Normally it’s my husband sitting down with a good historical fiction book based on some war somewhere, but this time I was the one in the corner with such a book. I could not put this book down. I was dreading reading it for book club. I thought, who wants to read a history book for book club? The writing style of the book was told in a story like fashion. It was not a bunch of facts written down, but a story with a plot and character development. I think I learned more about the Civil War from this book than I did an entire year of history class in high school. It had me so entertained and interested in what was happening. There were people involved in the war that I did not even know before. In fact, I did go and research some of these people after I finished. Our book club gave this book 5 stars! Everyone enjoyed it. My husband laughed at the fact I liked it so much. He has read every Shaara book out there (son Jeff has written many as well), and he said, “See they’re good, right?” He was right. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Civil War, or even to teachers as a selection for students. It made learning about the war much more meaningful.
“This novel reveals more about the Battle of Gettysburg than any piece of learned nonfiction on the same subject. Michael Shaara’s account of the three most important days of the Civil War features deft characterizations of all of the main actors, including Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, Buford, and Hancock. The most inspiring figure in the book, however, is Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, whose 20th Maine regiment of volunteers held the Union’s left flank on the second day of the battle. This unit’s bravery at Little Round Top helped turned the tide of the war against the rebels. There are also plenty of maps, which convey a complete sense of what happened July 1-3, 1863. Reading about the past is rarely so much fun as on these pages.” – –Amazon.com
Have you read this book? What did you think? What rating would you give it?
Great review. I think it was the Jeff Shaara books that my mother in law would read.
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Very good review!