Killer Angels

The Killer Angels

Michael Shaara's book, The Killer Angels is a historical fiction of the Battle of Gettysburg, told from the point of view of various Union and Confederate officers who played a significant role in it. One of the best features of the book is Shaara's ability to manipulate one's emotions. One finds them self-cheering for both the Union and the Confederate armies at the same time. One becomes attached to the character personalities and thus makes it all the more difficult to be excited when a victory for either side occurs. Shaara pulls the reader into the story, one seems to actually hear the roaring of the cannon and experience the summer heat of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg, fought July 1-4, 1863, was America's Armageddon, the single, blazing moment when the Civil War's central issue, one nation, or two, was decided. What happened is well known. After a smashing win in May 1863 at Chancellorsville, Virginia, Robert E. Lee became set on dealing...