The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War (Modern Library)
by Michael Shaara
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 4133)
I read the hardcover and didn't see the movie so I am responding solely to what the words on the page conjured up for me. Sometimes fiction does a better job of explaining what happened than conventional history does. The Killer Angels may be proof of that truism. Shaara has suceeded in capturing the key events of the epic Battle of Gettysburg; he has also suceeded in humanizing some of the principal personalties. The reader can appreciate what Gettysburg must have been like for Confedera...more
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Great historical fiction about the battle of Gettysburg. A much more entertaining way to learn about this historical event. It was really interesting to see how the author sympathized with certain characters (Longstreet from the South and Chamberlain in the North) and how wars worked at that time. So much of it was guesswork and luck. I also liked his bringing to light the complexities of war, specifically this one where you had brothers, fathers and friends fighting against one another. Als...more
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Read in January, 1998
Actually, I really like this book--I just don't think "It's Amazing" even though I have read it three times. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good read in historical fiction, who is interested in US history and, especially, the Civil War. Shaara does a good job of sketching the tenor of the times, the sentimentality and the conflicted feelings of the men. It's a terrific book for high school students who might otherwise find the history aspect less than compelling.
My Civ...more
My Civ...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
History buffs, people who want to learn US history in a fictional format.
I wanted to really like this book in its entirety, but I got bogged down in the specific tactics of the battle of Gettysburg. I tried to study the maps and think about the positions of the various divisions....but ultimately realized that effort was detracting from what was really important to me: the motivations for the Civil War, the differences between the Southerners and Northerners, the perceptions each had of the other side, the role belief in God played, the human factor in the winning...more
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Read in June, 2008
The Killer Angels tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg through the thoughts of the generals who led the troops on both sides. The book kind of reads the thoughts and minds of many of the generals and officers, but concentrates mostly on James Longstreet of The Confederacy and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of The Union, who was my favorite character.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was a man who, like Lincoln, had an ability for sophisticated moral reasoning. It is amazing throughout the book t...more
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was a man who, like Lincoln, had an ability for sophisticated moral reasoning. It is amazing throughout the book t...more
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I am not really a civil war buff or a fan of books on the civil war. I did study American History in high school and enjoyed the class. The reason I picked up this book though was because someone I greatly admired, a mentor in my life, was a huge fan of Robert E. Lee, and the main reason he became a fan of the famed Confederate general was because he had read this book.
So I picked it up as a tribute to my mentor... and I am glad I did. Though the story is considered historical fiction, my...more
So I picked it up as a tribute to my mentor... and I am glad I did. Though the story is considered historical fiction, my...more
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Read in January, 2000
When I was young my parents took us to Gettysburg a few times and for some reason, I really fell in love with the landscape and the reverberating sense of history. Just walking in the fields and woods where these battles took place is a rather striking feeling and whenever I read this book, I am immediately and fully reminded of that feeling.
Obviously, you might enjoy this book more if you are a battlefield/history nerd, but even just the human element is quite gripping, especially when you ...more
Obviously, you might enjoy this book more if you are a battlefield/history nerd, but even just the human element is quite gripping, especially when you ...more
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Read in January, 2003
I have read this book several times and it never gets old. Being the history lover that I am and since the civil is my favorite period to read about this this book was a perfect match for me. It is a story of the Battle of Gettysburg; three days that could've drastically altered the course of our nation had they gone differently. However the story is not told from the all knowing historians perspective as it is in fact a work of fiction. Instead you get the story from inside the heads of the men...more
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Read in July, 2005
recommends it for:
Civil war buffs. Makes history come to life.
Killer Angels is a historical fiction novel of the U.S. Civil War, specifically the Gettysburg campaign. It covers the action by following individuals on both the Union and the Confederate sides, primarily Lt. Col Joshua Chamberlain of the 20th Maine regiment for the Union and General James Longstreet for the Confederacy. Through them and the observation of others, we see the hopes, expectations, fears of soldiers and officers on both sides. The characters discuss why the fight, both the officia...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
My dad's side of the family are all crazy Civil War buffs, so I've been raised knowing about a lot of these characters.
I fell in love with the movie Gettysburg when I was in middle school, but didn't tackle the book until a few years later. It was the first time I could really keep track of battles and generals and troop movements. It put a face on the Civil War.
Since then I have read nearly all of Shaara's son's books - including the prequel and sequel to The Killer Angels. I think thi...more
I fell in love with the movie Gettysburg when I was in middle school, but didn't tackle the book until a few years later. It was the first time I could really keep track of battles and generals and troop movements. It put a face on the Civil War.
Since then I have read nearly all of Shaara's son's books - including the prequel and sequel to The Killer Angels. I think thi...more
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Read in August, 2001
recommends it for:
Anyone
This book was assigned reading when I attended the Army Management Staff College. Before that, I had never heard of it, other than it was what the movie "Gettysburg was based on.
