in this book had been developed even more in 'Gods and Generals'.
Well, enough said on my part. This is a book you're definately going to want to buy, to be able to read it over and over.
P.S. This book is not just for adults. I'm only in 7th, my friend in 8th and we both enjoyed it greatly.
"The energy failed. He felt himself flicker. But it was a long slow falling, very quiet, very peaceful, rather still, but always the motion, the darkness closing in, and so he fell out of the light and away, far away, and was gone."
"Thus ended the great American Civil War, which must upon the whole be considered the noblest and least avoidable of all the great mass conflicts of which till then there was record" -Winston Churchill
Rating: 
Summary: Combines thrilling narrative with melodramatic dialogue
Review: I have mixed feelings about this book, especially in this age of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, where realism in depicting war is coming to the fore.On the one hand, the overview of the strategic situation at Gettysburg, as well as the actual description of the battles (especially of Little Round Top and Pickett's Charge) are excellent and really contribute to our understanding of history. On the other hand, the dialogues, and especially the inner dialogue and psychological portraits of the principal characters are taken straight out of "Famous Speeches Never Delivered." Realism flies out the window, with Lee and Longstreet constantly pondering the great eternal issues, and Chamberlain delivering Ciceronic orations to mutineers. The pomposity and sanctimoniousness of some of the long reflective paragraphs was occasionally quite distracting. Still and all a very worthwhile book about the greatest battle on American soil.
Rating:
Summary: Reads like Poetry
Review: This is the best book I've ever read. I reread it every few months & always find something new. Shaara highlights the absurdity of the Confederate cause. His southern soldiers' characters talking about fighting for their rights made me sick; fighting for their rights so they can take away others' rights. Chamberlain's character is my favority. His speeches about the divine spark in humans & the reason for the war are like poetry. Buster's character portray's the immigrant well, with his speech about proving that he's more than the place he was born into. His portrayals of Buford & Longstreet are also well done.
Rating:
Summary: Very moving & exciting book!
Review: I've always loved history, but didn't really think much about the Civil War until I read "Killer Angels". After that, I was hooked!!! I read it before and after my first extended visit to Gettysburg, and it really opened my eyes to this incredible story. The best part of the book is that it humanizes icons of the war, like Lee--and it also introduced me to Civil War figures I never heard about--John Buford, Lewis Armistead, Winfield Scott Hancock, and (my favorite) Joshua L. Chamberlain. Mr. Shaara humanizes these men, with their fears, doubts, anxieties, etc.; to me, it is the strength of the book! Thanks to this wonderful book, I have become a "Civil War nut"--thank you, Mr. Shaara, for giving me a new direction in my life! P.S: I've also read his son Jeff's books GODS & GENERALS and THE LAST FULL MEASURE; while they may not be up to the same high standard as his dad's book, they are still good. Of the two, I like LAST FULL MEASURE better.
Rating:
Summary: The Pinacle of Historical Fiction
Review: The Killer Angels is simply the best crafted historical fiction on the American Civil War. It, and Howard Bahr's The Black Flower, define the art. Shaara adequately covers several pivotal moments of the second day of Gettysburg, but it is the psychology of his key characters that tell the story. TBS's movie Gettysburg tries to bring the book alive, but Shaara needs little help from the motion picture medium. Once you pick up The Killer Angels you won't want to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: one of the finest books i have ever read
Review: i am a civil war buff and have visited gettysburg several times - all before having read Killer Angels; my first reaction, when told to read it by a friend, was to dismiss any interest in the book since i already read several books about the battle and knew the stakes and result of the battle; why read a fictionalized version of the actual event? i still remember waiting on line at the bookstore to buy the book; i stood on line for over 40 minutes letting other customers pass me by as i read more and more of its pages; unlike other highly recommended books i have read, this one griped me by the end of the first page; ultimately, i learned the importance of ground. i can not say enough about this book, its story, the quality and clarity of its prose and the emotion i felt reading it and knowing that americans fought against americans in a three day battle strewn with bravery and death and brillance and blunder by the titan known as lee
Rating:
Summary: The best Civil War Novel with a creative angle
Review: The way this book is written gives you the feeling of standing on the battlefield, feeling every emotion the officers felt. The author tells the story from many different viewpoints giving the reader an idea of the complexity of war and the challenges men face in the fog of war. This is by far has the most realistic feel of any piece of literature about the period I have read. A must for all Civil War and History Buffs alike.
Rating:
Summary: A Great American Novel
Review: "The Killer Angels" is a moving, accurate, human account of the battle of Gettysburg. But more, it liberates history from the academy and gives all who read it the opportunity to "know" the events and the people who were there. I guess one could call Michael Shaara's work "The Great Gatsby" of American history. Though the film "Gettysburg" has some fine moments, it cannot convey the detail of the book. I have read both follow-on novels by Michael Shaara's son, Jeff, "Gods and Generals" and "The Last Full Measure." However, those efforts, while providing additional background and color to the characters in "The Killer Angels," do not have the divine spark provided by the elder Shaara (I would still recommend them.) The most compelling portraits drawn by M. Shaara are those of Longstreet and Chamberlain. General Longstreet is finally revealed as the victim of R.E.Lee's recklessness. Chamberlain ! is the quintessential citizen soldier; an ordinary academic forced by circumstances to extraordinary acts of courage. I can only praise "The Killer Angels." It is a great pity that it took so many years for Michael Shaara's work to achieve the recognition t deserves.
|
