Rating: 
Summary: Norhern Bias Shows Through
Review: While I found Mr. Shaara's book to be quite entertaining and generally historically correct, the bias and propaganda for the Union shows through. The most obvious place is describing Grant as violently anti-slavery when, in fact, Grant openly tolerated slavery even having his wife's slave Mary Robinson serve him. Mr. Shaara verbally air-brushed Mary Robinson and Julia's other slaves out of the family portrait. In this respect, the propaganda gets pretty deep. In the forward, Mr. Shaara claims to be as historicaly accurate as possible. It is a shame he could not include Mary Robinson in the story because apparently it would put a blemish on his hero, U.S. Grant. I would like to hear Mr. Shaara comment on this in an interview. Thanks, WTH
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Summary: Great Read
Review: An excellent book to finish the Trilogy by the younger Shaara. The attention to detail of both armies was very well researched and very realistic. You can truly see into the thoughts and feelings of the great men who fought on the battlefields over 135 years ago. I not only recommend this book but the other in the series as well. I also look forward to reading Gone for Soldiers by the same author.
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Summary: The Abridged Tapes of the Last Full Measure
Review: The book may be excellent, but I would avoid the abridged tape. There are so many discontinuities, the tapes are very confusing. Example: Tape 2 ends discussing 11 May (the Wilderness). Tape 3 begins on 29 June with Joshua Chamberlin in a hospital recovering from a wound. How did Joshua Chamberlin get wounded? If you listen to the tapes, you will not know. During the scene in the hospital he receives a promotion for gallantry at Petersburg. The tapes never discuss this gallantry. I am very curious why Jeff Shaara authorized this abridged version when he could have had a complete audiotape made. Stephen Lang has an excellent accent but overemphasizes depression and sorrow throughout the story. Every sentence seems to sound of this. Avoid the abridged tapes. Insist that Jeff Shaara make a complete set.
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Summary: Devotion, Desperation and Defeat
Review: This work is an excellent contribution to understanding war and the close combat and command environment that are so integral to it. Based on historical fact, "Last Full Measure" also provides an insightful analysis of success and failure of both sides in the American Civil War. After the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg, it becomes increasingly clear to Robert E. Lee that the South's devotion to its cause has become a desperate struggle. Yet he carries on, performing his duty, exercising his considerable tactical and operational skills on the battlefields of Virginia, believing that God's will shall determine the outcome. The Union has a new commander, Ulysses Simpson Grant, a man who is willing to fight, who has the support of his president, who knows that success is "only a matter of time." But Grant is hampered by a large army, incapable of moving as swiftly as his foe, and by subordinate commanders who either can not or will not coordinate their combat actions. The war continues. Union forces press inexorably against the dwindling resources of the Confederacy. Capable Union commanders--Sheridan, Sherman--come to the fore, while the supply of competent Confederate commanders continues to shrink. In the end, both sides have given their last full measure of devotion, but it is the North's devotion to the cause of unity that prevails. In a very real sense, author Jeff Shaara has given a full measure of his own devotion to his Pulitzer Prize winning father, Michael, who wrote the classic novel "The Killer Angels" about the battle at Gettysburg. Jeff Shaara's contributions of "Gods and Generals" (the prequel) and "Last Full Measure" (the sequel) complete a three-volume set indispensable to any military historian's library. In the final analysis, I found "Last Full Measure" to be the more thoughtful of the three works, although the other two are more exciting and fast-paced. It is one thing to explore war's beginnings ("Gods and Generals") or war's high points ("The Killer Angels"), but it is another matter entirely to examine the end of a bloody contest. Jeff Shaara imputes a somberness to the South and to Lee's command, a Christian fatalism--God's will is indeed being done, it is "only a matter of time."