The story centers around the days immediately prior to, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Instead of just going over historical facts about the battle, Mr. Shaara gets inside the head of several of the main participants in the battle. He puts into words what these men may have been thinking during this...more
The story centers around the days immediately prior to, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Instead of just going over historical facts about the battle, Mr. Shaara gets inside the head of several of the main participants in the battle. He puts into words what these men may have been thinking during this...more
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Read in March, 2007
My experience with this book was a case of overblown expectations. It was expecting this book to be truly amazing. It was good, but not stellar. I believe that historical fiction is a genre with considerable potential to both expose people to history who would otherwise be interested and also to convey the thoughts and feelings of the time. I think that this book accomplished both of those objectives. It managed to convey the sentiments which drove men to fight the Civil War—though occasi...more
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Read in January, 2008
I'm tempted to say a lot of this book wasn't really my thing, but the more I think about it, the more I find parts I enjoyed. I mostly picked it up to help me get a better handle on Gettysburg in an entertaining way, and it not only helped me visualize the conflict, but also gave me a fuller sense of military tactics throughout the Civil War. It's probably dumb of me to admit, but after a handful of books, this was the first time where ideas like defensive lines and flanking maneuvers really cli...more
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Read in February, 2008
This book is an account of the battle at Gettysburg, but it is a historical novel. I tend to like historical novels (see The Alienist or The March) but I have some misgivings about the Killer Angels. First, the other novels I mentioned had fictional characters set in a historical back drop. The characters interactions with historical figures were limited and did not impact the story in any great way. With The Killer Angels, all of the characters are historical figures. The story moves well and t...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
readers who like 1860s American gore
I have wanted to read this forever because I knew it was one of those rare fiction books that men really adore and recommend to one another.
I have to say, I agree. It was interesting to read this take on Gettysburg. And, while I just went on and on about Kurt Eichenwald's weirdly black hole-like explanation of Enron, with this book, the history works. First of all, because we spend so much time inside the characters' heads, Michael Shaara has the good grace to call his book fiction. And, un...more
I have to say, I agree. It was interesting to read this take on Gettysburg. And, while I just went on and on about Kurt Eichenwald's weirdly black hole-like explanation of Enron, with this book, the history works. First of all, because we spend so much time inside the characters' heads, Michael Shaara has the good grace to call his book fiction. And, un...more
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Read in July, 2008
This book is about the battle of Gettysberg during the Civil War. Although the book only takes place during the three days of this battle, battle scenes aren't the main bulk of the book - it's mostly conversations between the leaders about the war. It does a great job at explaining what the war was really about, slavery being the root, but so many other things leading up to it and causing the southern rebellion. The book tells the stories of a few key leaders in each army so you see the perspe...more
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Read in January, 2007
haara's Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatization of the battle of Gettysburg may be beloved, but it's also incredibly dry. For a war novel, there isn't a whole lot of fighting depicted, even tho Gettysburg was supposed to be the costliest fight of the Civil War. To be fair, the book focuses primarily on the commanders on each side, who all have more than enuf drama, heartache, self-doubt, overconfidence, and exhaustion to fill out the story without hearing from the grunts. As it is, the colonels and...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Adults, American Civil War lovers
The Killer Angels is a breathtaking novel!
If you have any interest in the American Civil war than this is a must read! It has a real feeling to it. It takes you into it's pages and puts you right back into the war. It makes you want to believe every bit of it as if it was fact!
The raw emotions, the human strength, and the human frailty are incredible. Michael Shaara had a talent for making you feel. Feel the surroundings... feel the pain... feel with the characters... and feel the desperatio...more
If you have any interest in the American Civil war than this is a must read! It has a real feeling to it. It takes you into it's pages and puts you right back into the war. It makes you want to believe every bit of it as if it was fact!
The raw emotions, the human strength, and the human frailty are incredible. Michael Shaara had a talent for making you feel. Feel the surroundings... feel the pain... feel with the characters... and feel the desperatio...more
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Read in November, 2006
recommends it for:
Civil War Buffs, History Fans, Northerners, Southerners, Christians, Fans of Good Writing
This is a beautifully crafted novel about The Battle Of Gettysburg. I read this book in high school and loved it. Then a few months ago I re-read it (something I rarely do) with my husband. We took turns reading it aloud during car trips. This is a good book. It is extremely well written and full of a very heart-felt, gut-wrenching history. While the book is officially fiction, the writer pieced together his plot by reading all the historical documents he could get his hands on. He tried to be a...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
So far I'm really enjoying this book. To read a historical novel that is based in and around the area I am living is fascinating to me. I can't wait to go visit Gettysburg when I finish reading this...
...I finished the book and found it to be an emotionally and intellectually stimulating work bringing historical figures to life. At one point, I was so engrossed in my reading that at the end of the chapter I realized I had been crying and didn't even know it. I loved characters from both sid...more
...I finished the book and found it to be an emotionally and intellectually stimulating work bringing historical figures to life. At one point, I was so engrossed in my reading that at the end of the chapter I realized I had been crying and didn't even know it. I loved characters from both sid...more
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