C. Collins

10 de noviembre de 2006

Realistic battle scenes and strategies.

This is a pretty exceptional book. There are three major strengths of the book from the perspective of Shaara's writing ability.First, Michael Shaara has the rare ability to describe battle scenes, including the horror and chaos, in a manner that makes these battles accessible and realistic and immediate to the reader. Very few writers have this gift. Tolstoy was able to capture the cat and mouse game between Napoleon and Czar Alexander the Great in War and Peace; Victor Hugo was able to capture the chaos of Waterloo in Les Miserables; Ian McEwan captures the sad retreat to Dunkirk in Atonement; Robert Graves captures trench warfare during World War I in Goodbye to All That; and Joseph Heller captures the absurdity of war in Catch 22. I would have to say that Michael Shaara comes very close to the writing skills of Tolstoy, Hugo, McEwan, Heller, and Graves in terms of describing the unfolding of battle.Second, Michael Shaara is a master at capturing the male or masculine mind. I do not mean to be stereotypical here but it is very much a man's book. I say this because Michael Shaara was able to capture male friendship, male envy and competition, male humor (which can be dark, sarcastic, and gross) and the manner in which males respond to a chain of command.Third, Shaara is superb at developing individual characters, exploring the internal dynamics that make them 'tick' and that lead them to take the actions and positions that they take under certain conditions, such as the stress of warfare. This aspect of the book was fascinating. The portrait of General Lee was fair and balanced. Lee was suffering from cardiovascular disease and was the retired head of West Point. As a military theoretician he was still under the influence of Napoleon Bonaparte's military theories. He wished to be well informed so as to make the best decisions and then to engage the enemy when he thought he had the advantage. He is usually contrasted with the Union General, McClellan who frustrated President Lincoln because of McClellan's continuous delays and preparations and avoidance of engagement with the enemy. However, General Lee failed to adjust his military strategy to the improvement in firearms technology. It is General Longstreet who is one of the two most interesting characters in the story for Longstreet recognized that improved firearm technology changed the equation in regard to battleground tactics. Longstreet's conceptions were not appreciated during the Civil War and unfortunately were not appreciated during World War I, when so many of Europe's young men died senseless deaths by charging machine guns.The character of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is a wonderful counterpoint to Longstreet. Longstreet is in constant mourning for his four children, all of whom died in one day of fever. Chamberlain on the other hand is pschologically very healthy, with the ability to respond to those around him with a healthy range of emotions. Longstreet was a military genius, but unfortunately a genius that was unrecognized as such because of the aura and mantle of sainthood that the South had conveyed onto General Lee. Chamberlain on the other hand was a college professor who was not trained to be a soldier but who was extremely pragmatic and resourceful.This is a very enjoyable book, full of history, well written.Ver más

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Edwin Charles Lowe

28 de diciembre de 2019

A Wonderful, Exceptionally Well Written Novel!!! Five Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Book Review WrittenThe Killer Angels, By Michael ShaaraKindle Edition (370 Pages)The Killer Angels is a historical novel by Michael Shaara that received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The plot is centered around the American Civil War and the events that unfolded during the four days period (June 30-July 3 1863) in which he Battle of Gettysburg was fought in Southeast Pennsylvania by the Union's Army of the Potomac and the Confederate's Army of Northern Virginia. The various protagonists in the novel are drawn from actual historical participants of the battle. The narrative is character-driven and told from the perspective of various protagonists. Shara completed extensive and meticulous research in order to ensure the historical accuracy of the events and characterizations described the narrative. The results is one of the most compelling and realistic novels of war I have ever read. And judging by the awards and accolades this novel received from historians, soldiers, and the general public, many others share my opinion. The novel was adapted to the highly acclaimed 1993 Hollywood film titled Gettysburg, as well as credited as inspirational by Ken Burns in the production of his award winning documentary about the American Civil War.Almost every American has a basic knowledge of our Civil War, usually provided by public school text book, most often reduced to several paragraphs and several fuzzy black and white photographic images. The enormity of the impact of that war on the development of the American identity, race relations, and the role of the federal government in our daily life, all continue to challenge America in the 21st Century. Reading this book will help bring the issues that prompted 19th Century Americans to kill each other in record numbers for five bloody years, remind us what was at steak, and help us to understand why the Civil War was and continues to be such an important event in American history. The book is great read, a real page turner, and a true Five Star read.Ver más

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Mal

14 de enero de 2016

The Alliance Said They Were going to waltz through Serenity Valley and we choked them with those words!!!!

