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    Gods and Generals: Civil War Trilogy, Book 1
    Unavailable
    Gods and Generals: Civil War Trilogy, Book 1
    Unavailable
    Gods and Generals: Civil War Trilogy, Book 1
    Audiobook (abridged)3 hours

    Gods and Generals: Civil War Trilogy, Book 1

    Written by Jeff Shaara

    Narrated by Stephen Lang

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The story of Gods and Generals begins with Michael Shaara, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic The Killer Angels. A native of New Jersey, Michael Shaara grew to be an adventurous young man: over the years, he found work as a sailor, a paratrooper, a policeman, and an English professor at Florida State University. In 1952, his son Jeff was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

    Michael's interest in Gettysburg was prompted by some letters written by his great-grandfather, who had been wounded at the great battle while serving with the 4th Georgia Infantry. In 1966, he took his family on a vacation to the battlefield and found himself moved.

    In 1970, Michael Shaara returned to Gettysburg with his son Jeff. The pair crisscrossed the historic site, gathering detailed information for the father's novel-in-progress. In 1974, the novel was published with the title The Killer Angels. This gripping fictional account of the three bloody days at Gettysburg won Michael Shaara a Pulitzer Prize and a vast, appreciative audience. To date it has sold two million copies.

    When Michael Shaara died in 1988, his son Jeff began to manage his literary estate. It was a legacy he knew well, having helped his father create it. When director Ron Maxwell filmed the movie Gettysburg, based on The Killer Angels, he asked Jeff to serve as a consultant. Maxwell encouraged Shaara to continue the story his father began; inspired, Jeff planned an ambitious trilogy, with The Killer Angels as the centerpiece, following the war from its origins to its end.

    With Gods and Generals, Jeff Shaara gives fans of The Killer Angels everything they could have asked--an epic, brilliantly written saga that brings the nation's greatest conflict to life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 4, 2003
    ISBN9780553756418
    Unavailable
    Gods and Generals: Civil War Trilogy, Book 1
    Author

    Jeff Shaara

    JEFF SHAARA is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of seventeen novels, including Rise to Rebellion and The Rising Tide, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure - two novels that complete his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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    Reviews for Gods and Generals

