Brief description:
The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara's classic Civil War novel about the men who led the fight at
the Battle of Gettysburg, was a major literary event, winning the Pulitzer Prize, becoming a
bestseller, and selling more than two million copies. Now, in Gods and Generals, Jeff Shaara carries forward his fathers vision in an epic story that traces the lives, passions, and careers of these great military leaders from the first gathering clouds of the Civil War.
Here is Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a hopelessly by-the-book military instructor and devout
Christian. His fierce exterior hides a compassionate soul that few-students and soldier alike - will never see,and he becomes the greatest commander of the Civil 'War. We follow Winfield Scott Hancock, a Captain of Quartermasters who is assigned command of a brigade of infantry, quickly establishing himself as one of the finest leaders in the Union army. Then there is Joshua Chamberlain, who gives up his promising academic career to volunteer for service in the new army, only to become one of the most heroic soldiers in American history. And here too is a brilliant portrait of the complex, aristocratic Robert E. Lee, who is faced with the agonizing decision of resigning from a distinguished thirty- year army career in order to defend his home, never believing until too
late that a civil war would never truly come to pass.
As the war gathers momentum, Stonewall Jackson wins his reputation by a series of stinging victories over ineptly led Union forces. Lee, finally given command of the Confederate forces, recognizes that this strange devout, and dangerous man is his greatest weapon. For a time, it truly seems as if God is on their side and that Lee will lead his army to final victory against
overwhelming odds. Nowhere is this plainer than at the Battle of Fredericksburg, where, for the first time, all four men meet on the same field and experience the exhilaration and raw horror of battle from four very different points of view.
But it is in the next great fight, the Battle of Chancellorsville, that Lee's brilliant strategy, and
Jackson's supreme achievement, are over-shadowed when Jackson is mortally wounded by his own men. This loss is the true turning point of the war. Lee now realizes that against the ever growing numbers of Union forces, he can only win by a direct threat to Washington. So the
battle-hardened armies of the Confederacy begin their fateful invasion of the North, toward an obscure crossroads in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg.
the Battle of Gettysburg, was a major literary event, winning the Pulitzer Prize, becoming a
bestseller, and selling more than two million copies. Now, in Gods and Generals, Jeff Shaara carries forward his fathers vision in an epic story that traces the lives, passions, and careers of these great military leaders from the first gathering clouds of the Civil War.
Here is Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a hopelessly by-the-book military instructor and devout
Christian. His fierce exterior hides a compassionate soul that few-students and soldier alike - will never see,and he becomes the greatest commander of the Civil 'War. We follow Winfield Scott Hancock, a Captain of Quartermasters who is assigned command of a brigade of infantry, quickly establishing himself as one of the finest leaders in the Union army. Then there is Joshua Chamberlain, who gives up his promising academic career to volunteer for service in the new army, only to become one of the most heroic soldiers in American history. And here too is a brilliant portrait of the complex, aristocratic Robert E. Lee, who is faced with the agonizing decision of resigning from a distinguished thirty- year army career in order to defend his home, never believing until too
late that a civil war would never truly come to pass.
As the war gathers momentum, Stonewall Jackson wins his reputation by a series of stinging victories over ineptly led Union forces. Lee, finally given command of the Confederate forces, recognizes that this strange devout, and dangerous man is his greatest weapon. For a time, it truly seems as if God is on their side and that Lee will lead his army to final victory against
overwhelming odds. Nowhere is this plainer than at the Battle of Fredericksburg, where, for the first time, all four men meet on the same field and experience the exhilaration and raw horror of battle from four very different points of view.
But it is in the next great fight, the Battle of Chancellorsville, that Lee's brilliant strategy, and
Jackson's supreme achievement, are over-shadowed when Jackson is mortally wounded by his own men. This loss is the true turning point of the war. Lee now realizes that against the ever growing numbers of Union forces, he can only win by a direct threat to Washington. So the
battle-hardened armies of the Confederacy begin their fateful invasion of the North, toward an obscure crossroads in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg.
Publication
Ballantine Books (1998)
Series
Original publication date
1996-7
Collection
Physical description
417 p.