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The Killer Angels (The Civil War: 1861-1865 #2)

by Michael Shaara

4.14 · rating details · 17,534 ratings · 1,813 reviews

Winner of the Pultizer Prize

In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation’s history, two armies fought for two conflicting dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Bright

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Mass Market Paperback, Includes maps by Don Pitcher, 355 pages

Published July 1975 by Ballantine Books (first published 1974)

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Nov 23, 2011

Stephen rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, audiobook, 1970-1979, military-fiction, history-usa

Michael Shaara's passion gave life to something unique and singularly extraordinary in this Pullitzer Prize winning novel. With high-charged, emotive prose, lush descriptions and fully-fleshed characters, he transforms the The Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest engagement of the Civil War, into a gorgeously rendered and deeply personal story populated by flawed, ordinary men caught in an extraordinary concatenation of circumstances by the machinations of Fate. Shaara’s reduction of ...more

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Apr 22, 2008

Lynn rated it

Recommends it for: History buffs, people who want to learn US history in a fictional format.

Shelves: historical-fiction

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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Jan 18, 2008

Ann Michael rated it

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.

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Jul 21, 2007

Kate rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

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 w...more

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Feb 15, 2011

A.B. Gayle rated it

Shelves: shelf-23

Normally when I hear a book won a major literary prize I run screaming in the opposite direction, but the topic has always interested me and the way the author dealt with the subject had me turning the pages like a novel.

Being an Aussie, the American Civil war was just something I was taught at school, it had no real relevance. Undoubtedly, US citizens have a totally different perspective from their much closer connection. So I understand if for some of you the book is overload of st...moreNormally when I hear a book won a major literary prize I run screaming in the opposite direction, but the topic has always interested me and the way the author dealt with the subject had me turning the pages like a novel.

Being an Aussie, the American Civil war was just something I was taught at school, it had no real relevance. Undoubtedly, US citizens have a totally different perspective from their much closer connection. So I understand if for some of you the book is overload of stuff you've been exposed to all your life.

Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is not a new book, in fact it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction back in 1975. It's based on the Battle of Gettysburg and looks at the action through the eyes of the significant characters of the different stages of the short but bloody battle.

In presenting history like this, the reader is very dependant on trusting the author to have done his research and is not cheating by switching a character's motivations or aims to fit the "story". In fact at times, I was imagining how Steven Spielberg would have filmed this. Would he have "killed off" certain characters just to make the drama more poignant?

It did read more like a novel. I couldn't wait to find out whether both Chamberlain brothers survived or whether Lee would ever admit his tactics were wrong.

If we can make the assumption that the author just "gives us the facts Ma'am", then after reading "Killer Angels" you definitely get a better insight not only into why one side lost and one side won, or why so many men were killed in senseless attacks, but it also tells you something about the stubbornness, courage and faith men can demonstrate.

To me the whole scenario in which the battle was fought seemed more like two macho guys arm wrestling in a pub to see who would take the pretty girl home. But maybe that's the whole point. The battle was senseless in some ways.

This wasn't for control of a strategic position or to capture a town and its produce, this was a war of attrition to see who could continue to field more men into the fight as carnage whittled away the numbers. Almost as if there was an underlying vote involved, but in this case, the winner was the one who could put the most bodies on the line.

The characters of the men involved shine through and in an epilogue we find out what happened to them afterwards. Having got to know them from the excellent way Michael Shaara got inside their heads to explain why they acted the way they did, we can extrapolate out how the rest of their life would have gone from the few facts included.

