A Killer Angels Companion

Rating:
Summary: A Historian's Critical Eye
Review: As a long time resident of South Central PA, I have visited Gettysburg dozens of times, have read 'The Killer Angels', seen the movie, read the Companion and have had the privilege to attend talks and tours given by Scott Hartwig.

Both in his talks and in the forward to 'Companion', Hartwig is genuinely complimentary of Shaara's work. But within his text, Hartwig's tenor seems to take a lawyer-like argumentative turn. I do not believe that he does so out of any malicious intent to undermine Shaara's fine work. Instead, I believe that Hartwig is attempting -as advertised- to create a clear deliniation between fact and fiction. Perhaps he could have reinforced his stated respect for Shaara the novelist throughout the 'Companion' but ultimately, Hartwig's loyalties are with historical fact. To that end he is quite successful. That in remaining faithful to fact, he has unintentionally stepped on toes is unfortunate because I truly believe that Hartwig does indeed hold Shaara in very high regard.

A very good companion.

Rating:
Summary: A "must read" for fans of "The Killer Angels."
Review: Book sellers in Gettysburg will tell you that "The Killer Angels" took Chamberlain from obscurity and placed him among the top three historical figures of interest to their patrons. (Lee and Lincoln being the others, as I remember.) Hartwig does well with a good idea, comparing the novel with historical fact. The problem, of course, is to determine the facts, and Hartwig has the luxury of historical ambiguity while the novelist must make a clear choice. In general, Hartwig seems fair to both the historical record and the novel, and his recitation of the events at Gettysburg and the subsequent careers of the leading characters is fascinating, especially Lee and Longstreet. A worthy companion.

Rating:
Summary: Historical context for a great story
Review: I did not have deep prior knowledge of the battle of Gettysburg before enjoying The Killer Angels (and the movie Gettysburg, which was based on it). I loved the book but I spent a lot of time wondering just where the facts ended and the fiction began. The Killer Angels Companion supplies some thoughtful answers. It does not debunk Shaara's work at all. Instead, it highlights the historical context where dramatic requirements led Shaara to simplify and focus his story. It doesn't take anything away from the book, and you realize, fairly quickly, that you agree with the choices Shaara made, and why. Hartwig worked as a historian at Gettysburg. After The Killer Angels was published, he probably was asked the fact vs. fiction question hundreds of times. Here, he has written the answers down for a wider audience. This book (really just a pamphlet) is not to be judged on whether it's a good read on its own, just whether it enhances our appreciation of The Killer Angels itself, and on that count it is quite satisfying.

Rating:
Summary: Not What I really Expected
Review: I was excited when I bought this book as I loved the Killer Angels, but after buying this book during a recent visit to Gettysburg I was a bit disapointed. Hartwig does not really say what is accurate in the novel, instead he argues against what Shaara writes. He focuses on Lee, Chamberlain, Buford, Longstreet, and a bit on Pickett and Armisted but virtually ignores the other characters in the novel. Tom Chamberlain, Ellis Spear, Kilrain, Trimble, Pettigrew, Kemper, Garnett, and Harrison. I was personally more interested in these minor characters than in the ones that I already knew about, and this nook did not expand my knowledge of them. To me, this book was ok but not really what I expected.

Rating:
Summary: Not What I really Expected
Review: I was excited when I bought this book as I loved the Killer Angels, but after buying this book during a recent visit to Gettysburg I was a bit disapointed. Hartwig does not really say what is accurate in the novel, instead he argues against what Shaara writes. He focuses on Lee, Chamberlain, Buford, Longstreet, and a bit on Pickett and Armisted but virtually ignores the other characters in the novel. Tom Chamberlain, Ellis Spear, Kilrain, Trimble, Pettigrew, Kemper, Garnett, and Harrison. I was personally more interested in these minor characters than in the ones that I already knew about, and this nook did not expand my knowledge of them. To me, this book was ok but not really what I expected.

Rating:
Summary: False advertising and poor writing skills
Review: This book left me rather confused. Scott's premise was well-founded, and I got the sense that he genuinely respected the Killer Angels. However, while Scott made some valid historical points, some of those points seem overly pessimistic. Scott correctly points out that Longstreet is a hero of Shaara's book, and historians have long debated Longstreet's actions at the battle. On the other hand, Scott seems to dwell too much on the fact that Shaara uses the term "dug in" to describe Buford's cavalry. Scott seems to feel that the reader will view cavalry tactics incorrectly as a result of reading the Killer Angels. Scott also points out that Col. Vincent and others who valiantly fought at Little Round Top were not given their due in the book. While it is true that Shaara did not dwell on Vincent, or Meade for that matter, the book was not about them, nor really the Battle of Gettysburg. It was about the Battle from the eyes of it's participants (Lee, Longstreet, Chamberlain, et al.). Clearly, historical fact in not mentioning Meade or Vincent is not altered. The second half of the book details the biographies of the principals. We are to assume that Shaara has gotten it pretty much right, with the exception of Buford. Scott makes no other mention of Shaara in any other character biography.

In summary, I think that Hartwig understands, but doesn't accurately convey that the true gift of the Killer Angels is the novel's ability to excite the reader about the Civil War. He gets lost in the historian's periscope. From this basis, people can then go to Gettysburg, and read about Gettysburg, and learn about other important Americans such as Vincent, Meade, Reynolds, Gibbon, etc. If all people know about Gettysburg is what they learned in the Killer Angels, then they are light years ahead in fact and knowelge than most Americans.

Rating:
Summary: False advertising
Review: When I was given this book I was genuinally excited about having a historian walk beside me as I reviewed many of the key chapters and events in The Killer Angels, a book that opened my eyes to Civil War History. This excitement grew when I read the back cover and the introduction. The excitment quickly began to wane as I read futher and discovered that the correct title for this book would have been "A Killer Angels Rebuttal".

Hartwig devotes most of his energies to picking apart major "mistakes" in Shaara's work, while doing a poor job of masking his distaste for Shaara's work. The spirit of "companionship" expressed in his title is no where to be found. A more accurate discription is "jealosy".

I have no issue with someone who clearly states that Killer Angels is a fluff novel which does an injustice to the historical figures, unless this same person packages this opinion as a "Companion" in order to slip it into the unsuspecting hands of the "unenlightened masses" that need to be educated.

If Hartwig was attempting to put pure historians in a better light with this work, it completely backfired.

Rating:
Summary: Exactly what I wanted.
Review: When visiting Gettysburg National Military Park, considering its grand scale, it is best to have the facts when trying to picture in your mind what happened there. Scott Hartwig's descriptive book does just that by clarifying the difference between reality and the fiction work of Killer Angels by Shaara.

The "Companion" was a pleasure to read.

Rating:
Summary: Exactly what I wanted.
Review: When visiting Gettysburg National Military Park, considering its grand scale, it is best to have the facts when trying to picture in your mind what happened there. Scott Hartwig's descriptive book does just that by clarifying the difference between reality and the fiction work of Killer Angels by Shaara.

The "Companion" was a pleasure to read.