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THE KILLER ANGELS b y M ichael S haara
S teve F lanagan
T he t ide o f l~erica's g reat a nd v icious s truggle, t he C ivil
W ar, t urned o n a h ot a nd s ultry J uly a fternoon i n 1 863 j ust o utside
a q uiet P ennsylvania f armtown c alled G ettysburg.
I n a nd a round
t he h ills a nd f ields t here t wo h uge a rmies s tumbled o nto e ach o ther
l ike a ngry d inosaurs a nd c lashed. F or t hree d ays t he f ate o f t he
U nion i tself h ung b y a t hread u ntil t he o utcome o f t he b attle w as
d ecided b y a l ast, v ain, t erribly c ostly c harge t hat h as b ecome
f amous i n f olklore a nd h istory.
T he m omentous e vents t hat t ook p lace a t G ettysburg i n t hat s econa
s ummer o f c ivil w ar a re e xcellently relate~ i n M ichael S haara's
n ovel T he Ki~ler ~n gels. S haara t ells t he s tory o f t he m en w ho
p articipated a nd d irected t he a ction o n b oth s ides. He h as s ucceeded
i n s killfully w eaving t ogether t he h istorical e vents t hat h appened
w ith t he s ights, s mells, f ears a nd f eelings o f t he m an i n c ombat.
I ntroduced t o t he r eacer a re R obert E . L ee, t he r evered a nd
b rilliant t actician; J ames L ongstreet, a s ad m an w ho s truggles t o
e xecute o rders t hat h e k nows c annot s ucceed; J ohn B uford, t he U nion
c avalry c cmmander w ho p icked t he g round u pon w hich t he b attle w ould
b e d ecided; J oshua L awrence C hamberlain, a m an o f s ensitivity a nd
g reat b ravery, a nd m any o thers.
P erhaps t he b est t hing t hat S haara h as d one i n t his b ook i s t o
h elp u s t o e xperience w hat i t f eels l ike t o b e i n c ombat. W ar i s
s hown i n a ll i ts a spects o f s avagery, d eath, f ear, g lory a nd
f utility.
S haara i s a f ine s toryteller a nd t he b ook m aintains a s teady
p ace w ith n one o f t he l ulls t hat c an b e t he d eath o f a n ovel. A
n~~er o f c lear a nd s imple m aps a re i ncluded t hat m ake t he u nderstanding o f t he b attle m uch e asier.
I m ust a dmit t hat I h ad u nderestimated t he v alue o f n ovels i n
h elping o ne t o u nderstand h istorical e vents a nd t he p eople t hat m ake
t hem h appen. My s kepticism w as r ewardingly r elieved a fter a f ew
c hapters o f T he K iller A ngels. T he v ehicle S haara u ses· i s t he b attle
o f G ettysburg b ut t he b ook i s a bout p eople a nd i s h ighly r ecommended.
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Vol. 04, num. 3, Clio - 1977
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1977
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1pg
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Title
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THE KILLER ANGELS by Michael Shaara
Creator
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Steve Flanagan