There's no denying the quality of the book, it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1974 and just a few pages in you quickly learn to appreciate the exhaustive research Shaara has put into this novel. Shaara's characterizations of the main players makes history truly come alive. It's easy to forget that you are reading a historical novel. Never before have the people, places and events of history seemed more alive and exciting. Usually I do my reading on the train ride in to work in the morning, and sleep/listen to music on the ride home at night. When I hit the halfway point in this book I found myself forgoing my afternoon nap so I could continue reading Shaara's engaging writing. Even though I already new the outcome of the battle and the ramifications of the South's defeat there, I still couldn't put the book down. I wanted to read what happened next like it was story brand new to me. That's powerful writing.
Probably one of the best examples of Shaara's powerful writing is his telling of the charge of the 20th Maine on the second day of fighting. Lead by Colonel Joshua Chamberlain (who eventually rose to the level of General and was chosen by Ulysses Grant to accept the Southern surrender by General Robert Lee at Appomattox), this regiment successfully held the Union's left flank against four regiments of Rebel soldiers culminating in a courageous charge by Chamberlain's men when they had run out of ammunition. Not only did the 20th Maine defend the position, they drove the Southern soldiers back - solidifying the Union's position on the left. Reading that left me breathless. Shaara not only gets you inside Chamberlain's head and the pressure of having to defend the flank of the Union army all by himself, but the intensity and brutality of the battle are vividly recreated.
I've read plenty about the Civil War. I know about the battles, the dates, and the principal players; but it wasn't until after reading Shaara's The Killer Angels that I knew the people involved in the war. Besides Chamberlain, I developed a new respect for General James Longstreet of the South and General John Buford of the Union army. Longstreet for his struggle to reconcile what he thought being a good solider meant and his relationship with General Lee; and Buford for remaining unheralded for doing the one thing that probably helped the Union eventually win the Battle of Gettysburg - choosing the right ground to defend from when he was first to arrive in Gettysburg and the Southern army was headed that way.
One last thought: a theme that Shaara threads through the novel is: what is the South fighting for? Slavery? Pride? Freedom? No one seems to know. Everyone seems to have a different answer. Even among the high-ranking generals over the Rebel army the answer would be different. I found this particularly interesting and something that I had not seen explored before.
Now I'm seriously considering Michael's son Jeff Shaara's companion books to The Killer Angels; Gods and Generals, which follows the same principal players up to the Battle of Gettysburg, and The Last Full Measure, which continues where The Killer Angels left off - with General Lee's retreat from Pennsylvania and continues through to the end of the war. Both books have been well reviewed - almost as well as The Killer Angels. Hopefully it doesn't take me ten years to get around to them.
The Killer Angels is a fascinating novel. Everyone should read it. The best novel I've read this year. Highly Recommended.
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