If more history was told like this, we'd all be clamoring to learn it at school.
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Oct 16, 2011

David Carr rated it

Shelves: literary-fiction

The Cumberland County Library asked me to speak to their book group, part of the North Carolina Humanities Council "Let's Talk About It" series devoted to Civil War fiction. I began by talking about the challenges to the reader in The Killer Angels: keeping the geographies and personalities clear, clarifying and grasping the perspectives of North and South, and the simple disadvantage of knowing how the battle comes out. But I also introduced some special challenges to reading about...moreThe Cumberland County Library asked me to speak to their book group, part of the North Carolina Humanities Council "Let's Talk About It" series devoted to Civil War fiction. I began by talking about the challenges to the reader in The Killer Angels: keeping the geographies and personalities clear, clarifying and grasping the perspectives of North and South, and the simple disadvantage of knowing how the battle comes out. But I also introduced some special challenges to reading about the Civil War itself.

Old data say that 620,000 died; new data (9/21/2011) put it at 750,000. Using the first numbers, think of this: 204,000 were deaths in battle; 314,000 were deaths from disease (scurvy, typhus, dysentery, pneumonia, malnutrition): and the Union Army recorded 25,000 deaths in Confederate military prisons. (The Confederacy had poor medical service, so its losses to disease and wounds were worse. Farm boys were especially vulnerable.) Using losses and days, one table provides the deaths-per-day of American wars: For example, in World War II, 416 died each day. In Vietnam, an average of 26 died each day of the war. In the Civil War, 600 people died each day. At the Battle of Gettysburg, the topic of this novel, the 26th Regiment of North Carolina lost 714 of 800 men, 584 on the first day of fighting. The 24th Michigan Regiment lost 362 of 496 men. The 1st Minnesota Regiment lost 82 percent; the 141st Pennsylvania lost 75.7 percent. Losses were equivalent to 2% of the US population. More than 3000 horses were killed at Gettysburg.

Although The Killer Angels attends to the generals and colonels in command, none of this blood is missed. The generals could walk or ride to the front line, could see the enemy in its camps, and had clear ideas of imminent reckonings. Shaara is simply brilliant in opening the hearts of his military men, allowing us to grasp their allegiances and to see them weep. To the generals, this is a moral war as well as a mortal one, and therefore it is filled with ambiguities and tensions. It is fought on American soil. It is fought against former comrades and friends. It is not about territory, kingship, faith, incursion, or transgression. It is largely about punishment, fragility, and shattered interdependence. It is leaden with variables: tactics, troops, geography, weather, arms, food, sleep, leadership, trust. History, memory, bravery, courage, resolve, loyalty, friendship, and respect are all played out, literally, on the field.

Shaara's brilliance lies in his use of the monologue, diary- and letter-like personal perspectives out of the minds and perspectives of Chamberlain and Longstreet (the most compelling of the book), and Lee, whose portrait is the most detailed. He is a living saint to his men; they pause, applaud, cheer and sing for him. Bands strike up martial music in his presence. He is a source of tragic awe. General Longstreet sees him arrive early on the morning of the terrible third day of battle:

Lee came out of the mists. He was tall and gray on that marvelous horse, riding majestically forward in the gray light of morning outlined against the sky, the staff all around him and behind him. Lee alone in the center, larger than them all, erect, soldierly, gazing eastward toward the enemy line. He rode up, saluted grandly. Longstreet rose. Lee rested both hands on the pommel of his saddle. The mist thickened and blew between them; there was a ghostly quality in the look of him, of all his staff, ghost riders out of the past, sabers clanking, horses breathing thick and heavy in thick dank air.

Lee is flawed and failing, and costs the Confederacy the battle, and that costs the Confederacy the entire war. But this novel exists far apart from the idea of victory and loss: it is about tension and conflict that rends flesh and bone as it rends society and human nature. This is the finest Civil War novel, based on the opinions of others. It is among the strongest, fateful, inevitable war novels I have read. It is deeply compelling, grounded on history, but not on history alone. Though it is clearly and fastidiously based on documentary sources, what Shaara tells here lives and breathes. It is what cannot be told in archives, tables, maps, or (in Edmund Wilson's words) patriotic gore.