Rating:
Summary: Almost
Review: Jeff Shaara is not his father, but considering that fact, he did a good job in completing the trilogy. Any book about the Civil War's last days is sad, and Jeff Shaara has done the best fictional work on that time period. I think Killer Angels was more novel, which made it come alive better, and The Last Full Measure was more historic, with less fiction: some people like it better the more accurate it is, but to me Killer Angels really made it easier to understand the different characters' points of view. That does not mean that The Last Full Measure is not an exceptional book. I just can't think of it as a continuation of the matchless work Michael Shaara started.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Full Measure
Review: This is a excellent book telling the story of the Civil War after the Civil War till Lee's surrender and a little bit beyond that. It vividly tells the story, not only of how Grant subdued and completely overcame the Army of Northern Virginia, but also the human side. It emphasis the story from the viewpoint of 3 persons, General Lee, Grant and Chamberlain. There is also a good review at the end about what became of these important men in the war. If you want to understand what happened in a clear, concise way then this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: A wonderful work of Historical Fiction
Review: I am extremely impressed with the amount of work that the author has put into this effort. Rarely has such text provided me with the feeling of not just witnessing a hisoric event, but of actually becoming part of it. The ending chapters provided great insight and were quite emotional, while other chapters throughout the book rewarded me with many memorable passages. I must reluctantly agree with the sentiment that Shaara went to the well once too often, and some of his writing was just too repetitive. For example, I started getting real aches upon reading for the umpteenth time how someone (especially Lee) got a knot in their stomach or a stabbing pain in their chest. It is certainly hoped that with his upcoming novels on the American Revolution, Shaara will resist the temptation to paint the same portraits over and over again. A tremendous amount of research must have gone into this book. It is easy for any writer to simply repeat historical facts, but Shaara has managed to interpret them in fascinating fashion, and from a variety of viewpoints, as well. The only thing that disappointed me was how the Cold Harbor slaughter was glossed over, leaving the reader unclear as to the tragic decisions and events that culminated in that horrific battle. Still, the above are just nits--this is an excellent read, and Shaara is just a few steps away from that the coveted 5 Star status. Like Grant, I hope that he moves up the ranks to obtain supreme command of his chosen field.
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Summary: The North Wins--No Suprises
Review: There is little of the ambiguity here that made The Killer Angels so enjoyable. In the earlier book, by Michael Shaara, Lee was an enigma. Much of what we saw of him was through the eyes of James Longstreet. Jeff Shaara does not paint as interesting a portrait, and answers none of the questions the earlier book brought up about Lee as a general and as a man. The Robert E. Lee we get here is essentially the grey saint of Southern Folklore, not the gentle but slightly doddering Lee of The Killer Angels. Jeff Shaara does do a good job of showing a continuity in the battles that lead from Gettysburg to Appomattox. The troop movements are easier to understand than in most other books on the Civil War. Grant gradually tightens his grip until Lee's army is unable to move. Besides Grant and Lee, the major character here is Joshua Chamberlin. The Killer Angels introduced readers to the hero of Little Round Top, but unfortunately, in this book, Chamberlin doesn't really have much to do. It is interesting, though, that the Southern commanders apparently had to stay in the field until they died, whereas when Joshua Chamberlin is wounded, he is shipped home for several months to peacefully recover. Another reason, I suppose, why Northern victory was inevitable. This is a good vacation read, but not particularly fascinating as history.
Rating: 
Summary: Three Fourths of a Measure, at Least
Review: This is the second of Jeff Shaara's books I have read. Even without a cover, I could spot his work anywhere. Jeff does tell a good story, especially his battle sequences. I have a bit of a problem with his style. I would forgive the occasional run-on sentence, but I think Jeff goes to the well far too often. His stacked phrasing can become destracting. Sometimes I catch myself counting commas instead of following the story line.
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Summary: An excellent novel, enjoyable, well researched and exciting
Review: 'The Last Full Measure' is the third and final episode in the Civil War trilogy written by father and son authors Michael and Jeff Shaara. For those of you who are unaware of the chronology, father Michael Shaara wrote 'The Killer Angels' an excellent account of the battle of Gettysburg. On the death of Michael Shaara his son Jeff was approach to write a prequel to 'Killer Angels'. Consequently 'Gods and Generals' is an account of the war from its beginnings up to the battle of Gettysburg. 'The Last Full Measure' concludes the story of the war, taking us from Gettysburg to Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House and beyond. With 'The Last Full Measure', Jeff Shaara has, I feel, written a book that will enable him to step out from the shadow of his father's book. 'Killer Angels' is often described as the best piece of civil war fiction written, thus Jeff Shaara had a great deal to live up to. Shaara has matured as a writer, his characterisation is more believable and his writing style improved. As I really enjoyed his first book 'Gods and Generals', these improvements place 'The Last Full Measure' alongside not only his father's book but also a great deal of civil war fiction. Still using interior dialogue and the description of the thoughts of the characters he writes about, Shaara has created an excellent account of the motivations of, among others, Lee, Grant, Longstreet and Chamberlain. The book takes us through Grants Wilderness campaign, the siege of Petersburg to the final surrender at Appomattox. A danger could have been attempting to condense these events too much, leaving the reader unsatisfied at the lack of description. However, although Shaara does skip some of the details he writes so convincingly that the reader will be swept along with both excitement and anticipation. Shaara's battle scenes are excellent, they are both vivid and horrific and give the reader a sense of what it must have felt like to exist in the throes of battle. Similarly he writes well of the emotions of war and how it changed those who experienced it. This is an excellent novel, it is extremely well written and will be enjoyed by both the civil war enthusiasts and the general reader alike. I recommend it to you
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