Gods and Generals
by Jeff Shaara
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jeff ShaaraEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-04-29
ISBN: 0345422473
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of Gods and Generals
Book Review: How did we 5 Stars
.....get into such a mess? Actually, that question is approached [not answered; it will never be answered] elsewhere. The Civil War was NOT the fault of the Generals. In Jeff Shaara's prequel to his Dad's "The Killer Angels", the story is, once again, told from the viewpoint of leaders from each side...these men did not want war, and none of them wanted to see the Union broken. All were men of the same time, but of a different place....that was the problem. Winfield Scott Hancock had real feelings of friendship for Lewis Armistead. Robert E. Lee's decision to follow Virginia was not made lightly [and had the Virginia Secession Convention voted to stay in the Union, the war would have been totally different, with Lee leading the North with a clear conscience].This history of the Civil War up to Chancellorsville is essentially accurate. It isn't "Lee's Lieutenants", but Mr. Shaara has never claimed to be Dr. Freeman. Lee and Hancock were career Army men who had seen promotion pass them by, stuck in a system where leaders were usually in place for life...Chamberlain did his duty, which always seemed to push him center stage...Stonewall Jackson was a misfit with one supreme talent; he knew how to fight...Longstreet was a genius far ahead of his time; the first twentieth century general, fighting the last eighteenth century war. [Bragg and Beauregard were twentieth century officers, too, but they aren't in the book]. McClellan was certainly not the idiot that history has painted him, but Pope and Hooker were. JEB Stuart had flash and style, and he knew how to lead...Hood and Pickett were as different as two men could ever be, but both were fine Generals.
As I said, this is not profound academic history; it's a novel. Still, it's accurate...I don't think I found any real errors of fact. Mr. Sharra has given us realistic portraits of Armistead and Hancock's differing views of duty, Chamberlain's clear-sighted patriotism, Longstreet's frustration, Lee's agony, Jackson's ???...Stonewall was a devout Christian, and a great fighter; my fellow Confederates consider me a heretic for my opinion of Jackson's mental stability, but I stand by it. Maybe the South would have won had Stonewall lived....but, see my review of "The Killer Angels". The cameos of Albert Sidney Johnston and Winfield Scott are certainly true to life.
If you want deep study, go elsewhere; the supply of good, bad, and indifferent books on our Civil War is endless. Look at my other reviews, and you will find books of interest to only a few people on earth. This fine novel is for the other 99.99999% of the population...if you want a good, honest, well-written, basic overview, start right here.
Summary of Gods and Generals
The heartbreaking saga of the years preceding The Killer Angels"SHAARA'S BEAUTIFULLY SENSITIVE NOVEL DELVES DEEPLY in the empathetic realm of psycho-history, where enemies do not exist--just mortal men forced to make crucial decisions and survive on the same battlefield. . . . [He] succeeds with his historical novel through fully realized characters who were forced to decide their loyalties amid the horrors of their dividing nation."
--San Francisco Chronicle
In a prequel of sorts to his father Michael Shaara's 1974 epic novel The Killer Angels, Jeff Shaara explores the lives of Generals Lee, Hancock, Jackson and Chamberlain as the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg approaches. Shaara captures the disillusionment of both Lee and Hancock early in their careers, Lee's conflict with loyalty, Jackson's overwhelming Christian ethic and Chamberlain's total lack of experience, while illustrating how each compensated for shortcomings and failures when put to the test. The perspectives of the four men, particularly concerning the battles at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, make vivid the realities of war.
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