It won the Pulitzer Prize, was made into a movie("Gettysburg"), and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf has given it his mark ofapproval - The Killer Angels may be the best war novel of alltime.
Although it is historical fiction, The Killer Angels centers aroundthe Battle of Gettysburg, which, of course, really took place. While the strategyof the battle is factual, the dialogue is fictitious. With many maps andwell-written text, it i s easy to follow.
Knowing the outcome of thethree-day battle doesn't make the book any less a classic. I learned a lot aboutthe generals' strategies and the mistakes that led to the Confederates' downfall.The action is fast-paced, but the book isn't all action. Many chapters explainthe strategy and although some may consider these sections weak, they reallyaren't. They explain the battle and the human side of the war. I also learnedabout the causes of the Civil War - slavery was not the only one.
Theprimary characters of The Killer Angels are Generals Robert E. Lee and GeorgeMead. Time is also devoted to Generals Buford, Longstreet, Chamberlain andPickett. The colonels get some attention, but not as much as the generals.
Each chapter is named for one of the generals and follows him and hismen, so some of the fighting is seen through the eyes of the South and somethrough the eyes of the North. This makes the battles easy to understand, sinceyou know who is fighting whom.
Anyone who wants to find out more aboutthe Civil War will enjoy this fantastic and informative book, and I believe it isimportant that we all learn about that time in our country's history. This reallyis one of the greatest novels of all time.
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