Gods and Generals: A Novel of the Civil War

Jeff Shaara

ISBN 10: 0345404920 / ISBN 13: 9780345404923

Published by Ballantine Books, New York, New York, 1996

About this Item

(First Edition, First Printing) Except for name on front end paper, book is a clean tight unmarked copy. Seller Inventory # 031462

Bibliographic Details

Title: Gods and Generals: A Novel of the Civil War

Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York, New York

Publication Date: 1996

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Almost Like New

Dust Jacket Condition: Almost Like New

Edition: First Edition, First Printing

About this title

Synopsis:

The New York Times bestselling prequel to the Pulitzer Prize–winning classic The Killer Angels
 
In this brilliantly written epic novel, Jeff Shaara traces the lives, passions, and careers of the great military leaders from the first gathering clouds of the Civil War. Here is Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, a hopelessly by-the-book military instructor and devout Christian who becomes the greatest commander of the Civil War; Winfield Scott Hancock, a captain of quartermasters who quickly establishes himself as one of the finest leaders of the Union army; Joshua Chamberlain, who gives up his promising academic career and goes on to become one of the most heroic soldiers in American history; and Robert E. Lee, never believing until too late that a civil war would ever truly come to pass. Profound in its insights into the minds and hearts of those who fought in the war, Gods and Generals creates a vivid portrait of the soldiers, the battlefields, and the tumultuous times that forever shaped the nation.

Review:

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.