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Nov 12, 2008

Susan rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: history flops who don't know one battle from another

Recommended to Susan by: Bill Reynolds

Shelves: historical-fiction

The Killer Angels finally makes the Battle of Gettysburg come alive in my mind. No matter how many times I visited Gettysburg growing up and when my children were young; no matter how much I love the stone walls and sun bleached rail fences; I never quite got it.

Everything was a puzzle. While my husband talked about the placement of troops and why various Generals were where they were, I was clueless to understand what I saw as a series of moving mazes laid one on top of another.
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Feb 17, 2008

Kelly rated it

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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Nov 13, 2007

Lani rated it

Shelves: modernclassics, own, historicalfiction

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 Ang...more

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Sep 22, 2007

Troy rated it

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 dur...more

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Jan 28, 2008

Tom rated it

Shelves: civil-war, extracurricular-fiction

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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Dec 04, 2008

Miste rated it

An amazing account of the Battle of Gettysburg. Not for the faint hearted. Very detailed account of the battle and the different troups invovled and why it turned out the way it did. If you like history, this is a good one. Might be too long on battle details for some. I found it very intriguing.

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Apr 16, 2009

Greg of A2 rated it

Shelves: fiction-historical, favorites

Simply a great novel. Yes, a must read for historical military fiction fans but it even reads well for anyone who can appreciate great writing and especially if you like action sequences. The description of the battle at Little Round Top is an unforgettable piece of writing.

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Mar 21, 2009

Peter rated it

The Killer Angels is the story of the battle of Gettysburg. It is told from the point of view of commanders and soldiers of both sides. The story is both exciting and tragic, doing justice to the people and ideals both sides fought for. It won the Pulitzer prize. The perfect book if you ever wanted to know about the civil war.

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Jun 08, 2011

krisabelle rated it

Recommended to krisabelle by: Jason Bartholomew

Shelves: 2011, kindle, pal-recommended, src-summer-2011, southern, 5-star-books

This was AMAZING. I wish I'd read this in high school when we were studying the Civil War because it gives you such an incredible insight into the hearts and minds of the people on the battlefield. I really loved a lot of the characters and I cried when the book concluded. I ordered “Gettysburg”, the movie based on this book, from Amazon and can’t wait to watch it. I will definitely be reading Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure; my interest in the Civil War is higher than ever thank...more

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Sep 08, 2008

Kristen rated it

Recommended to Kristen by: my dad

This was an incredible book. I have loved the movie "Gettysburg" ever since I saw it in the theater with my dad years ago. We went to Gettysburg years ago, which was amazing. My dad has been trying to get me to read this book for years, and I wish I had read it earlier.

Chamberlain, Lee, and Longstreet were incredible men; I felt like I got to know them better in this book. It was really hard to read about the decisions made at Gettysburg, knowing that they would bring so mu...more

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Mar 08, 2009

Catherine rated it

Shelves: history-non-fiction

My first book on the civil war that I really liked. I've read three times. (Manly cause I forget and want to remember)

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Nov 13, 2011

Chris rated it

Shaara received the Pulitzer prize for this work, and it’s no surprise. In addition to being a great novel, it is meticulously researched history. Says the author in his preface, “I have avoided historical opinions and gone back primarily to the words of the men themselves, their letters and other documents. I have not consciously changed any fact.” It is truly astounding to note that much of the private dialogue in the novel wasn’t merely hashed together and ‘splopped’ in there, but were d...more
Shaara received the Pulitzer prize for this work, and it’s no surprise. In addition to being a great novel, it is meticulously researched history. Says the author in his preface, “I have avoided historical opinions and gone back primarily to the words of the men themselves, their letters and other documents. I have not consciously changed any fact.” It is truly astounding to note that much of the private dialogue in the novel wasn’t merely hashed together and ‘splopped’ in there, but were derived from real thoughts of real people. Being cognizant of that fact made reading this book that much more solemn.

