The book moves back and forth from the North and South perspective. Shaara portrays the terrible massacre of the three days’ fighting through the rendered thoughts and emotions of men such as General Robert E. Lee and General Longstreet from the South and from the North, Brigadier General Lewis Armistead, and Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. This is a classical moving novel, guaranteed to leave the reader on the edge of his seat. The book implants in one's mind what a battle fought during the Civil War was actually like to be apart of, and the roles the soldiers took on during the war.
The setting for the book takes place in Pennsylvania, where the Battle of Gettysburg is fought. The author provides many detailed maps of both armies’ positions. Throughout the book, the reader is shown the pain, difficulty, agony, and other predicaments the armies face leading up to the final confrontation.
In the beginning of the book we learn about the North from a spy for the South. His job was to scout the North's position as well count the number of troops. He reports to General Robert E. Lee and recalls what he saw. The spy's information proved useful to the Confederates' at the beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg. The fight at Gettysburg is a series of battles. At first the South gains good ground but eventually the North secures the better position and defeats the Southern troops.
The author makes it clear that it is General Robert E. Lee's poor judgment and decisions that causes the South to lose the Battle of Gettysburg. Lee even blames himself for the South's failure, as quoted in the book, "No blame can be attached to the army for its failure to accomplish what was projected by me. . . . I alone am to blame, in perhaps expecting too much of its prowess and valor . . . could I have foreseen that the attack on the last day would fail, I should certainly have tried some other course . . . but I do not know what better course I could have pursued". General Lee wanted to attack the Union troops at Gettysburg, even though the North had the better position, more supplies, and more troops. Lee's mind was already set and he did not want to change it. Overall, Lee was a good general, but during this particular battle, he did not make the best of decisions, which in the opinion of the author led to the Confederate troops losing the war.
In conclusion, I recommend The Killer Angels to anyone who is curious or interested about finding out what the Civil War was like. The book provides a good and detailed description of the war.
