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Killer Angels
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The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is an outstanding fictional depiction of the Battle of Gettysburg, the day leading up to it, and the people involved in it during July of 1863. Shaara tells the book in third person through the usage of each of the main characters’ personal experiences and descriptive emotions before and during the tragic event. This allows the reader to grasp the situation unlike in any other Civil War book; that is, through the eyes of those who experienced it. It is no surprise that at the beginning of the novel the confederate army is content with the direction they are going. Up to this point they have completely beaten back the North by beating them in battles fought on their land (in the South). With Robert E. Lee as their general, the South is confident that they are invincible. When Lee receives news of the Union army’s plans from a spy, he quickly devises a plan to strike his opposing side at Gettysburg: a town on the northern side in South Pennsylvania. This will mark the first time his army fights offensively in the North. There is however, opposition to his decision. Immediately, due to Shaara's detailed description of each character at the beginning of the book, it is understood who will oppose Lee and why. James Longstreet, second in command, is a sad, overly cautious man, grieving over the deaths of his three children who died the winter previous due to fever. From the moment Lee makes the decision to attack the offensive side Longstreet opposes Lee. Longstreet is concerned with the well being of his men and feels that attacking the Union's army on their ground is a huge mistake. Without Shaara's brilliant description it would not be apparent why Longstreet would oppose Lee so much. They are both men seemingly fighting for the same cause. It would only seem natural that they agree on everything. Shaara steps in and puts us into the mind frame of each character by giving us information on their past and explaining their inner most thoughts. This makes the book far more apprehensible and insightful than any simple civil war book or history textbook.
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