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Gods and Generals is a work of historical fiction, written as a prequel to The Killer Angels, a book by the author's father. That book has the battle of Gettysburg as its centerpiece, and this book covers the war leading up to the second invasion of the north, building up to Gettysburg. The story is told through the eyes of confederate officers Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and union officers Hancock and Chamberlain. The book follows the four men from the lead-up to secession through the end of the Battle of Chancellorsville. The reader follows them to Antietam and Fredericksburg and learns about some other battles peripherally. Most of the story unfolds in the actions, thoughts and dialogues of the four men being followed and this method limits the amount of detail that can be covered without breaking away from the flow and format of the storytelling. Thus, someone with no background on the American Civil War might find themselves overwhelmed or confused at times. My primary criticism of the book is that it focuses on four officers, three of whom are already well know and their stories well-told. The most interesting tale is probably the story of Joshua Chamberlain, who was not a soldier at the start of the war and must learn his way in the heat of battle. This is the only truly unique perspective in the book. The other aspect I found frustrating was the abrupt manner in which perspectives changed, often with no overlap - even when it would have been interesting to have some. For instance, much of General Jackson's early exploits are uncovered not from Jackson's perspective but from Lee's. There are other times when the men are on the same battlefield and instead of exploring the same events from multiple perspectives - something I personally think would have added a rich layer to this book - the author instead hands the baton off between men with one man's story picking up where the other's ends. This book makes characters out of the four historical figures in a way that supposes to know their innermost thoughts and feelings on various topics. This sort of creative speculation is necessary in this style of book, but can occasionally feel disingenuous. That all being said, the book covers the men in a compelling way, and after a slow start, moves at a good clip. The books avoids the traps of excessive sensory details and of extraneous broader historical context and narrows in on the visceral experience of the main characters and the men they lead. It makes a drama of the civil war in a manner that feels remarkably free of moral judgement and only gets into technical criticism in situations where it is very believable and where historians generally agree with the criticism being leveled. I was happy with the reading experience and felt like my knowledge of the civil war was enhanced, albeit in a more personal sense than a technical one. I do plan on reading The Killer Angels next.
    • 3/5
      I perform yet another reread of this first in the series of historic fiction. Characters we know from the civil war are personalized and given dialogue to illustrate story line. Lee, Jackson, Hancock and Chamberlain are the four characters chosen by the author to view the war, and we learn a lot about them. Through Hancock and Chamberlain, we see the Union leadership flailing for one who can lead. if you don't enjoy detailed instruction about battles, this book is not yours. It won't make much sense audibly, without a map or a memory of the ground. Great way to read a history lesson.
    • 2/5
      If it was made clear what this book was about! Was it fact?
      It was an interesting collection of seemingly semi unrelated incidents recognisable from other accounts of battles. Maybe there was an introduction that was not included in the recording.
    • 3/5
      I did not love it like his American Revolution books. It was more slow-paced with more bland characters. Told from the South's perspective.
    • 3/5
      I tried to read this. I really did. It was better than watching the film Gettysburg in middle school: names and families and motivations were easier to keep track of than a bunch of matching uniforms were. But the facts were still so tedious to slog though for someone who is not very military yet wants to be informed about U.S. history as an element of civics.
    • 4/5
      Mostly good. The battles are well described, the inner thoughts of the major characters make sense and you feel for everyone involved. I found the pacing a bit slow and the last third definitely lost me a bit and felt repetitive. Weaving in real tactics from the battles was very cool. As I'm reading more historical fiction, I realize I should do more research prior to reading so I have a better fundamental understanding of the goings on. Was surprised the author chose to highlight both sides and not really have a set protagonist antagonist and not mention slavery that much but I suppose the Civil War was about more than that? Not sure, a bit confused about that. I guess history isn't always as clean cut as good vs bad so this probably was a good decision by the author. Following in his father's footsteps is super cool, looking forward to the Killer Angels.
    • 3/5
      I believe this was written using research generated by the father, Michael. It's an okay novel, frequently dropping in on the earlier life of Joshua Chamberlain. Not very compelling, but the history seems competent.
    • 4/5
      Gods and Generals is a work of historical fiction by Jeff Shaara set in the time shortly before the Civil War and ending just prior to the battle of Gettysburg. It is written as a prequel to a work of the author's father, Killer Angels, which I understand to be focused on the events of Gettysburg. The central characters of Gods and Generals are Robert E. Lee, Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson, Winfield Scott Hancock, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. As the story unfolds it shows these men during the time before the war. All except Chamberlain were military men whose careers were essentially languishing and there is little evident about them prior to the war that would suggest what they would be capable of accomplishing when leading men into battle. My understanding is that each of these central characters, Jackson excepted because of his death at the immediately previous battle, looms large over the landscape of Gettysburg.While a work of fiction I believe that Shaara does a good job at capturing the likely internal thoughts of both his central the many supporting characters during the first half of the Civil War. He shows their strengths and weaknesses, their frustrations in dealing with the politics of the respective governments, as well as the politics within the army that often had a direct consequence on the field of battle. I enjoyed this very readable book.
    • 5/5
      Superb book. Tells the story of the Civil War through the battle of Chancellorsville through the eyes of four men: Lee, Jackson, Hancock and Chamberlain. The description of the death of Jackson is especially poignant.
    • 5/5
      What makes the Shaara books (Killer Angles by Mike Shaara and Gods and Generals, Mike Shaara, father and son) largely unique in historic literature is that literally 80% of the story takes place within the internal dialogs of characters. Largely, the generals who fought in Gettysburg and the battles leading up to. These dialogs are based on going back to original sources, the period writings of generals who fought the wars.

      However, it is this reliance on of period first sources that makes the books feel unbalanced. Those that lose wars have more time to write memoirs and the victors get to rummage through the loosing sides official communications so there tends to be more accessible material from the losers than the victors.

      As a result, both the paired books, spend more time in the heads of Confederate generals than they do in Union generals. The great Lawrence Chamberlain being an exception for not only was he arguably one of the most fascinating individuals in the era but also a former college professor who wrote prolifically before, during and after the war, exposing many of private thoughts.

      Neither does it help that the Union spent over three years constantly shuffling command so trying to make a cohesive narrative would require introducing a new character every chapter of so. The north was far more plagued by sleazy politicians turned officer than the south who had a higher percentage of professional officers in its armies. Such men make for more sympathetic characters even when their cause is unjust.

      Besides, individuals like Stonewall Jackson (likely had Asperger's syndrome) and Robert E. Lee were simply fascinating individuals who seemed more like fictional characters while they lived. Chamberlain fascinates for his intellect, Grant for stolidity and Sherman for his unflinching grasp of the innate amorality, but they don't rise the level of being characters while they lived as to the Southern generals.