So if you're wondering about why I wrote that quote as the title to my review you might not be a geek. Hell you might be asking yourself "What's the Alliance or Serenity Valley, what's that quote even mean?!?!" well I'll tell you! So if you're a geek like me you know that this novel is actually the novel that Joss Whedon read that inspired him to create the cult classic tv show Firefly and the sequel film Serenity. He created Firefly after reading this novel and imagining a world in the future where people lived on the fringes of society. If you read this novel you can see where he got his ideas for the show. For example the main character in the show is a man named Captain Malcolm Reynolds while a character in the novel is named John Reynolds. In the show the Alliance (totalitarian government) soldiers are called purple-bellies while the Union is called Blue-Bellies in the novel.The Killer Angels is a fictional account of what happened over the days leading up to and during the days of The Battle of Gettysburg which is named by some as the turning point of The American Civil War (In Firefly, The Battle Of Serenity Valley is listed by some as the turning point of the war against the Alliance and the Independents). It tells the story of the battle in graphic detail through the eyes of both sides, The Confederacy and The Union. It was written using notes and historical documents that were left after The Battle Of Gettysburg. What I love about this novel is how descriptive the author writes without insulting my intelligence. One thing a lot of authors do (looking at you George R.R. Martin) is they will be descriptive to the point of making me feel stupid. I'm going to hate on Game Of Thrones here (love the show hate the books) but George R.R. Martin will do this. He will spend 4 chapters on a dinner describing a sword to me as if I don't know what a sword looks like. He is so descriptive to the point of sheer annoyance that instead of me seeing the battle in my head or the conversation in my head I just feel like i'm in Kindergarten. Michael Shaara doesn't do this. Instead he writes as if you're in the front lines with the men. He writes as if you've grabbed a Colt or a Griswold and Gunnison (btw the Griswald was the Confederate copy of the Colt and it makes an appearance in a conversation in Firefly but it's listed as a Griswold Grenade rather than a revolver) and you're pushing those blue-bellies or grey coats back. When you read this book you hear the bombs bursting and you hear the shots ring out. You feel the cold air and you smell the smoke as if you were right there with those men on those days.Now sadly I have to give some cons to the book and it's why I deducted a star. Thankfully it's really only one thing that bugs me about the book but it's big enough that I had to deduct a star. The book's characters are a bit hard to follow. Now we know the main characters such as Lee, Hooker, Grant, etc. However smaller characters like John Reynolds for example are harder to follow. The reason I say this is because it's hard to follow which faction they are a part of. The way Michael Shaara writes is rather than going from Confederate to Union and stating as such he will just jump right in. So you'll be reading about General Lee and then he'll bring up a new character by name who will be a Union character. Well the thing is he'll just state him by name and not by rank or by faction. So for an entire chapter I may think that this character is part of the Confederacy when he's actually a part of the Union. It makes it a bit hard to follow when a character you think is part of the Confederacy is actually part of the opposing side. You can go multiple chapters with that mindset until the author will list them as talking with Grant and then you put two and two together and go "oh okay he's with the Union we switched factions in the story". This get particularly annoying as the books go on and they start naming more and more and more Sergeants and Officers that are not as well known as Hooker or Reynolds or Grant. If you're a history buff, major, or professor with extensive knowledge of the American Civil war this won't be a problem at all but for people like me who've only studied it in passing or watched a bit of Ken Burns Civil War it's a tad bit annoying. However it doesn't take too much away from the fact that this book is a fantastic read and well worth the money. The author also adds maps within chapters to show you troop placements and where certain regiments are stationed which I thought was a really nice tough and it added a lot more to the experience.

Kindle Customer

12 de agosto de 2026

Must Read for Any Civil War Fan

Excellent read that gets into the minds of the military leaders during the greatest battle of the Civil War. Anyone who has an interest in the Civil War should read it!

B. Sims

24 de junio de 2026

Enjoyable

Really enjoyed it. I realize it's 'fiction' but I wish the book would have mentioned more detail about the 3rd day - especially how JEB Stuart tried to redeem himself and flank the Union right and attack their rear, but was stopped by Custer and Gregg calvary. Had he succeeded, the outcome might have changed.Ver más

7 de junio de 2026

Great book, very insightful, liked dialog.

I watched the movie. Read the book and then spent three days with tour guide at Gettysburg. While in Gettysburg I could envision scenes from the book and the movie.The book is well written and hard to put down.