The Killer Angels...random thoughts

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.

Truth be told, I did not want to read this book. I made myself read it, because I wanted Annie to read it for homeschooling. Why was I so afraid of it? I think I feared it was going to be very dry, and full of talk of weapons and tactics and strategy. I honestly don't mind reading about war, but I get really bogged down when a book starts getting into all the minutia of a particular battle. I don't know squat about weapons, and my eyes tend to glaze over if book goes into too much detail on that front. But there most definitely are some unbelievably fabulous books with the theme of war, both fiction and non-fiction. And you know what...I discovered this is most definitely one of them! (By the way, had I realized before I started reading it, that this was the book that the movie Gettysburg was based on, I wouldn't have had any reservations at all. Love that movie!)

Anyway, it's not that this book doesn't mention weapons and tactics and strategy, but those things are not the focus of the book. Nor is the focus of the book the causes of the American Civil War. It's not that these things are ignored, they're simply not the backbone of this book. No, this book is about people. About the individuals, the officers involved in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Michael Shaara writes in a letter to the reader:

You may find it a different story from the one you learned in school. There have been many versions of that battle and that war. I have therefore avoided historical opinions and gone back primarily to the words of the men themselves, their letters and other documents.

And the story that emerged from his efforts is a powerful one. As I read, I wasn't judging the men as "right" or "wrong" as is so easy to do when you're reading about war. No, I was too busy admiring these men, for their bravery, for their loyalty, not necessarily to a cause but to the men who served beneath them, for their sheer and honest humanness. These were men being torn apart by this war. In some cases, men forced to fight against their dearest friends. Men knowing they must follow orders, despite knowing the disaster that lie ahead.

Highly recommend it.

*****

If you have reviewed this book, feel free to leave a link in the comments and I'll add it here. Thanks.

*****

Read for:

Homeschooling.


Book Awards II. (Pulitzer Prize 1975)