The Last Full Measure

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR'S LAST YEARS!
Review: In reading this book I found it a lot more enjoyable than the other three stories. It gets right down into the heart and soul of the main characters in the book. I don't think that it was to wordy. I think he (Jeff Shaara) put as much effort possible into telling a complete and detailed account on what it was like for the soldiers in the Civil War. I think it is the best out of all three because it really gets into detail about what the soldiers had to go through in order to fight for their country. It shows how through bad and good the men from the South never gave up until they had given their LAST FULL MEASURE! I don't care what anyone says about this book being to wordy because I just think that they need an excuse to put down Jeff. Overall I think Jeff did an unbelievable job finishing what his father started and I hope that he continues to write books about how it was just for regular soldiers. I would like to read how it must have felt for them and not just the generals and people who never got dirty.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I was reluctant to read son Jeff's books after reading The Killer Angels, but I'm glad I did. He is a wonderful writer, with a clear style and an eye for the details of the men who fought so many years ago. Perhaps The Killer Angels is a better read, but both of the yonger Shaara's books can easily stand on their own merit.

Rating:
Summary: Author doesn't give his "last full measure"; book suffers.
Review: It appears that Jeff Shara did not give "the last full measure" to the writing of this book. His first effort, Gods and Generals, was well written. As one reads this last installment, you begin to get the feeling that he waded into a longer story than he intended to write. The final clash between Grant and Lee was very complex and a comprehensive retelling even in dramatic form would warrant two full novels. Instead, we get detailed accounts at the start and finish, with very a rapid and shallow recounting of events after the Wilderness leading up to Lee's evacuation of Petersburg, as if he had to hit an internal "fast-forward search" button. This attempt to remain comprehensive yet brief hampers the story. The narrative becomes choppy and disjointed. It remains a good read, but is not at the level of his first book.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book that will make any American get teary-eyed
Review: No, Jeff Shaara is not an author that matches the abilities of his father. Nonetheless, "The Last Full Measure" is a wonderful climax to the Shaara father/son trilogy. It is moving, thought-provoking, and captivating from the first page to the last.

Perhaps the most moving aspect of the book is the protrayal and description of the Southern Army and its' commanders as they realize that the Cause has been lost. I was moved to tears as I read the chapter in which Lee realizes that the end is at hand and prepares to meet General Grant.

The book, indeed the entire series, is thought provoking as it shows why the soldiers fought this war. Contrary to the advocates of political correctness and the truly ignorant, the majority of the Southern army did not fight to own slaves. Many, if not most of the soldiers in the Southern Army fought to protect their families and property from what was honestly seen as unjust aggression. Recognizing what motivated the soldiers to fight only adds to the sadness as the leaders on the Southern side realize that they have lost. Similarly, we continue to see why soldiers of the Northern army fought in this war. This adds to the jubiliation the reader feels as the Union is preserved.

The style is flowing and keeps the reader interested from start to finish. One does not need to be a scholar to enjoy this book. If one wants to learn of the war, "The Last Full Measure" is a wonderful place to learn the lessons of the Civil War.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves to be side by side with his father's work
Review: I have nothing but absolute praise for Jeff Shaara's "The Last Full Measure." It is a modern masterpiece - the timeless proof being that I simply could not put it down. I must mention that I was apprehensive at first of picking up this book since I thought, like many others probably did, that this novel could not be as good as his father's masterpiece "The Killer Angels," which I had enjoyed tremendously a number of years ago. I thought that he could not possibly write as well as his Pulitzer prize winning father, and some of the reviews I read here seemed to confirm that. Well, I was wrong. "The Last Full Measure" can proudly stand side by side with "The Killer Angels," a more than worthy "sequel" to his father's work. The writing has the same passion that I found in the Killer Angels, and the characters come completely alive again; seamlessly I might add, so that one could not tell a difference between Michael Shaara's and Jeff Shaara's portrayal of the same characters. I found myself so engrossed in the story that I had to remind myself that despite its historical accuracy it is still a novel-- the historical figures did not actually say most of the words written, and of course did not think the exact thoughts that Mr. Shaara gives them. But, the writing is so convincing that you are left with a feeling that they probably did speak those words and must have had those same thoughts as well.

Some of the complaints I read here were that the novel was boring, that it moved too slowly. I argue that if you do not enjoy the slow points of this novel then you do not truly understand what these men were going through, and the difficulties of the decisions they had to make. The often pensive mood of the characters during these slow parts reveals insight into the souls of the key characters of not just this novel, but the actual war as well. This provides the emotional backdrop that gives the story its strength and adds to the drama of the fantastic battle scenes that are written well enough to put a scare into any man who tries to contemplate what those soldiers endured. Jeff Shaara took on a very difficult task when he stepped into his father's shoes, but he has succeeded and I look forward to future work by this fine author.

Rating:
Summary: The least of the three.
Review: The son's inferior writing abilities truly hinder this book. The characterization of Grant is weak, Lee starts to become a mystical figure. The battle descriptions are not as good. Only when the author covers the last campaign running to Appomattox does the book start to measure up to the first of his, but neither holds a candle to The Killer Angels and this one makes that painfully obvious.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but too long and wordy
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Killer Angels but I found this book an unworthy follow up to his father's work. It is an interesting general read but I found it too long - it required much effort to finish teh book. Too much is assumed and written on the thoughts, feeling and emotions of the characters portrayed.

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary
Review: Only THE KILLER ANGELS and THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY can top Jeff Schaara's Civil War epic, THE LAST FULL MEASURE. Ultra-realistic, captivating theme, absorbing characters, accuracy, it has everything one could ask of a historical fiction novel

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 Trilogy is Complete!!!
Review: The Last Full Measure continues the spirit of Gods and Generals and Killer Angels. The whole series has been so intriguing that I read each book in a matter of days. Both Shaaras bring you so close to all of the characters that every chapter you find yourself hoping for the other side.