[.ca] Gods and Generals (ISBN 0345422473)

From Amazon.com:
In a prequel of sorts to his father Michael Shaara's 1974 epic novel The Killer Angels, Jeff Shaara explores the lives of Generals Lee, Hancock, Jackson and Chamberlain as the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg approaches. Shaara captures the disillusionment of both Lee and Hancock early in their careers, Lee's conflict with loyalty, Jackson's overwhelming Christian ethic and Chamberlain's total lack of experience, while illustrating how each compensated for shortcomings and failures when put to the test. The perspectives of the four men, particularly concerning the battles at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, make vivid the realities of war.

Phenomenal!:
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.

Loved it.:
I loved this book. I'm only thirteen, and even i got into this book. it's full of blood and emotion, and i would have given it five stars, but for the fact that one of my favorite charecters died. Reading historical fiction is the only way i can learn about history, so i've read quite a few, and i absoultly loved this one. Terribly sad book, but also exciting. read it.

Great:
This book is great. I'd recommend it to everyone who loves the Civil War or just history in general! I want to read it again.

An Extraordinary Novel, Shaara Strikes Gold!:
Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara is the prequal to the Pulitxer Prize winning novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. Gods and Generals follows the lives of 4 men in the turbulent days leading up to the Civil War until just before the Battle of Gettysburg. Thomas Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Winfield Scott Hancock and JOshua Chamberlain are the 4 main characters and in the mix we see glimpses of some of the best known soldiers and civilians of the Civil War Era, including JOhn Brown, JEB Stuart, McClellan, Burnside, Longstreet and Hooker. Shaara's talent for writing is obvious in the first lines of this work. He is able to capture both the triumph and tragedy of the Civil War. When it comes of the battles, his accuracy is almost complete. Shaara does his research and provides the reader with the thrilling idea of being inside a historical figures mind. The only complaint I can make is that he does not delve into the insanity that strayed just beneath the surface with Jackson, instead promoting Jackson's obvious if misguided religious beliefs. Although Gods and Generals was made into a subpar movie, it is a first rate story with compelling character and explosive drama. Well done Shaara.

A great way to get your history lesson:
Fascinating portrayal of a sad time in US History, as told from the perspectives of the generals involved in these campaigns. I was most particularly moved by Lee and his torn loyalties to the US Army and his home state of Virginia, and most especially by the great Stonewall Jackson. I've come across the names in history classes (oh so long ago) and the occasional novel covering this period, but it was wonderful to have them brought to life as this author did, and we are once again reminded that was is indeed h***. One moment in the book that particularly touched me was during a retreat of Federal soldiers. One of them slipped in the mud and was told that since the general decreed the roads to be in good condition therefore there is no mud. A very good book and recommended for anyone interested in this period of US History. Four stars instead of five as the author's habit of inserting a comma instead of the word "and" was a bit of a distration for me. I'm not sure where the editors were, and why they didn't correct it.