Customer Reviews

Gods and Generals: A Novel

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Since there have already been over 210 reviews of this book, I will not go into details of the book itself, but my impressions.

I did not know much about the details of the Civil War before reading this excellent book by Jeff Shaara. Shaara truly brings the details of the war and the people who fought it to vivid life, painting detailed visual pictures with his rich prose. This may be historical "fiction", but Shaara gets into the heads of his characters and gives the reader insights into the Civil War that could never be learned from a textbook. Shaara does this so well, letting the reader know what his main characters are thinking and feeling as they participate in history. Even though the book is 500 pages, it is still an absorbing read that holds one's interest to the very last page. You will not be disappointed in this book. Not only will you learn the details of the Civil War, but you will enjoy every minute doing it!

I am watching Ken Burn's DVD series on the Civil War as I read Shaara's book, and I find it to be a complementary souce to Shaara's "Gods and Generals"; Burn's series providing the framework, and Sharra filling in the personal details.

I look forward to reading the next two books in this series. If they are as good as this one, and I'm sure they will be, I will have many pleasent hours of reading and learning ahead.

If you are interested in the Civil War and want a place to start, I highly recommend "Gods and Generals".

Jim Konedog Koenig

You may be aware or indeed unaware that Jeff Shaara, the author of `Gods and Generals' is the son of the late Michael Shaara who in turn is the author of `The Killer Angels' which is acknowledged as one of the best civil war novels written. `Gods and Generals' is very much a prequel to `Killer Angels', describing the war up until the battle of Gettysburg (the subject matter of `Killer Angels').

While `Killer Angels' is indeed a wonderful civil war novel I feel to continuously mention both books in the same sentence does each a dis-service. Jeff and Michael Shaara, although father and son, are different people and consequently different authors. Thus to review `Gods and Generals' from the shadow of `Killer Angels' is not something I wish to do here. Therefore this is a review of `Gods and Generals' as a stand-alone novel.

First time author Michael Shaara has written an excellent account of both the pre-war and early war years. The novel offers an insight into the lives and motivations of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson of the Confederacy and Winfield Scott Hancock and Joshua Chamberlain of the Union. Shaara uses the experiences of these men in a skilful manner to elaborate and expand on the politics and events that occurred during the years 1858 to 1863. In doing so he is able to bring these four into contact with many figures that played a role in the war; Longstreet, Davis, Hooker, Burnside and so on. The result is a believable and comprehensive account that enables the reader to stay closely involved with the decision-makers of the war. Shaara is also able to write convincingly of the internal beliefs and philosophies that motivated individuals to take up arms against their fellow Americans.

At times I would have liked a little more detail regarding the early battles of the war. However, the accounts of Second Manassas and in particular Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville and extremely well written, deep in detail and convincing in action.

Jeff Shaara is a talented writer, not only with regards to battles but also with reference to emotions. I found his account of Jackson's deathbed to be as moving and respectful as his battle scenes were exciting and horrific.

I recommend this book to you and encourage you to read it not as an add on to `The Killer Angels' but as an excellent civil war novel in it's own right.

Jeff Shaara does a credible job mining his father's field: the novelization of civil war leaders critical to the Battle of Gettysburg.

His characters are well rounded in this prequal that covers the years before 1863. I particularly enjoyed his treatment of Gen. Hancock. The dialog is believable and his characters never seem out of character to those familiar with the historical accounts of the same men.

It's an interesting book that gets beyond the history of the early Civil War. It lets the reader feel that they are witness to a plausible behind the scenes treatment of men compelled and called upon to do terrible things in support of their vision of America.

I would rate this a notch below "The Killer Angles." That was such a superb book in my mind that the son's book still merits mention as a very enjoyable read.

I purchased Jeff Shaara's "Gods and Generals" at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a year before I cracked its spine. When I did, I was on my way to a military operational research symposium in England. I'm sorry I waited so long.

