The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War

I devoured this book in just a few days. I've not read anything quite like it before. I do wish the book spent a little more time ‘in the trenches' so to speak. It focuses entirely on the relatively high up officers which is great for giving a good idea of the flow of the battle but it does mostly gloss over the brutality of the battle.

I have to admit I wasn't looking forward to reading this. I'd put it on my list because it won a Pulitzer, but it's a war book, and a book about the Civil War in particular, so I did not have high hopes. But it turns out not only is it a fantastic read, it was also a reminder of why historical fiction is a genre worth prioritizing. Lately, when facing a choice between a history and historical fiction, I've opted much more often for the former than the latter. Why not learn about what actually happened? But historical fiction like this really endeavors to put you in the heads of the people who lived through these events, providing not just context but a sympathetic and deeply felt look at what it might have actually been like to experience. Shaara's book follows the leadership of the Battle of Gettysburg on both sides, revealing them as complicated people tied to each other through sticky webs of loyalty and friendship both within each side and across the battlefield. There's some actual battle stuff, of course, but it's very much a book about people, and it succeeds on a character level, a plot level, and a prose level.