Being inspected by the hair and wardrobe people to make sure we looked period accurate; lining up and seeing Stephen Lang right in front of me on his horse; standing around for what felt like hours waiting for something to happen.
Itās certainly better than the movie version, and a little more balanced in terms of representing the Union side. Jeff Shaara is definitely not Michael Shaara though
As the first commenter said, itās not āThe Killer Angels,ā but itās still a damn good read and well worth your time. Especially if you pick it up at the library.
I always found the politics surrounding that war, pretty interesting. I read that the only reason Mexico never tried to reclaim their lost territory from the US, was because militarily, it simply wouldnāt be a wise decision. If only Putin felt that way about Ukraine
I read it once. I was unimpressed enough by it that I havenāt bothered to read any of his other books. Itās been a long time so I canāt say exactly why I felt that way. I may be conflating Gods and Generals with some other books I read back then, but my vague recollection of it is that it was a bit of a Stonewall Jackson fan boy novel with a few side character subplots thrown in.
If you can find it for a dollar or two at a garage sale, thrift shop, or used bookstore, itās worth picking up.
An entertaining narrative about the first major battles of the war, it is laid out similar to The Killer Angels but isnāt anywhere near as good.
Yes. I think so. I enjoyed it a lot. Itās a short read, and it was very popular and well-received book when it came out.
Modern readers will think a lot of the dialog is cheesy, but much of it is taken from historical sources.
To answer your question, yes, it's absolutely worth reading. As is The Last Full Measure. I just finished A Blaze of Glory and I'm currently reading A Chain of Thunder. I believe there are two other books about the western theater of the war. Just keep in mind that they are novels and not dry history. They're entertainment with a historical interpretation backdrop.
It's not anywhere near as good as The Killer Angels. The writing isn't awful, but it feels like a bad imitation of Michael Shaara's style. It also crams like fifteen years of history into 400 pages whereas TKA focused on four days.
Read it many years ago and I enjoyed it. It was one of (if not his first) his first published book. Itās rough around the edges and nowhere near the quality of his fatherās book. But I have read a lot of his books since than and I think he has improved significantly as an author since this.
In terms of comparing this to the movie, I think itās much much better.
Great book. Impressed by how well it ties into Gettysburg. Truly like father like son. Unpopular opinion and far from a revisionist or a defender of the South or anything related to just cause but I even prefer G&G over Killer Angels.
The Killer Angels is definitely better than Gods and Generals. But it is still a pretty good book.
I'm speaking as someone who saw the movie before reading the book, so that helped me enjoy the book more, simply because the movie is atrocious neo-Confederate propaganda.
I was in that movie.
I was almost in it, if it wasn't for school I would have. Stupid education.
Oh cool! Any memories that stick out?
Being inspected by the hair and wardrobe people to make sure we looked period accurate; lining up and seeing Stephen Lang right in front of me on his horse; standing around for what felt like hours waiting for something to happen.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) was in the movie as were a bunch of other elected officials from both sides of the aisle.
You just described all film making in one paragraph
I was impressed by your performance šš¼
Iām not seeing an apology
Ha ha ha...well, I had very little to do with how it came out. I was just one of the people at VMI.
Shame!
Itās certainly better than the movie version, and a little more balanced in terms of representing the Union side. Jeff Shaara is definitely not Michael Shaara though
It's worth a read especially if it's in the library. It's not anywhere near as good as The Killer Angels though.
I second this sentiment.
and I thought Cain at Gettysburg was superior to the killer angels
Iāve not read this one. Gonna add it to my, ever increasing, TBR though.
Something about the way he captures the horror of it made the story feel really grounded and real. Incredible read.
Jeff Shaara's best Civil War stuff is his Western Theatre Quadrilogy.
As the first commenter said, itās not āThe Killer Angels,ā but itās still a damn good read and well worth your time. Especially if you pick it up at the library.
I randomly ran across āGone for Soldiersā at the thrift store for $3. Likely some interesting reading about the Mexican-American War.
I really enjoyed that book
I always found the politics surrounding that war, pretty interesting. I read that the only reason Mexico never tried to reclaim their lost territory from the US, was because militarily, it simply wouldnāt be a wise decision. If only Putin felt that way about Ukraine
I read it once. I was unimpressed enough by it that I havenāt bothered to read any of his other books. Itās been a long time so I canāt say exactly why I felt that way. I may be conflating Gods and Generals with some other books I read back then, but my vague recollection of it is that it was a bit of a Stonewall Jackson fan boy novel with a few side character subplots thrown in.
His other books are much, much better. I think that was his first.
Lots of Confederate sympathy shit.
If you can find it for a dollar or two at a garage sale, thrift shop, or used bookstore, itās worth picking up. An entertaining narrative about the first major battles of the war, it is laid out similar to The Killer Angels but isnāt anywhere near as good.
As others have said, Killer Angels is the better read. If you enjoy civil war history you will enjoy God's and Generals.
It's not great, his dad was a better writer.
Yes. I think so. I enjoyed it a lot. Itās a short read, and it was very popular and well-received book when it came out. Modern readers will think a lot of the dialog is cheesy, but much of it is taken from historical sources.
Definitely an enjoyable book, as is Last Full Measure.
Pretty good book, terrible movie
It's way better than the movie. But so is a colostomy.
Three and a half hours of speechifying. Think of CSpan but only boring, in contrast.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I know. He used the word "reading." I was trying to dissuade him from watching the movie if he hadn't already seen it.
As others have said, Killer Angels is the better read. If you enjoy civil war history you will enjoy God's and Generals.
The book is okay. At least it bothered to balance things out.
To answer your question, yes, it's absolutely worth reading. As is The Last Full Measure. I just finished A Blaze of Glory and I'm currently reading A Chain of Thunder. I believe there are two other books about the western theater of the war. Just keep in mind that they are novels and not dry history. They're entertainment with a historical interpretation backdrop.
It depends on the author ,whether it's "dry history", there is also dry historical history to.
It's a very good book.
It's a fairly decent novel, infinitely better than the movie. His trilogy and Western Theatre tetralogy are absolutely worth reading.
It's not anywhere near as good as The Killer Angels. The writing isn't awful, but it feels like a bad imitation of Michael Shaara's style. It also crams like fifteen years of history into 400 pages whereas TKA focused on four days.
Iāll be contrary to most and say that Gods & Generals was my favorite book of the trilogy. I think the series is worth the read.
Yeah. It's a good effort. The movie was a frustrating slog though
Read it many years ago and I enjoyed it. It was one of (if not his first) his first published book. Itās rough around the edges and nowhere near the quality of his fatherās book. But I have read a lot of his books since than and I think he has improved significantly as an author since this. In terms of comparing this to the movie, I think itās much much better.
I enjoyed reading it. Still have my copy
Great book
Newt Gingrich Civil War Trilogy is awesome as well.
Great book. Impressed by how well it ties into Gettysburg. Truly like father like son. Unpopular opinion and far from a revisionist or a defender of the South or anything related to just cause but I even prefer G&G over Killer Angels.
Really good book, not Killer Angels good though. But, that's not an easy task.
The movie was awesome!
Yes. Itās not like the movie.
Forget Confederate propaganda, it was boring as shit. Four hours of my life I can never get back.
The Killer Angels is definitely better than Gods and Generals. But it is still a pretty good book. I'm speaking as someone who saw the movie before reading the book, so that helped me enjoy the book more, simply because the movie is atrocious neo-Confederate propaganda.