The Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara
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Book Reviews of The Killer Angels
Book Review: Excellent telling of the Battle of Gettysburg
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not a Civil War buff, but I am interested in researching the Battle of Gettysburg in preparation for a planned trip there. The friends we are visiting who live near the battlefield, suggested this novel.
As it turns out, there is substantial controversy amongst Civil War buffs about the historical accuracy of the novel and its emphasis on particular military units and personages.
Regardless of its accuracy or lack thereof, this is one heck of a novel. (I do intend to read more serious histories of the battle.)
Shaara provides a brief vignette of most of the major actors of the battle. Lee, Buford, Chamberlain, Longstreet, Pickett and so on.
He then frames the origins of the battle. It wasn't planned in any sense of the word. The Confederate Army, under General Robert E. Lee had invaded the North, marching into Pennsylvania. For about two weeks, the Confederates had free reign. The Union Army had a new leader, General Meade, and unexpectedly advanced in force against the Confederate columns.
A strategy quickly evolved in Lee's mind of engaging the larger Union force, cutting them off from retreat to Washington, defeating them and essentially forcing the Union to sue for peace.
In quick, deft strokes, Shaara paints pictures of the minds of the men as they prepare for the unexpected battle. Buford, the Union cavalry officer who locates the Confederates takes the high ground and ultimately holds off a far superior Confederate force, an act which may have saved the Union.
Shaara brings us into the mind of Lee who believed the way not only to victory, but to keep the Confederate Army intact, was to attack. Opposing him in a military manner was Longstreet who believed that the Confederates should follow a defensive strategy.
Shaara does well at depicting the "fog of war", with the Confederates not knowing the size or disposition or plans of the forces opposing them.
With regard to the battle itself, Shaara provides a fairly comprehensive overview of how the forces were arrayed and prepared for battle.
We live inside the imagined mind of Joshua Chamberlain, a Colonel with the Union's 20th Maine which figured prominently in two of the battle's three days.
Shaara provides a magisterial telling of the famous Pickett's charge against the Union lines - leaving you to wonder where men so mad or so brave as to make the attack were found.
Overall, whether it is accurate or not, Shaara wrote a great war novel, well worth the reading.
Jerry
Book Review: As good as it gets...
Summary: 5 Stars
Most times, I would much prefer to read a work of nonfiction as opposed to historical fiction. But after reading dozens of books about the Battle of Gettysburg, it was refreshing to read Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning Killer Angels. This fictional account gives us a viewpoint not to be found in nonfiction works.
What makes Killer Angels different is that each chapter is written through the eyes of the various leaders from both the Union and the Confederacy including Buford, Longstreet, Lee, Chamberlain, Armistead, as well as an English observer, Fremantle. Shaara used diaries, journals, letters and memoirs to recreate not only what was happening on the battlefield, but also, what these men were thinking, seeing and feeling. It's as if you're an eyewitness to history. Killer Angels does not attempt to cover every minute of the Battle of Gettysburg. In fact, Shaara focuses on four main aspects: Buford's establishing Union lines on good ground before the battle, Longstreet's ambivalence about fighting at Gettysburg, Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine defending Little Round Top and Pickett's Charge.
I found myself especially haunted by James Longstreet. Once a carefree, amiable man, he's still reeling from the recent deaths of 3 of his 4 children in one week. Robert E. Lee's number two man, he knows that a frontal attack (Pickett's charge) will be disastrous. He is tortured that Lee won't listen to his advice, and inconsolable after so many men are killed. "Along with all the horror of loss, and the weariness, and all the sick helpless rage, there was coming now a monstrous disgust. He was through. They had all died for nothing and he sent them...The army would not recover from this day."
I also gained an appreciation for Joshua Chamberlain. Chamberlain was not a trained soldier, but a college professor. But he was definitely a born leader. He started the Civil War as a lieutenant colonel and finished as a brigadier general. His heroics in leading his men on Little Round Top is a thing of legend, probably saved the Union and earned him a Medal of Honor.
I have found that once Gettysburg has gotten under your skin, you'll never tire of reading about this important battle that changed the course of the war. For fictional accounts, Killer Angels is about as good as it gets.