I was disheartened to learn that the battle of Gettysburg, which determined the outcome of the war and the path the United States would take in clarifying its values, was so terribly error-riddled and embarrassingly anti-climactic. As far as military genius or outstanding acts of courage goes, it was a pretty flat few days. I was actually dumbfounded by the willy-nilly warfare tactics and the utterly debilitating chivalry that guided many of the commander’s decisions, especially General Lee. The author of this book apparently lamented the travesty of 19th century warfare as much as anyone else. Through the lips of Lieutenant General Longstreet, Lee’s top man and one of the books most endearing character portraits, Shaara sneaks in his commentary on the absurdity of their m.o., “God in heaven…there’s no strategy to this bloody war. What it is is old Napoleon and a hell of a lot of chivalry. That’s all it is…if we win [the final battle] it will not be because of the tactics or because we are great strategists or because there is anything even remotely intelligent about the war at all. It will be a bloody miracle, a bloody miracle.”

I have to admit, the depiction of General Lee blindsided me. He may have been a man of great integrity and consistency, maybe even a moral man (depending on your view of human trafficking and the murderous oppression of kidnapped foreigners), but he sure looms large in this narrative as a fool par excellence. The author writes, again through the words of Longstreet, “The secret of General Lee is that men love him and follow him with faith in him…The next secret is that General Lee makes a decision and he moves, with guts.” And when men’s confidence and loyalty isn’t enough to win a war…you lose it. Badly. And people suffer. Badly. Nice guys always finish last…in war.

OR, as an alternative theory, Lee was a military and philanthropic genius. (Pause for effect). Allow me to explain. Let’s suppose Lee saw very clearly, more clearly than anyone else, how long this war had tarried beyond its time, and how long it would continue to creep in an agonizing stalemate if there wasn’t a decisive end very soon. Maybe in some moment of breathtaking perspicacity he saw how he could bring this war to a close, lose less lives by a sudden defeat than a prolonged strife, and make it feel real and even noble to all parties. That was a thought that occurred to me as I read about Lee’s apparent lapse of judgment and reckless undertakings with the lives of his beloved countrymen on the line. Suppose his nature was deep enough to appear transparent to others, but to shroud other motivations in his secret depths. “So profound is the depth that even the clearest water doth not betray it” (Nietzsche). If he was as good a man as people said he was, then certainly a motivation this subtle and mysterious could have lurked beneath the surface. It is plausible, and has to be a factor in the loss of many, many battles throughout history when men and women would have willingly fought for their countrymen, but not for a lost cause. Truth is stranger than fiction.

One line from the book that struck true: “A man who has been shot at is a new realist, and what do you say to a realist when the war is a war of ideals?” That conflict between impending death and threadbare principles has been the worm eating at the heart of every war, and rightly so. I appreciated the panoply of viewpoints in the novel that gave a glimpse into the inner turmoil of the individuals caught up in the Civil War. Many noble souls, and some ignoble, but all souls none the less. It should give us pause to reflect on our nation’s long history of warfare, to be thankful again for the progress the U.S. has made, and to have our eyes fully open to what it has cost us.

Vh1 pop-up: Robert E. Lee’s mother was buried alive, the doctors believing she had died after a bout with a severe fever—possibly dengue fever. She was placed in a casket, and ‘stored’ in the family vault. Later a sexton was reported to have heard noises coming from the casket, and opening it discovered Lee’s mother still alive as she sat into an upright position. Robert certainly knew about this story, as he became his mother’s caretaker and cared for her into her old age. How would this have affected him in terms of fearing his own death, and witnessing the spectacle of walking death all around him during those infamous massacres?
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Aug 05, 2011

Jared Shipley added it

I don't like categorizing Shaara's novel as "historical fiction." Historical narrative is probably more suited, since Shaara is not telling a fictional story, but rather going where straightforward history books don't - into the minds and feelings of the people involved. Shaara writes in the introduction that he wanted to know how it FELT to be in the midst of the war, like Stephen Crane did, and the only way was to write about it. However, unlike Crane's "Red Badge of Courage"...more

