Rating: 
Summary: the book was hard to follow
Review: I didn't like this book, the Killer Angles was a good book but this one was hard to follow because there were too many characters and it kept jumping around between the stories of the different generals.
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning prequel to The Killer Angels
Review: Jeff Shaara does a fantastic job in narrating the thoughts and feelings of those key players in the civil war, from First Mannasas to Chancellorsville, providing excellent detail of each battle, and the circumstances around it. Jeff Shaara is surpassed only by his father's The Killer Angels. I recommend this to all people who are interested in the civil war, and also to those who aren't. It provides tremendous background information for the Killer Angels
Rating: 
Summary: The story ends in a fizzle.
Review: "Gods and Generals", starts well enough. However, the farther the story goes the more piecemeal it becomes. I liked the book's beginning. The history of the breakup of the army, at the beginning of the war, provides a rich source of storylines. The book follows the lives of four men, when any one of their war experiences is more than enough to make a book. The last part of the book left the four characters underdeveloped. I think a better story could be had by focusing on the relationship between Lee and Jackson. Then the book could have properly ended after the battle at Chancellorsville.
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Summary: Extremely insightful. Put a face on the legends.
Review: Shaara allowed me to view Lee, Hancock, Jackson, Chamberlain and Stuart as more than legends. I felt the frustration and excitement they went through. Jackson's reliance on his Christian upbringing to justify the horror of fighting against his fellow americans was especially noteworthy. I was also interested in Hancock's story, a supply officer lost in California, suddenly caught up in the events leading to the War. The last gathering of Hancock and his colleagues as they say goodbye to each other knowing that someday they may have to meet again on bloody fields. Lee the Professional who felt he would be passed over, relegated to a life behind the lines sorting out the equipment and maintaining supplies while others, younger than he and more politically astute would enjoy the glory positions. Chamberlain the academic from Maine suddenly caught up in the need for a change in his life and seeing the military as a break from his teaching duties. I identified most notably with Chamberlain, a quiet type aware of the events washing over the nation first as an observer then as a participant. Sahaara's book was a personal view of what these giants went through. The foibles of a Stuart the reliability of Jackson the frustration of Lee the quiet sense of duty expressed by Chamberlain. Each a study in human nature, a study of men caught up in the tide of history.
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Summary: J. Shaara personally introduced the men who made the history
Review: As a long-time fan of The Killer Angels, I was especially pleased with Jeff Shaara's success with the incorporation of so many of the trivial details from his father's book into his own. For example, most of us are familiar with the occurrence of Hancock and Armistead's last evening together, however; Mr. Shaara has allowed us to watch it transpire. This memory, imagined though it may be, gives cause for the anguish displayed by Armistead in his reluctance to take part in Pickett's Charge in The Killer Angels. In fact, when read in succession, the two books are constantly complementing each other. I was further impressed by J. Shaara's courage to take on the challenge of the definition of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. His ability to capture Jackson as both a religious zealot, and compassionate leader was remarkable. Mr. Shaara picked up on the often overlooked point that Stonewall Jackson, while feared as a bloodthirsty warmonger by the Union, was unequivocably loved by his own troops. Ruthless, hateful men are rarely loved by the men they send to their deaths. Mr. Shaara adroitly depicted Jackson's belief that fighting was his work, and as a Christian, whatever he accepted as his work, had to be done to the glory of God. Finally, Jeff Shaara combined more years into Gods and Generals than his father did days into The Killer Angels. Given the limited space, and the span of time covered, I applaud Mr. Shaara for his story construction. This was a great first effort, I strongly recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Shaara made me feel like I was there.
Review: Gods and Generals is the best book I ever read. It is so good that I could not put it down. I never thought that the Civil War could be looked at that way. It felt so real that I think that nothing can ever compare to it except The Last Full Measure and The Killer Angels. I am an 11-year old Civil War reenactor, and I think that the Shaara trilogy is great!
Rating:
Summary: Makes you feel the pain and happiness
Review: Like his father, Shaara delves deeply into the emotions behind the Civil War in this novel and makes it a very easy read. To actually feel what the soldiers and commanders were feeling sheds a completely new perspective on the war and shows you why it was fought and why it lasted as long as it did. This is what history is all about.
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Summary: One of the best books on fictionalized history.
Review: This book held my interest all the way through. Although it is written as fiction I still believe it to be historically accurate and very interesting and really helps give the reader a better perspective of the Civil War.My thanks to the author, Jeff Shaara
Rating:
Summary: Good book that deserves more credit
Review: I enjoyed this book emmensly. The way Mr. Sharra describes the feelings of these four generals makes me feel as though I were actually there, sharing their struggles. Yes, Sharra is no Salinger or Steinbeck but he does deserve more credit than your reviewers give him.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read, but by no means "classic".
Review: Knowing the facts about the Civil War, I was hoping that this novel would breathe more Life into it. The style is slow and laboured, and as far as sentence structure,...well,... I've read better prose. I liked all the main characters before reading the book, but Shaara didn't make me like them more, which, in essence, is what I was looking for at the outset. I rated this at three stars, but I really feel it was closer to two and a half. Borrow the book from the library or a friend, but don't buy it.
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