Rating: 
Summary: A Novel For All Times
Review: Like the Civil War, once you have read this book, it will never be forgotten. I've never been to the battle field...but this book gave me a really good idea of what it must be like. I found myself crying in parts of the novel at the bravery and sacrifice these men were willing to give to their generals and their beliefs. I was inspired by Chamberlin's speech to his men when he described why they fought. This book will always stay with me when I want to know what courage, sacrifice and strength are I will remeber the people in this book. Very engrosing and conveys the emotions and thoughts of the people just as well as the tactical aspects of the war
Rating:
Summary: The culture of the South: Killer Angles
Review: Michael Schaara has crafted an unprecedented, griping glimpse of how the culture of the south influenced all of the actions of the major players in the Battle of Gettysburg, and ultimately in the war itself. He opens a window to the past, and in the glass, we can see a reflection of our present state
Rating:
Summary: Hearts and Minds of the Civil Warriors!!
Review: Mr. Schaara has revealed the minds, hearts, and pains of the sad players involved in a dark time of American history. After reading his novel, then walking the battlefield at Gettysburg, one is filled with the emotion and despair of both Blue and Gray. We can see the tired heart of Robert E. Lee. The unwitting nobleness found in Chamberlain. The tactical wariness of Longstreet. Pickett's and Armistead's professional loyalty resulting in a devasting defeat. Moreover, Michael Schaara has blended an acute but subtle story of the strategic and tactical situation which resulted in Lee's fateful decision to attack; Pickett's Charge. A must read for warriors, historians, and those who enjoy great novels
Rating:
Summary: History as it should be written
Review: The Killer Angels is probably the best book I have ever read. It is a mystical journey to those three fateful days in July, 1863. Never have I felt as close to a historical event as I did upon completing this classic novel. It will make you believe that time travel is truly possible
Rating:
Summary: The Cistine Chapel of historical fiction.
Review: The finest historical novel ever written. The late Michael Shaara has captured the very essence of that one terrible yet magical time in history when one man truly made a difference and the quest for immortal glory led along a rock strewn hillside in the farm country of southern Pennsylvania.
His portrail of Chamberlain catches the quintessential soul of this true lion and the sympathetic characterization of LTGEN James Longstreet has been largly responsible for that great warrior's elevation to the highest pinnicle fo the southern pantheon after years of obscurity and infamy imparted
by those duped by Jubal Early and his "Lost Cause" school of thought.
While some of the book is historically inaacurate (ie. John Buford was engaged
in a blocking action at Thoroughfare Gap on 30 AUG 62) the depiction of men in battle
and the emotions of conflict are unsurpassed.
Rating:
Summary: A humanized look at the Civil War's greatest battle.
Review: Some literary critics take offense to the phrase "historical novel." After all, they claim, all novels fit into a historical context. (Obviously they've forgotten about futuristic science fiction.) These critics think it presumptuous for a writer to create dialogue for the the likes of Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, and Lawrence Chamberlain. Because the world will never know what exactly was yelled, cried, and whispered on the battlefield of Gettysburg, the pessimists feel history is being distorted. Author Michael Shaara does not distort history. He brings history to life.Recently, I wondered what I disliked most about going to school. I decided the long reading assignments from boring, impersonal textbooks were the reasons I most detested nine months out of the year. "The Killer Angels" should be required reading for anyone studying American history and the Civil War. Instead of mere facts and figures, Shaara shows us what it must have been like to fight on that hilly Pennsylvanian countryside. I'd like to write about the structure of this book; the way it was ingeniously organized by Shaara. Readers will frequently turn back to the Foreword. The descriptive information given makes it easy for the reader to remember who's who. The maps by Don Pitcher are marvelous. Uncluttered and informative, the maps appear in just the right places: they do not disrupt the flow of reading. Best of all, when Shaara gets into his best description (that of the third day of the battle) no maps appear. The reader can focus on the words, freeing the imagination. The characters are what make this novel so good. I say characters, but in reality they are historical figures shown in all their honor, courage, shortcomings, and fraility. General Rober E. Lee, for example, is shown as a dualistic man torn between God and "winning the war for Virginia." The most refreshing thing about the book is its objectivity through Shaara's obvious extensive research. Lawrence Chamberlain and James Longstreet will undoubtedly speak loudest to most readers. They both ponder the Cause of the war, and through their words, readers too will try to understans why the war and its bloodiest battle were necessary. In the past, history had not been one of my interests, but after reading this novel, I feel compelled to learn as much about the North and South as I can while I search for another great "10" of literature.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BETTER ONE OUT THERE
Review: Of the many, many books I have read on this particular subject, i.e. the Civil War in general, this is one of the better ones. Not only do we get a great account of a battle that helped shape or nation, we have it served to us by a master story teller! I was surprised at some of the reviews in that different people preceived, understood this work so differently. Just goes to show that no individual author can be everthing to everyone. From my own point of view though, this is one of those you truely should read if you are at all interested in the subject. If you take the advise of one student reviewer who suggested you read the first five chapters, then the last five and read the cheat sheets to fill in the middle....shame on you! This is a wonderful work and should be read front to back. All in all I recommend this one highly.