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Apr 20, 2010

Joyce Lagow rated it

Shelves: gettysburg

Winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Killer Angels is a remarkable work. Within the pages of one book, it manages to recount an excellent history of the Battle of Gettysburg with fictional 'insights' into the minds, thoughts, and actions of several of the major players on both sides.[return][return]To deal with the historical aspect: Shaara's account is mostly accurate; those inaccuracies present are unintentional and minor. One inaccuracy that probably has become fixed in the public...moreWinner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Killer Angels is a remarkable work. Within the pages of one book, it manages to recount an excellent history of the Battle of Gettysburg with fictional 'insights' into the minds, thoughts, and actions of several of the major players on both sides.[return][return]To deal with the historical aspect: Shaara's account is mostly accurate; those inaccuracies present are unintentional and minor. One inaccuracy that probably has become fixed in the public mind as history is the charge of the 20th Maine down the slopes of Little Round Top, routing the Alabamans and Texans of the last Confederate assault and taking over 400 prisoners. Until Shaara, very little attention was given to Chamberlain and the 20th Maine--just as a part of the desperate struggle for Little Round Top, while acknowledging the incredible bayonet charge that ended the fighting for the left flank of the Union army. In his superb 3 volume narrative history of the Civil War, in the outstanding chapter on Gettysburg (published in 1963), Shelby Foote gives one paragraph to Chamberlain and the 20th Maine, and equal or slightly more space to his counterpart, Col. William Oates of the 15th Alabama. Chamberlain was highly articulate and wrote extensively after the war. From his writings, it is clear that in actuality, Chamberlain was probably the happiest and most "alive" in his life when he was in the thick of fighting. He wrote quite a bit about Little Round Top; as the years went by, his story changed. No one surviving the war from the 20th Maine, including then-Captain Spears, recalls Chamberlain ordering the right wheel charge or, for that matter, ordering the charge, period. Chamberlain had ordered the men to fix their bayonets, after which the charge just more or less happened. Chamberlain was not the first to remember things differently as time went by nor would he be the last. However, the excellent movie made from the book has as one of its high points the battle for Little Round Top, and the charge of the 20th Maine as described in the book, not as it really happened, was portrayed brilliantly. It really doesn't matter; the 20th Maine deserved all the glory it received and Chamberlain, who received the Medal of Honor (30 years later!) for his part in the defense of Little Round Top deserved the recognition.[return][return]But except for this and a few other details, the history is excellent. Even the maps are among the best I've seen for the summaries of the positions of the armies during the fighting.[return][return]So much for the history. What about the characterizations, particularly of Lee, Longstreet and Chamberlain?[return][return]Clearly, Shaara depended heavily on the writings of the participants themselves for material for his fictional account of their thoughts and feelings. Lee is a problem; he never wrote anything after the war in terms of memoirs. There are letters, and there are the memories of those who fought under him, and that's it. [return][return]Longstreet wrote his memoirs and wrote other articles as well. As part of the losing team, Longstreet wasn't entirely objective about his role, particularly at Gettysburg; there were plenty of high-ranking Confederate officers who, after the war, accused Longstreet of losing the battle. Longstreet did not help his own cause by joining the Republican Party after the war (Grant was a personal friend), and much, much worse, criticizing Lee. Longsteet's reputation fell into disrepute; Shaara's novel helped resurrect Longstreet into repectablity.[return][return]As mentioned above, Chamberlain wrote extensively and articulately. It does appear that Gettysburg in many respects was the emotional high point of his life. He attended every single reunion until the year of his death.[return][return]As for the supporting cast, Buford is problematical. A taciturn man, he wrote little. His most recent biographer admitted the difficulty in putting together such a work since Buford left almost no letters; everything has to be based on memories of friends and colleagues. The same is true for Armistead.[return][return]Given those restraints, Shaara did an incredible job of "narrating" from the different points of view of, in particular, Lee, Longstreet,and Chamberlain. No one knows what truly goes on in the minds and hearts of another person. Few people are so honest even in their letters and conversations, except under unusual circumstances, to let others into those particular recesses. Thus, whatever is written from a 'point of view' has to be nearly sheer speculation. This is particularly true of such public persons such as Lee, Longstreet, and Chamberlain. Lee wrapped himself in his reserve and retreated into being a Marble Man of history. Longstreet had axes to grind, and Chamberlain clearly was wistful about the war.[return][return]Thus Shaara's is a remarkable achievement in making these figures of over 100 years ago come alive and in a thoroughly believable way. You feel Lee's fatigue, his profound belief in God--you're with him as he decides how to handle his subordinates, particularly Stuart-- as he makes the decision for what will be known in history as Pickett's Charge. You're right there with Dutch Longstreet, one of the two modern generals in that war (the other was Sherman) as he agonizes over being asked to throw away his men in impossible attacks when winning alternatives were available. You fight right along with Chamberlain as he assesses his position, thinks about his orders to defend to the last (a question of rhetoric--last man? last bullet? last Reb?), feel his horror when he realizes he has used his younger brother Tom to "plug" a hole in the 20th Maine lines on Little Round Top. These people are no longer just names in a history book but living human beings participating in the bloodiest struggle in American history.[return][return]Shaara takes both these aspects--the historical and the personal--and weaves them into a story that is written vividly in a totally compelling manner and that never stops, never even pauses, but keeps on driving to the bitter climax of Pickett's Charge and the brief aftermath. [return][return]As a result, he has made the Civil War, once just the province of buffs and re-enactors, easily accessible to everyone. All history should be as well presented as this novel presents the Batttle of Gettysburg, a crucial turning point in the climactic power struggle between North and South known as the Civil War.(less)