"Gods and Generals" is a slam-bang precursor to his father's "Killer Angels," and I for one am hard-pressed to say which I enjoyed more. True, the father and son have written historical novels -- but what history! What great stories!

For the first time readers are given an impression, a direct feel, for the personal, psychological and behavioral bent of the main characters in this drama of the American Civil War. I only wish that the son had addressed Buford in his work.

I've walked the battlefields of Fredericksburg and the Wilderness. Jeff Shaara brings them to life, and tells a compelling tale of the principle actors on those bloody stages.

The religious fervor Shaara imputes to the commanders, particularly Jackson and Lee, is a commentary on the war fervor of the South in general. How could one fight to dissolve the Union without God on one's side?

If you have read "Killer Angels" then you must read "Gods and Generals." If you have not, then read "Gods and Generals" first, then immediately go to the father's work.

Enjoy.

My first love is Scottish History, but since I was raised on both sides of the pond, I grew to have a great love for the complexities of the War Between the States in the US. So, it was great pleasure I read this book.

Shaara, in this case Jeff, the son of Michael, had a hard act to follow. His father was the author of Pulitzer Prize Winning Killer Angels (1974). Killer Angels looked at the high watermark of the Confederacy which ended with the battle of Gettysburg. That was the single most important event of the whole War Between the States, in a war that shaped the United States. It gave such insight, such reality into the horror, the glory, the humanity and inhumanity of war, of Generals Lee, Hancock, Pickett and Chamberlain. Shaara's words brought alive the battle and made you feel it all, the anticipation, the frustration, the fear and the anger.

In Gods and Generals, Jeff picks up his father's pen and gives you another masterpiece. Though father and son, both have a different writing voices. Jeff picks up the threads of what happened before Gettysburg, a prequel to his father's award winning novel, giving you insight into the men facing what would be their hardest trial. He again centres on the driven Lee, the bumbling Chamberlain, the dashing Hancock, but we also see Jackson, the man who could march his men 40 miles in a day and then fight a battle, one of the most efficient Generals of the whole war on either side, yet overwhelming a religious man. What interested me most, was his portrait of Lee, his dedication to the Confederacy winning and yet the pain of being torn by his loyalty to the Union army he once served and likely of which he would have been General had he not resigned his commission.

A tour de force for a first time writer.

A recent visit to Civil War sites in Virginia prompted me to begin this first volume of the Shaara Civil War trilogy. I read the middle volume years ago, by Jeff Shaara's father, Michael, shortly after it won the Pulitzer but was frankly skeptical of the ability of Jeff to fill his father's shoes. While I was generally pleased with the book and very glad to have read it, I came away with a few disappointments.

Shaara's historical research and accuracy are outstanding. I was fascinated with the stories of these four generals, Chamberlain and Hancock, Lee and Jackson, and how converging tracks lead them eventually to Gettysburg. But I was somewhat disappointed with a narrative style that resulted in often wooden conversations. Were these individuals really that formal? Were their interactions always so wooden?

Interestingly I found the postcript to be the most fascinating part of the book. I was amazed to learn of the fates of these key players in the years following the Civil War. Many of these men ran for (and sometimes won) public office and the stories of their wives is equally fascinating.

Will I go on to read book number three in the trilogy? Absolutely. There are no perfect books but there are some awfully good stories. This was a good one and it left me wanting more.

Gods and Generals is a wonderful combination of fact and fiction. That was extremely helpful to me because it provided me with a lot of information about the first half of the Civil War without boring me to death. The setting is in the United States (mostly Virginia but there are a few seens elswhere) from just before the Civil War to the end of the battle of Chancellorsville. This includes such battles as Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, Antietam, and a brief acount of Bull Run. It also gives you the third person prospective of union Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, union Lt. Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, confederate General Robert E. Lee, and confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson. The only person who tops Jeff Sharra in writing about the Civil War is his father Michael Sharra in The Killer Angels.

