Product Description

This is the interweaving story of four men. On the Union side, Joshua Chamberlain and Winfield Scott Hancock both became heroes at Gettysburg. For the Confederacy, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a failure at the Virginia Miltiary Academy, and Robert E. Lee, one of the greatest leaders of all time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #307207 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Customer Reviews

Astounding prequel to father's Killer Angels!
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.

At last a book that made sense of a most confusing battle.
In my opinion Chancerlorsville is a battle very hard to work out because of its dimensions & the general confusion. Jeff Shaara dons his father's mantle and whilst I feel he lacks a little of Michael's charisma, he gives us an unputdownable book which is also extremely informative. I read it; reread "The Killer Angels" then went back to "Gods & Generals" I now feel I have a working knowledge of a conflict which has always fascinated me.Thanks Jeff Shaara!What if Jackson had survived to fight at Gettysburg?

A very good novel
I am a 14 year old who loves reading and trys to get hold of any war novel/biography about it. If you like reading about war also this is a great book. It shows how the men felt and it is a great preceeding book of Killer Angels.