Gold Mine Processing Associate, Peter Matschek, recommends The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.
The Killer Angels is about the Battle of Gettysburg. It recreates the battle as seen from a variety of viewpoints, from the generals who devised the strategy, down to the grunts who did the actual fighting.
You also experience the battle from both sides, with Robert E. Lee and General James Longstreet for the South and Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and General Winfield Hancock of the North getting most of the attention.
This book is different from previous books on Gettysburg in that it doesn’t just state the facts of the battle; it tells the story of the men, from their points of view, their thoughts and feelings.
It puts you in the battle.
You also learn about the friendships between the generals on both sides as they went to West Point and fought in the Mexican War together, but the Civil War left them on opposite sides.
This book started my love affair for historical fiction novels that continues to this day. Not knowing much about this battle, this book gives you the details as they happened. I didn’t have any interest in the battles of the Civil War since I am from Oregon and those battles took place far away, but after reading this book, I became interested, so much so that I read the rest of the trilogy that was finished by the author’s son: “Gods and Generals” and “The Last Full Measure.
