The Killer Angels

Rating:
Summary: Great book, but a touch naive.
Review: Perhaps I should read the book again. I thought it was wonderfully detailed, but felt it was a touch naive. Those who read this book and don't know a lot about the backround (esp. foreigners) may understand the war to have been ONLY about slavery. Chamberlains refer often to that as the sole cause/reason for the war when it is clearly not. Otherwise the book was excellent! I loved the way I felt a part of the campaign and could really visualize what the book describes. I felt a part of each charactor and (even as a yankee)wanted none to lose.

Rating:
Summary: More than just another war novel.
Review: "The Killer Angels" will capture you and never let go, not even when you've finished the book. Michael Shaara gives a face to the Civil War, and shows us that those who fought for their beliefs were real human beings. The vivid descriptions give the reader a sense of being present at the Battle of Gettysburg. More importantly, Shaara brings the main characters to life. The reader sympathizes with both sides. I loved all of the characters, but my overall favorite was Joshua Chamberlain. His actions on Little Round Top on the second day were definitely the greatest part of the book. I don't usually read books like "The Killer Angels," but I'm glad I did. Even if you don't know the first thing about the Civil War or Gettysburg, "The Killer Angels" is a wonderful read.

Rating:
Summary: A Definate Winner
Review: I don't know how the world survived before this book was written. This literary success is very worthy of every award it receives. The author's success is furthered by his son's books Gods and Generals & The Last Full Measure. Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A realistic novel of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Review: A wonderful historical novel with characters from both sides of the war. The author uses great detail in thoughts and diolouge. Leaves you wanting more and showing sympathy for people you never thought you would.

Rating:
Summary: Any praise of this book is an understatement.
Review: This fine example of what historical fiction should be, which I first picked up to read as an eighth grader, was the gateway into my now militant obsession with the Civil War and my idolization of Gen. Joshua Chamberlain. The well-deserved rave reviews that litter the front and back covers drew me to it, but Shaara's powerful writing style and stunningly human characters drew me INTO it. Not surprisingly I worship the film Gettysburg and have accumulated a large collection of Civil War and Chamberlain-related literature, though some have suggested this is slightly abnormal for a fifteen year old. While reading The Killer Angels one must wonder at Shaara's amazing ability to portray the major players of the battle, whose real personalities must have since been lost over a century of historian analyzation, as real people. I absolutely love this book and jealously guard my much-used copy. To enjoy it you don't have to be a Civil War buff or even know anything about the battle, you only have to be prepared to appreciate what is epic and human in the midst of this otherwise horrifying war.

Rating:
Summary: Most emotional & historically correct novel about Gettysburg
Review: The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, the basis of the the thrilling motion picture Gettysburg, is the most renowned and prized book about Gettysburg, the battle which is the turning point of the Civil War, and one of the most important battles in the history of America. I have read over one hundred books about the civil war, yet still this is my favorite. The Killer Angels tells the tale of the key players at Gettysburg, from the scholarly Colonel Chamberlain to James "Gloomy Pete" Longstreet to Robert E. Lee, the most revered and loved man on either army. The emotions and thoughts of the men, the strategies and problems they faced, are all entailed in this most thrilling nobel about the famous battle of Getttsburg.

Rating:
Summary: Not what it appears to be
Review: I picked up this novel with the expectation, upon reading General Schwarzkopf's quote on the front cover, that it would be a realistic depiction of the Civil War. However, upon careful study of it in my college American History course, I noticed the prevailing theme Shaara uses in trying to resolve the North and South. I find it ironic that in a book about the Civil War, only one black character exists and the rest of the slaves are conspicuously absent. This novel may be realistic in its portrayal of a war, but not of the Civil War, and you don't have to have lived through it to know that. (Besides that, only Shaara would have the hero end up being a college professor.) A good read, but remember it's fiction.

Rating:
Summary: The greatest Civil war novel written to date
Review: I have several great civil war novels, but this takes the cake. It is written with a genuine understanding of the Generals and others characters it portrays. My favorite book of all-time. As an additional comment to anyone who enjoys this book I suggest renting the movie "Gettysburg" based on the book. It is equally as compelling.

Rating:
Summary: If history were like this in school, I'd have learned more
Review: I am in no way a Civil War enthusiast, so I picked up "The Killer Angels" simply because it had won the Pulitzer. Well, no wonder. It is an incredibly rich, cinematic work. I was most impressed with Shaara's ability to get into the minds of Lee and the other officers at Gettysberg without reducing them to shopworn cliches. The true genius of the novel is that it is not about a war, or even about a battle, and certainly is not a polemic on the evils of slavery; it is simply about people we come to care about greatly.

Rating:
Summary: This book makes you feel like you're in the mind of Lee
Review: This is the greatest book I have ever read, I personally finished this book in one day. I just couldn't put it down. Anyone who buys this book is making a right dicision. I have read The Killer Angels and I am look forward to reading the other book published by both Micheal Shaara and his son Jeff Shaara; Gods and Generals, The last full Measure.