A review by jkrudop
Gods and Generals: A Novel of the Civil War, by Jeff Shaara
5.0
This is the third book I've ready by Jeff Shaara. When I first started reading his novels I had trouble with his writing style of combining independent clauses, but was eventually able to get past it. This is one of the best civil war fictional novels I've read. I thoroughly enjoyed his character development and historical relativity. If I didn't know any better, I would have never guessed that this was his first novel.
The book follows the perspectives of Robert E. Lee, Winfield Scott Hancock, Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, and James Longstreet. It provides thorough perspective of each officer, their family background and the extraordinary challenges they experienced during the high-point of the war in the east. The timeline covers the period leading up to secession and ends with Chancellorsville, specifically, following the epic conflict between the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac. I don't know the author's true sentiments, but I came away with a real respect for Robert E. Lee as a man and a leader, as opposed to the heroic demagogue that the South has created. In the book, I could feel his challenges as he built the Army of Northern Virginia and cultivated an army that experienced staggering loss. Stonewall Jackson was an interesting character that helped develop Lee's reputation and contributed most to his success in the field until his death at Chancellorsville. On the other hand I left with a sadness for the lack of success for the Army of the Potomac. They just couldn't seem to get it right, but that was the nature of the Union army in the east under Halleck. I'm certainly interested in reading his father's novel, the Killer Angels, which covers Gettysburg, then Shaara's final novel. I definitely recommend this novel for anyone interested in historical fiction and the civil war.
The book follows the perspectives of Robert E. Lee, Winfield Scott Hancock, Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, and James Longstreet. It provides thorough perspective of each officer, their family background and the extraordinary challenges they experienced during the high-point of the war in the east. The timeline covers the period leading up to secession and ends with Chancellorsville, specifically, following the epic conflict between the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac. I don't know the author's true sentiments, but I came away with a real respect for Robert E. Lee as a man and a leader, as opposed to the heroic demagogue that the South has created. In the book, I could feel his challenges as he built the Army of Northern Virginia and cultivated an army that experienced staggering loss. Stonewall Jackson was an interesting character that helped develop Lee's reputation and contributed most to his success in the field until his death at Chancellorsville. On the other hand I left with a sadness for the lack of success for the Army of the Potomac. They just couldn't seem to get it right, but that was the nature of the Union army in the east under Halleck. I'm certainly interested in reading his father's novel, the Killer Angels, which covers Gettysburg, then Shaara's final novel. I definitely recommend this novel for anyone interested in historical fiction and the civil war.