Rating:
Summary: Something for every kind of reader
Review: I first read and enjoyed this book about four years ago, and was powerfully affected by it. After finishing a very different war story recently, one that referred to Gettysburg and the importance of ground at least three times, I picked up "Killer Angels" again and reread most of it. It was just as good the second time around. And this time I decided to write a review.
The author is clearly out to recreate the battle in the reader's mind, and succeeds admirably. He has something for every kind of reader, from the retired general interested in tactics, to the ordinary person with no love of war or war stories. He uses every device available to him to accomplish this: a summary of the characters of the participating generals; a compelling narrative of how the various forces positioned themselves; large numbers of in-the-text maps showing you whose forces were where, and how the terrain was; fictional but reasonable conversations between the generals on both sides, about the battles, and about the war and the reasons for it, revealing hopes and fears; detailed battle sequences, particularly the major engagements of Little Roundtop and Pickett's Charge, narrated so powerfully you think you are there. As you read, gripped, you are humbled at the realization that you could never measure up to the standards of courage exhibited on those three bloody days. The book leaves no doubt in your mind: both sides fought with extraordinary courage.
How did they do it, you close the book wondering. And then you reflect on how the war started, and you realize that they just slid innocently into it, one small, apparently reasonable step at a time. And even after it started, nobody, not even Lincoln, thought it would amount to much. But it led inexorably to the hell at Gettysburg, which Michael Shaara's masterpiece will keep alive forever. (The war story that took me back to "The Killer Angels" is "Glory Be To Mars", which I recommend; it's about a realistic 21st century war set on Mars that never should have been fought, and the part an American President plays in it.)
Rating:
Summary: Chilling
Review: This book is a great retelling of the Battle of Gettysburg. There is a lot of time spent introducing the main characters of the battle and some of the events leading up to the battle.
The book somewhat focuses on the character of Joshua Chamberlain who leads a regiment from Maine into the battle. Shaara breaths life into all of the characters and handles details of the battle so well, that I did have trouble staying with the story. Some historical novels can get bogged down by details that a reader can loose interest. Shaara's treatment is wonderful and his characterizations allow you to enter the minds of Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, and Hancock.
I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Civil War and/or Gettysburg.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for a study of military strategy...
Review: I normally don't write online reviews, but I felt I should in this case as other one-star reviews about this book seem to lack a certain depth to them.
I read this book as part of a requirement for a US History class, expecting many great things from it as I had heard and seen only positive reviews of it. I was sorely disappointed.
The gist of the book is this: the first several chapters are introductions to the major players, and the next three-quarters of the book involve NOTHING except long, monotonous chapter after long, monotonous chapter of each side shifting troops around. First the Union troops go a-thisaway, then they go a-thattaway. Ditto for the Confederates. Finally, they all get in their final positions, and something *actually* happens: the battle of Gettysburg. But since the actual fighting doesn't occur until the last few chapters of the book, the actual "meat" of the story is just troop movements.
Since I'm not especially oriented to or captivated by detailed military movements, I must say that I found detailed accounts of troop movements EXTREMELY tedious. (I should add here that I have no troubles in general reading long books with many intricate occurances in them. I am a huge fan of the works of Victorian author Anthony Trollope, whose books, on average, range between 400 and 1,200 pages each and involve at least two to four subplots in addition to the main plot.) As an avid reader of many genres, this is the first book that I had a real difficulty in completing because it literally put me to sleep every time I tried to plod through *yet another* chapter of troop-shifting.
I highly recommend that if you don't find endless chapter after endless chapter of troop movements interesting (or if the concept alone is daunting to you), you should NOT read this book. If you must read it for a class, I suggest that you read the first five chapters, then skip ahead and read the last five chapters. Just consult the Cliff Notes version of this book for what happens in the skipped chapters. If, however, you are truly riveted by military strategy (or you'd just like to learn a lot more about it), this is indeed the book for you.
|