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Jan 14, 2009

Tony rated it

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

Shaara, Michael. THE KILLER ANGELS. (1974). ****. In spite of all the accolades this novel has received, I have been avoiding reading it because of the film, “Gettysburg” that was made from it. I thought the film was terrible, and that reflected negatively on my image of the book. Turns out that I was wrong, and that the book was indeed a good one, and accomplished its purpose of describing the battle of Gettysburg in terms of human interest. What the author does is chronicle the events o...more

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Jan 13, 2009

Fredsky rated it

This must be a 4, or even a 5, I guess. I am not a history person at all. I know people who can deliver statistics about battles and information about everything for the Civil War. I am not one. So, reading this book, I was totally ignorant of the general sweep of the war, whether this battle was the end or the beginning of the end or even the beginning of the war, whatever! In fact, I had a hard time understanding the maps, which were drawn simply enough. Luckily Shaara had a little intro...more

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Jan 28, 2012

theduckthief rated it

”No need for hurry now, too tired to run, expecting to be hit at any moment. Over on the right no horse, Kemper was down, impossible to live up there. Armistead moved on, expecting to die, but was not hit. He moved closer to the wall up there, past mounds of bodies, no line any more, just men moving forward at different speeds, stopping to fire, stopping to die, drifting back like leaves blown from the fire ahead. Armistead though: we won’t make it. He lifted the sword again screaming, and moved...more”No need for hurry now, too tired to run, expecting to be hit at any moment. Over on the right no horse, Kemper was down, impossible to live up there. Armistead moved on, expecting to die, but was not hit. He moved closer to the wall up there, past mounds of bodies, no line any more, just men moving forward at different speeds, stopping to fire, stopping to die, drifting back like leaves blown from the fire ahead. Armistead though: we won’t make it. He lifted the sword again screaming, and moved on, closer, closer, but it was all coming apart; the whole world was dying.”

The Civil War has dragged on for three long years. General Stonewall Jackson is dead and there is no end in sight for the conflict that has ripped apart families and destroyed friendships. The Confederate Army has crossed into Pennsylvania and is on the brink of exhaustion. A chance encounter of Confederate scouts and Union cavalry bring the two armies rushing towards one another, to converge upon a little town called Gettysburg. The next three days bring fire and flesh together in what some call the decisive battle of the war, vanquishing the might of one side and raising up the other.

