Still, there is some validity in the point. The Killer Angels is decidedly old-fashioned. It has none of the cynicism or darkness of modern war novels. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is a pro-war book, but it embraces martial virtues with both its arms. In the world of The Killer Angels, when the characters aren’t thinking about duty, loyalty, and honor, they are giving speeches about it.

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. In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation’s history, two armies fight for two conflicting dreams. One dreams of freedom, the other of a way of life. More than rifles and bullets are carried into battle. The soldiers carry memories. Promises. Love. And more than men fall on those Pennsylvania fields. Bright futures, untested innocence, and pristine beauty are also the casualties of war. I am not really a fan of books about war. I have trouble envisioning the action and the maneuvers of the troops, and I find that I get lost in the details and just don't really care about the characters.One of my favorite historical fiction novels of ALL TIME. I read this with my 13 year-old son and 12 year-old daughter and it was amazing. My kids loved it just as much as I did. It was tight, character-driven, and dramatic. Imagine my surprise when my kids are discussing the virtues of Team Chamberlain (smart, honorable, thoughtful, a natural leader) VS Team Longstreet (Brilliant, ahead of his time, brooding, quiet). The novel form allows the writer to concentrate on specific scenes, as Shaara does well in "The Killer Angels", to a degree the historian cannot. The novel also allows the writer freedom to explore introspectively. The novelist may describe the thoughts of the protagonists to a degree that goes beyond the historical record. Sharra exploits this possibility to the utmost. He gives the reader interchanges between Lee and Longstreet, for example, that are entirely plausible, that make them come alive, and that cast great light upon their activities and motivations during the Battle. We see a great deal of Colonel Chamberlain, of course. The reader hears Sharra recreating Chamberlain's innermost thoughts and is encouraged to think about the making of a hero. The reading is great & makes the story really come alive. The only problem was that I didn't have a very good map of the area in my head, so I went looking for one. This map & explanation of day 1 & 2 is pretty good, but it requires you to sign up to go beyond that. I didn't. WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • After more than a quarter of a century and three million copies in print, Michael Shaara’s Civil War classic, The Killer Angels, remains as vivid and powerful as the day it was originally published. For the first time, the National Park Service allowed the motion picture industry to recreate and film battle scenes directly on the Gettysburg Battlefield, including scenes of Devil's Den and Little Round Top. However, much of the movie was shot at a nearby Adams County farm. Thousands of Civil War reenactors from across the country volunteered their time to come to Gettysburg to participate in the massive battle scenes.

It was Longstreet’s curse to see the thing clearly. He was a brilliant man who was slow in speech and slow to move and silent-faced as stone. He had not the power to convince.” Publication of The Killer Angels and release of the movie have had two significant influences on modern perceptions of the Civil War. First, the actions of Chamberlain and the 20th Maine Infantry on Little Round Top have achieved enormous public awareness. Visitors touring the Gettysburg Battlefield rank the 20th Maine monument as their most important stop. Second, since Shaara used the memoirs of General James Longstreet as a prime source for his history, the book has renewed the modern re-evaluation of Longstreet's reputation, damaged since the 1870s by the Lost Cause writers, such as Jubal A. Early. One of the most beautiful women ever to grace the silver screen, Hedy Lamarr also designed a secret weapon against Nazi Germany. Jubera, Drew (October 9, 1993). "Gettysburg Ted Turner, a cast of thousands and the ghosts of the past". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved April 28, 2022. Shaara also takes us into the minds of Union men like General John Buford who arrived at Gettysburg and realized the importance of deploying troops on the high ground against a superior Confederate force. He knew he had to hold out until reinforcements arrived. He’d done this before.

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The book is peppered with lyrical, powerful passages, but two stand out for me as particularly moving.