Gods and Generals is fantastic! I am in love with this book. I am in love with Generals Lee, Jackson, and Hancock. Jeff Shaara made every character a real, human person that the reader comes to know. He made all the events and battles realistic and you feel like you are there with the men, watching from above.

Shaara's writing style is engaging and enveloping; from the very beginning it just sweeps you along. This book even made me cry.

I highly recommend Gods and Generals. I even like it better than The Killer Angels, which is also a wonderful novel. They work really well together.

Jeff Shaara was absolutely brilliant in the making of this book. His breathtaking ways of making the reader feel as if one was on the battlefield is spectacular. Personally, I feel that history can be boring at times, but Mr. Shaara makes it a vivid scene. Gods and Generals is a compelling and fascinating history book of the Civil War.
Gods and Generals was sectioned off into chapters of the leading figures of the Civil War, and their views on what was happening. Such as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, a professor who taught at Maine's Bowdoin College who gave up a promising academic career to enlist in the Union army, then later went on to become one of the North's finest military leaders. Also an important figure for the North was Winfield Scott Hancock, a tremendous leader who was indispensable in any task appointed to him. Serving the South as probably the most essential general for them is General Robert E. Lee, who is forced to choose between allegiance to his country and loyalty to his home state, Virginia. As well as Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a religious man with past fighting experience in Mexico. Thriving on the heat of battle, Jackson played a significant role in this book and in the Civil War. Although Jeff Shaara talks a lot about the grueling and the pain that went out into the battlefields of the war, he also tells the story of the wives and families who were forced to assume responsibility at home. Resulting in the stunning Battle of Chancellorsville, Gods and Generals was very fascinating and gave me a much better idea on the Civil War.
Gods and Generals kept me wanting to read on and on, it is definitely the most interesting history book I have ever read. Jeff Shaara is a very passionate writer and takes pride in his work. I suggest that if one wants to get a lot of information on the Civil War but still be entertained and over the age of twelve, read Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara.

In "Gods and Generals" Jeff Shaara follows up on his fabulous "The Last Full Measure," filling in the trilogy of civil war novels that includes his father's classic "The Killer Angels." Where "The Killer Angels" detailed the battle of Gettysburg and "The Last Full Measure" picks up Robert E. Lee's trail and follows him all the way to Appomattox, "Gods and Generals" chronicles some of the key Civil War events leading up to Gettysburg.

This is an odd way to complete a trilogy: write the first story last, the middle story first, and the last story second, but at least readers aren't required to read them in that order--and I suggest they don't. I recommend reading the stories in sequence with the war: "Gods" first, "Angels" second, and then the "Measure." One reason is the simple logic of following the natural progression of the characters and the war. Another is that in that order the writing goes from good to great. Reading the books in reverse order can lead to letdown.

While "Gods and Generals" is an excellent primer to the subsequent volumes, it is not on the same literary level. Shaara introduces the main characters, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, and a few key Union players in the war in the East, i.e., Hancock and Chamberlain, and follows their exploits from Bull Run I (Manassas) through the Peninsular Campaign, Jackson's 1862 Shenandoah campaign, Antietam (Sharpsburg), Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. He glosses over the early fights and builds tension by providing more detail of each subsequent battle, mostly won by the underdog but aggressive and brilliantly led rebels. Most of his specific battle-scene descriptions center on Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, where Stonewall Jackson receives his fatal friendly-fire wound. But for those who loved "Angels" for its detailed account of the Gettysburg battle, this book will be unsatisfying; the individual battles do not receive enough attention. For those who were moved by the climactic drama and powerful evocative writing in "Measure," this book will seem flat, uninspired, and aimless. On its own, the ending tends to fizzle out to nothing. Of course, it's not on its own, and was never intended to be. It is a strong foundation for one of the best historical war novel trilogies of all time. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of BIG ICE and WAKE UP DEAD.