Growing up in Canada I knew only the very basics of the American Civil War and had only heard of Gettysburg and the blood that was spilled there. I always imagined it was on a promontory and that the Confederates were massacred to a man. I had assumed the issue of slavery was the entire cause of the war. I could not have been more wrong. What I didn’t know was many states had already seceded from the Union and that the Emancipation Proclamation was signed after the war started. I assumed the victory of the Union was an open and shut case. Instead I was surprised to see how close the South came to winning. And I was fascinated to see how one tiny detail could change so much about an event: If only Ewell had taken that hill; if only Stuart had showed up; if only Lee had listened to Longstreet.

Each chapter is from the pov of a character from the war. Shaara provides their thoughts and fears, their strong sense of duty and their opinion of others. He gives us both sides of the war and by allowing us into the minds of these men, we learn to identify and sympathize with both the Union and the Confederacy soldiers as we’re meant to. After all, they were simply men following orders. In fact, Shaara manages to increase the tension by alternating chapters between the North and South. The reader may know everything but the two armies only have half the information. While reading I even started to have favourites on both the North and South side: Lee, the Chamberlain brothers, Armistead, Burton, Longstreet; I willed them to live, worried about them and felt rather motherly towards these men whom I’d never met and who had lived and died in another century, far separated from my own.

You also really sense the passage of time throughout the book. The story only takes place over four days but you feel every hour, you experience the slow inevitable drawing together of these two armies, you wait for the battle just as they do. The world was more patient and slow moving in those days but Shaara has made the action immediate. You feel as if you’re right there with them, holding a rifle, hunkered down against a rock, trying not to get shot. And the language! This book is a feast. The lyric lines, the description, the images he creates and the profound thoughts and words by these men are sumptuous and a joy to read. I once claimed ”The Red Badge of Courage” was the most poetic book I’d read about war but ”Killer Angels” has taken its place. Shaara manages to keep the words from getting in the way of the story and what words they are!

Prior to this I’d never read anything about the Civil War and I’m not sure anything else will ever measure up. The book won a rightly-deserve Pulitzer Prize in 1975 and if you looking for a book about Gettysburg that focuses more on the people than the schematics, this is story is for you.(less)

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Jan 03, 2012

Ted rated it

Shelves: lit-american, history-civil-war, favs-read-more-than-once, historical-fiction, fiction-of-wartimes

I've read the book twice, it is a very moving historical novel.

The Killer Angels purports to relate the thoughts and motivations of the leaders in the battle of Gettysburg, as well as the details of all the crucial actions across the battlefield over three days, as experienced by the leaders and soldiers. Of particular interest are the depictions of the Confederate leaders (Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, et al). Longstreet is presented as arguing against the decision by Lee to take the ...more

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Dec 06, 2011

Allyson rated it

Shelves: book-club

This is definitely not a book I would have picked myself but it was a book club choice and I reluctantly started it. Once I got through the confusion of who was on which side I found myself engrossed in the story. After reading this book your interest in the civil war will definitely be piqued. I now want to visit Gettysburg and have already borrowed the move “Gettysburg”! I loved how Shaara was able to portray the real personalities and feelings of the major players during the three day bat...more

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Nov 24, 2011

Christine rated it

Shelves: 2011-reads

This summer a friend and I were trying to decide on a destination for a short trip. We knew it had to be reasonably close, because we only had what amounted to an extended weekend but it also had to be far enough to make it seem like a mini vacation. We were suffering from a terrible case of the "been there, done thats" when my friend mentioned a long time desire to visit Gettysburg. A desire brought on by playing a video game of all things. Although I had no overwhelming desire to vis...more

