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srash 's review for:
The Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara
I first read this book for a class on the Civil War a few years ago, but I didn't remember much about it beyond liking it. So, I decided to revisit it recently.
It's an excellent piece of historical fiction that does a great job of bringing real historical figures to light and remaining historically accurate while also doing a good job of telling a story. (A lot of historical fiction, in my opinion, works really well as history or really well as fiction, but it's rare for a book to do both well.)
Another thing I think it does well is bringing out the idea of the Civil War as being about brother against brother but without it literally being about brothers. I remember being in 4th grade and reading several children's Civil War books for a unit we did on the Civil War. Every single book we read about it featured two brothers on the other side, and it always just seemed so ham-fisted to me, even as a 9 year old. I knew even then that that happened during the Civil War, but I always felt like the way it was approached in fiction was overly melodramatic. So, I really like the way Shaara focuses on it through the viewpoint of officers who served with each other for many years and have dear friends on the other side. I thought it made the book quite poignant and heartbreaking.
Oh and if you read the book, you just have an excuse to watch or rewatch the movie based on it (another favorite of mine)--Gettysburg! :)
It's an excellent piece of historical fiction that does a great job of bringing real historical figures to light and remaining historically accurate while also doing a good job of telling a story. (A lot of historical fiction, in my opinion, works really well as history or really well as fiction, but it's rare for a book to do both well.)
Another thing I think it does well is bringing out the idea of the Civil War as being about brother against brother but without it literally being about brothers. I remember being in 4th grade and reading several children's Civil War books for a unit we did on the Civil War. Every single book we read about it featured two brothers on the other side, and it always just seemed so ham-fisted to me, even as a 9 year old. I knew even then that that happened during the Civil War, but I always felt like the way it was approached in fiction was overly melodramatic. So, I really like the way Shaara focuses on it through the viewpoint of officers who served with each other for many years and have dear friends on the other side. I thought it made the book quite poignant and heartbreaking.
Oh and if you read the book, you just have an excuse to watch or rewatch the movie based on it (another favorite of mine)--Gettysburg! :)