Rating: 
Summary: A Chip Off The Old Block.
Review: The general consensus seems to be that Jeff Shaara is a good writer, but not up to his father's standards. I have to disagree. This book was thoroughly enjoyable and quite moving. Not only that, Jeff manages to write the book in the same style as his father, likely in a successful attempt to tie the trilogy together in similar prose. This is a lot harder to do than one might suspect.Also, to Jeff's credit, the scope of The Last Full Measure is greater than The Killer Angels, which focused exclusively on Gettysburg. Jeff takes up the war after Lee's defeat at Gettysburg, and follows it to its conclusion at Appomattox. His rendering of the horrific conditions of Lee's army as it tries to escape the inevitable, and the poignant moments of the final battles and the climax at the courthouse are as good as historical writing gets. I believe Jeff surpasses Michael's ability to tap into and reveal the minds and emotions of the key players, Lee, Grant, Chamberlain, and others. Don't discount or skip this book based on the comparative naysayers' comments. I place The Last Full Measure on the top shelf of Civil War literature. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible as it may seem, it's the best of the three!
Review: While "Killer Angels" tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg in poignant detail, and "Gods and Generals" provides the reader with insight into the minds of the men who commanded the armies of the Civil War, in "The Last Full Measure" Jeff Shaara brings you to your knees. I do a lot of reading during my lunch hour (I hate eating alone in restaurants!) I was sitting in a crowded local McDonald's when I read the part about Robert E. Lee's decision to surrender and the surrender itself and I sat there and cried. I reread it several times and cried every time. When I got home that evening, I read it to my husband. I had to stop several times because my voice kept breaking. By the time I finished we were both in tears. In all of the reading I have done about the civil war, I've never understood the pain of the South's surrender until now. It was heartbreaking! If you care anything about the South, or if you just want to understand why the Confederate soldiers continued to fight when there was nothing left to fight with, read this book!
Rating:
Summary: The World Will Little Note What we Say Here
Review: Over 100 reviews of this work have been written to date - and many more relating to the other works of this trilogy - leaving not much unsaid. Nonetheless, The Last Full Measure stacks up well against Jeff Shaara's previous work in Gods & Generals. Like that work, this approaches the quality of The Killer Angels, which still stands alone in the area of Civil War literature. Also, similar to G&G, The LFM would have benefitted from the inlcusion of more maps.
Rating:
Summary: The best Civil War novel out there!
Review: I love the Shaara trilogy, and have been obsessed with the Civil War ever since I read Michael Shaara's novel "The Killer Angels". His son, Jeff Shaara, has completed that story by presenting two novels in addition that show as much attention to emotional detail and historical accuracy as his father's Pulitzer Prize winner. But while "The Killer Angels" is generally the most highly acclaimed novel of the trilogy, indeed, of the entire historical fiction genre itself, I found "The Last Full Measure" to be the best read I have experienced. I also gained a whole new perspective of Ulysses S. Grant, who Shaara has made his central Union character of the book, one that I have never gotten from the "legitimate" history books out there. The idea of actually getting into this man's head and reading Shaara's interpretation of his thoughts and feelings....it's astounding! He was the only Union commander who actually knew what he had to do to defeat Lee, and he did it. Oh, and the depiction of Lee! A very sad section of the book; Lee continuously has the fighting spirit in him, and suspects that his men still have it too, but at the same time, he sees that his army is crumbling, and starving. And he wonders what God's intentions are! Okay, if you are at all intrigued by the Civil War or history in general, add this baby to your cart, wait for it to arrive, and read like fury! You won't be able to put it down!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Conclusion to A Magnificent Series
Review: "The Last Full Measure" has a much more difficult task to undertake than did the original book in the series, "The Killer Angels" by Mr. Shaara's father, Michael Shaara. This book covers the Civil War from the close of the battle at Gettysburg until shortly after the surrender of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, some 3 years, whereas "The Killer Angels" covered only a period of 4 days. Nonetheless, the author does an outstanding job of taking us into the heads of the major players in the war, and as always, does a particularly outstanding job with Confederate General Robert E. Lee. As in his other books, the author writes from the viewpoints of several of the critical individuals who were around at this point in the War. I read this book after having read "Personal Memoirs" of Union General and former President Ulysses S. Grant, and was somewhat concerned that the sections written from Grant's point of view would be redundant. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were not, and in the end these were some of my favorite parts of the text. It is amazing how informative this book is, and how much effort the author makes to accurately portray the characters and educate the reader about the many interesting aspects of the war. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the Second Battle of the Wilderness, the description of the earthworks and the men who guarded them around Richmond and Petersburg, VA and the fast-paced action that led to Lee's ultimate surrender. This is a very well-written conclusion to this series. The author covers a lot of ground, but manages to not overwhelm the reader and keep them very engaged. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Poignant Finale to the Civil War Trilogy
Review: The Last Full Measure ends the Civil War trilogy of Gods and Generals and The Killer Angels. Jeff Shaara continues his father's work with a novel that is as heartwrenching as it is historically accurate. It was interesting, but when I first read the novel, I happened to be visiting the areas described like Spotsylvania, the Wilderness and Petersburg, and Shaara brings those fight vividly to life. This time he focusses on 3 main characters, Joshua Chamberlain, Robert E. Lee & US Grant, picking up right after Gettysburg. As the war rages on to its 3rd year, Shaara accurately plays out the desperation of the Confederacy and the despair of Lee as he struggles to equip an army without food or equipment available. He also shows Grant in the light that many had never seen before, showing him as both the military genius and capable of making mistakes. Yet it is his characterization of Chamberlain that is masterful, showing the schoolteachers final evolution from good officer to excellent general, and from battlefield commander to dreadfully wounded casualty. The Last Full Measure is a masterful work by an author who is taking the field of historical fiction by storm.