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Oct 28, 2011

Lucy rated it

I was in Maryland when I read this. I thought I was going to be going to Gettysburg and wanted to know more before I went. (As it turned out, I never made it.) As historical fiction, this is a good introduction for learning about the Civil War... not as dry and pedantic as a textbook. Even though there were lots of simple drawn maps, they weren't enough for me. I would have liked photos of the terrain to help me picture the scenes. The story is told mostly from the point of a few of the pa...more

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Oct 19, 2011

Lillie rated it

I liked this book for the historic value, but I was not so much into how confused I felt the whole time I was reading it. Perhaps I am slow, and don't know my American history very well, but I usually don't have this much trouble following what's going on. I appreciated the maps that are throughout the book!!! But still felt like I was missing too much.
It is always hard to read about war, especially from the leaders points of view. The first half of the book lacked human feeling. The sold...more

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Oct 07, 2011

Juan Levario rated it

The book is quiet interesting it takes place during the civil war specifically, The Battle of Gettysburg. The book moves back and forth between characters, in other words back and forth confederecy and union armies and what the generals and soldiers are expieriencing. Lee the Confederate army Major General leaves matters or war more up to General Longstreet who seems to be more of the back bone of the Confederacy. Longstreet moves north into Philadelphia and doesn't know the position of the Unio...moreThe book is quiet interesting it takes place during the civil war specifically, The Battle of Gettysburg. The book moves back and forth between characters, in other words back and forth confederecy and union armies and what the generals and soldiers are expieriencing. Lee the Confederate army Major General leaves matters or war more up to General Longstreet who seems to be more of the back bone of the Confederacy. Longstreet moves north into Philadelphia and doesn't know the position of the Union army, which seems to be his biggest problem, until a spy or scout informs him of the positioning of the Union army and how close they are to his own army. Longstreet surprised at this decides to mobolize his troops and go to Gettysburg.
Gamberlin, a Union general, has to deal with the 20th maine men, who after thier regimant dispanded, are now reluctant to fight. Chamberlin then tries to reason with the men and see if they want to fight and gives them a speech on what they are fighting for and that's thier freedom. The General finally gets through to them and a large majority of the men are given guns and join them for the fight, as they also march to Gettysburg... Buford, a general from the calvary sent to scout for Reynolds, gets to Gettysburg first only to encounter a small and rustic town the had been over ran by Confederates. As Buford advances on to Gettysburg in the distance he can see Confederate soldiers retreating at the sight of the Union scouting group.Buford sees the land he is standing and comes to a conclusion that theres no better land to fight on than the one they are standing on and he decides to stand his ground at Gettysburg for the final showdown; and hold them off as long as possible until the infantry arrives at Gettysburg as reinforcements.
I really enjoy this book because it takes place with in a three day period so you dont need to know much about the time frame and allows you to focus more on the details, like who the main characters are and what makes them so important. This book also catches my attention because it switches points of views between Confederates and Union officers. It allows you to read the actions and reactions in response to one anothers actions, so you don't have to ask yourself the painful question, I wonder what they/he/she thinks?? The book is also very entertaining because the unexpected happens and it keeps you as a reader on the edge of your seat.
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Aug 23, 2011

Jason Golomb rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, civil-war

I've lived in the Washington D.C. area for most of my life and Virginia for the last 16. I love history, but the U.S. Civil War never really held my interest. I live only minutes from the great battlefields that dot the landscape surrounding D.C., and Gettysburg is only a 90-minute drive away, but it was completely off my personal radar.

One week ago, my wife who teaches sixth grade took our family north, just over the Maryland border into Pennsylvania to see the hallowed Gettysburg gro...more

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About Michael Shaara

Michael Shaara (June 23, 1928 - May 5, 1988) was an American writer of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to Italian immigrant parents (the family name was originally spelled Sciarra, which in Italian is pronounced the same way) in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University in 1951, and served as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne division prior to th...more

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“There's nothing so much like a god on earth as a General on a battlefield.” — 11 people liked it

“The thing about the heart was that you could not coax it or force it, as you could any other disease. Will power meant nothing.” — 5 people liked it

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