Book Review: The greatest Civil War novel that will ever be written!
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Killer Angels" is probably the greatest Civil War novel that will ever be written. Rarely does a novel so thoroughly capture the story, people, and struggles surrounding a great event. Shaara's characterizations of Joshua Chamberlain, James Longstreet, and other key figures of the Battle of Gettysburg are unforgettable. Shaara's novel splendidly tells the story of two great armies, both motivated and fighting for what each believes is a great and just cause, as they come together to fight the biggest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. Shaara's telling of that portion of the battle which occurred on Little Round Top fully impresses upon the reader that this was one of the pivotal moments of history where quite possibly the Union Army and perhaps the entire Union cause turned on the heroism of a few men and the clear thinking of one man. This is a great story.This is a great novel of leadership, hardship, and history. It does not demonize the Confederate side, but instead, without being pro-Southern, respectfully informs the reader that the key ingredient that made the Confederate Army one of the great armies of all time was the fact that to a man the Confederates truly believed in the justice of their cause; that they were fighting for their homes and hearths, or as they put it, "for our rahts..." For all this, the novel does not ignore the contradictions in the Confederate cause. The Union cause is similarly respectfully presented, and Joshua Chamberlain's speech to the 2d Maine mutineers (no spoiler here) is a great summary of the Union cause.
This novel utterly succeeds at both entertaining the reader, which is after all the first task of any novel, as well as telling a great story from history. The reader will come away from the novel with much greater insight as to how the Battle of Gettysburg was truly the pivotal battle of the American Civil War. Shaara fully faults General Robert E. Lee's failure to learn the lessons of the earlier Confederate victory at Fredricksburg as the reason for the outcome of the Gettysburg battle, and his analysis is pursuasive and fascinating.
This novel was an instant classic when it was published and it will always, in my opinion, be THE classic novel of the Battle of Gettysburg. It is quite simply unforgettable.
Book Review: Best Book I have Raad This Year?
Summary: 5 Stars
If not the best it is certainly up there as one of the best books I have read this year (2008). It's been around for thirty years. It won the Pulitzer Prize - and yet I had not heard of it until it came up on the reading list of our Book Club. Thank goodness it did.
I'm sure most of us have been to Gettysburg, that nearly all of us can recite parts of the Gettysburg address from memory and that nearly all of us appreciate the historical significance of the battle; but this book put it all together for me; and it was emotional too. Written as a novel - and generally from the point of view of the Army of Northern Virginia - I was made to understand what the men on both sides went through as the battle developed, what their leaders were really like and the awful tragedy of the loss of life in this carnage of fellow Americans lined on different sides of Cemetery Ridge - actually lined on either side of what was a political and social divide - whether the Union could hold together and whether slavery could continue to exist.
Having visited Gettysburg twice and having been subjected to the lectures there each time it took this book to introduce me to the essence of the men who were there and what really happened. It's all too hard to summarize but I'm humbled by their fortitude and the patriotism of their officers. And I'm glad I read the book
Book Review: Historical Fiction at it's Best
Summary: 5 Stars
Ever wonder what it was really like those 3 days in July at the Battle of Gettysburg? Was it hot, what did the men wear, what did they eat, how did they pass the time, who were the leaders of the regiments? Good historical fiction brings characters to life. Great historical fiction like that of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Shaara makes you believe you are there.
You've learned about the battle in school, now read Killer Angels and feel what is was like to be part of the battle. Read about Robert E. Lee, what his decisions were based on and why he was so beloved by his army. Be present as he struggles with decision after decision from his headquarters. Feel the frustration of Longstreet as he tries to convince Lee of another course. Learn about the flamboyant Pickett and the egocentric J.E.B. Stuart. Go to the Union camp and read about the 20th Maine Regiment and Chamberlain who with sheer determination hold the precious ground on Little Big Top with a bayonet charge. Imagine and feel Buford's decision to engage Rebel forces, knowing that he was seriously outnumbered but determined to save the only high ground in the area.
I was mesmerized and emotionally involved in the book from the beginning to the end. It isn't just a story of a battle, it's the story of our nation and the men who fought and died for what they believed in. A great novel!