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Summary: A most fitting conclusion
Review: After having read Gods & Generals and The Killer Angels, The Last Full Measure seemed to be the natural next step in concluding what was America's bloodiest war. I was expecting a somewhat predictable, and hence banal, scenario of Grant taking Lee to the woodshed as US forces are repeatedly bolstered while Lee's are repeatedly weakened. Well, suffice to say, it is anything but banal and predictable (despite, of course, the final outcome). One is introduced to the two dynamic, if not controversial, leaders of the latter half of the war that were instrumental in Grant's success: the impetuous, demanding, & fiery General Philip Sheridan and the unrelenting, aggressive, & uncouth General William T. Sherman. I would be remiss without having mentioned the most obvious new entry -- the only man ever able to match wits with Robert E. Lee: General Ulysses S. Grant. Was he a great strategist? Was he a raging alcoholic? How exactly was his relationship with Lincoln? - and with his subordinates (including Meade)? All of these and many more questions are answered in this wonderfully woven tale that masterfully takes the reader from the bloody aftermath of Gettysburg to the trying siege of Petersberg all the way to the solemn occasion at Appomattox Court House. The incredible heroism of Joshua Chamberlain, the tragedies of JEB Stuart & A.P. Hill, the genius of Lee, the savagery of Sherman, & the vastly contrasting leadership styles of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis are all on full display in The Last Full Measure. "War is for the participants a test of character; it makes bad men worse and good men better."
- Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book
Review: Jeff Shaara is truly a literary master. On the same level as "The Killer Angels", "The Last Full Measure" is the story of the Civil War from the end of Gettysburg to Lee's surrender to Grant at the Appotomax Courthouse. This book is hands down a masterpiece that everyone should read. However, before reading this you should read "The Killer Angels".
Rating:
Summary: like father like son
Review: amazing, if you can get past the choppy language. the people you loved in killer angles are alive again in last full measure. i read all three books in the series and while i rate the killer angles my favorite of the three, last full measure was my second favorite and gods and generals last. the dialouge is lacking but the way grant is portrayed makes you feel like you are right next to him as he lights up his next cigar. lincoln as well comes alive in the last book of the series. if you love the civil war than you will love this book. i found myself battle which general i liked best. the way I looke at the confederate atmy in its last days and desperate times changes from the fiery enthusiasm in Killer Angels. the lack of food and the dwindling army of Lee up against a far more powerful grant made for an excellent read. I could not put this book down
Rating:
Summary: The "End Game" of the Civil War is well told.
Review: This is a fine novel by Jeff Shaara, the son of Michael Shaara, the author of "The Killer Angels." The novel deals with "the end game" of the Civil War, in which Ulysses Grant assumes supreme command of the US Army with the mission from President Lincoln of defeating the Confederate Army. Jeff Shaara uses the same technique of examining the conflict from the perspectives of various characters that "The Killer Angels" employed with such effectiveness. It works very well here, and Shaara tells a great story. It is also good history, and this novel does a fine job of acquainting the reader with the events that took place in the Civil War's late phases. Shaara does a good job of explaining what Grant's strengths (and occasional flaws) were as a military commander, and why this man played a pivotal role in finally bringing the war to a close. In my opinion Shaara does an exceptional job in this novel of telling the story of the Civil War's "End Game." Grant takes over at a time when the Army of the Potomac should have been riding high in the aftermath of Meade's great victory at Gettysburg. But it was not, and that great army still suffered from many of the problems that had caused final victory to elude it for years, despite numbers, and despite the fact that it was the best-organized and best equipped army the world had ever seen. Unforgettable is the scene in the novel where President Lincoln and General Grant are overseeing the unprecedented logistical support being lavished on the Army--Grant points out that if only one certain man--Robert E. Lee-- could see this panorama, the futility of continuing the war would be obvious to him. Unfortunately, Lee leads the Army of Northern Virginia to fight almost to the bitter end; a lesson to foreigners who think that Americans will only fight when the odds favor them. Lee's soldiers were living on grass and acorns by the time Lee finally accepted defeat. This is a novel that almost all readers will enjoy as well as appreciate for its historical insights.
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