      Still the lack of Northern perspective is felt but it doesn't substantially undermine the book.
    • 5/5
      Following in his father's footsteps, Jeff Shaara has written a fantastic book that enables the reader to know these Civil War generals on a personal basis. "God's and Generals" perfectly sets up Michael Shaara's work in "The Killer Angels." 
    • 4/5
      This book could be considered the prequel to THE KILLER ANGELS (reviewed separately), written by Mr. Shaara’s father. This book takes a unique perspective leading up to the Civil War, introducing us to the notable historical figures in that confrontation. Mr. Shaara shares with the reader, through excellent characterization and dialogue why the Civil war was so important to these men. The author manages to bring to life the years leading up to the Civil War. Seemingly historically accurate, this book answered many of my questions about why this battle even happened. Obviously, the dialogue and innermost thoughts expressed by the “characters” in this book are speculation but the book did serve it’s purpose for me. It did answer any questions in my mind in a colorful, non-textbook way.

      Although, as mentioned, I generally shy away from “war” books, I do enjoy historical fiction and in my opinion, this was historical fiction at its best.
    • 5/5
      Exceptional novel of the Civil War era covering several battles and speaks of what the individaul soldier must have felt. Very good read, very sensitive. five stars
    • 4/5
      Gods and Generals focuses on the men who shaped the early part of the American Civil War through the different points of view from both the Union and Confederate sides. Through the eyes of Winfield Scott Hancock and Joshua Chamberlain we see the ineptitude of the Union leadership and the frustration of losing the first major battles of the War Between the States. The Confederate narrative of Robert E. Lee tells of the struggle to choose between country and homeland. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson epitomizes the fierce will of the southerners to defeat the Yankee "invasion."This is not an easy war to understand or write about. However, through the skill and passion of Jeff Shaara, history comes alive as he provides a foundation of the tumultuous years of 1858 - 1863 when two armies "led by fallible egos and blind fantasies of men" collided. Every American would benefit from reading this fictionalized but accurate historical account of a sad and bloody time in our nation's past.
    • 4/5
      This book, though fiction, brings realism to the lives of our heroes of the civil war. The research done by Jeff Shaara is amazing. It puts you there... it makes you sympathize with the generals on both sides of the fence. Awesome...
    • 4/5
      I liked the book due to its fast paced and "man on the ground" type of feel. Mr. Shaara writes well about battles and the history - in an overview sense - is mostly accurate mainly concentrating on Manassas, Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville.As in most of Mr. Shaara's books this one is also "historical fiction", an oxymoron if you ever head one, and is a very interesting character study of the major players. I especially enjoyed the characters of Jackson and Chamberlin and give thanks to this book for sparking my interest in those two fascinating figures which prompted me to read more about them.It is a very nice complement to history books and biographies I have previously read.
    • 4/5
      I had read "The Killer Angels" several years ago, so I was hopeful that this book could live up to its predecessor. About halfway through, I realized that I was drawn into this book and into the lives of the characters even more. I think the glimpses of the lives of Lee, Hancock, Jackson and Chamberlain before they became household names took them out of history for me and made them people. I would recommend this book as a stand alone read or as the start of a wonderful trilogy for any reader interested in American or military history.
    • 4/5
      If you aren't familiar with Mike and Jeff Shaara's works, this is not a typical history. It is the story of the early days of the civil war, told from the point of view of a small group of officers on both sides. Instead of recountings of battles, the author follows each author before, during and after the battle, from their first person point of view. This really gives you the feel of the war, though not a lot of military detail, and only some battles are covered. Its facinating to read, and still good history.
    • 4/5
      The chronicle leading up to Gettysburg, written by Michael Shaara's son. (The "sequel" was the basis for the movie "Gettysburg.") The lives of Robert E. Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson, Winfield Scott Hancock, and Joshua Chamberlain are told from a perspective that is somewhat more than historical fiction and somewhat less than biography. It's a very entertaining and moving novel that reflects the character, tactics, and devotion of these and other men.
    • 4/5
      Jeff doesn't quite share his father's ability to spin a great story. "Gods and Generals" was a nice tribute to the legacy his father began with "Killer Angels" but barely meets it's glory. The book was informational but didn't draw me to the characters the way "Killer Angels" had. A nice continuation of the story and not a bad read, but it doesn't hold a place in my heart like "Killer Angels" does.