The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels (1974) is a historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book tells the story of the four days of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War: June 30, 1863, as the troops of both the Union and the Confederacy move into battle around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and July 1, July 2, and July 3, when the battle was fought. The story is character-driven and told from the perspective of various protagonists.
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2008–2026years
86% recommend14% critical
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What Hacker News says
- One more source to consider, if you find non-fiction dry (and if you do, I'd start by trying a different history book) is novels. Novelists like Rushdie, Heller, Solzhenitsyn, and a surprising number of sci-fi writers include a lot of history in their books. Clearly, these are not unbiased sources and can't be relied on as your only source, but often make for easy insightful introductions and/or immersive supplements. I'm not even talking about "historical fiction," though some of that is also good. For example, the book "The Killer Angels" about Gettysburg, is sometimes assigned reading in history classes.
- Though not my life per se, I find the fiction in the USMC's reading list to be very .. interesting. It's a strange mix of more popular titles and super niche books. It's all focused on war-fighting, but it gives a great look into the Marines:
GATES OF FIRE: AN EPIC NOVEL OF THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE by Steven Pressfield
STARSHIP TROOPERS by Robert A. Heinlein
ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card
READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline
GHOST FLEET: A NOVEL OF THE NEXT WORLD WAR by P. W. Singer; August Cole
THE KILLER ANGELS: THE CLASSIC NOVEL OF THE CIVIL WAR by Michael Shaara
The whole 2019 reading list is great stuff, top notch reading for any hacker or c-suite, especially the discussion guides: https://grc-usmcu.libguides.com/usmc-reading-list/discussion...
- Rereading "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara - a novelization of Battle of Gettysburg. This is the perfect book for people who love American history, character-driven novels, and old maps (every dozen pages or so he includes maps that mark the progress of the Union and Rebel forces as they gain or lose ground in the Battle, which are, simply put, just awesome). Very interesting portrayal of Robert E. Lee - the Old Man - who was essentially revered as a god by both sides, but made some critical tactical errors here. Had also never heard of Joshua Chamberlain - the college professor from Maine - who became famous for his brave defense of the hill called Little Round Top. The Battle of Gettysburg is another example of those historical events that everybody thinks they know about, but really don't or have entirely forgotten- and Shaara brings it back to life.
- Great book! I used to love story format non-fiction books, and "The Killer Angels" was one of my favorites. Also, check out "The Longest Day" by Cornelius Ryan (D-Day) and my favorite one of his, "A Bridge Too Far" (about largest airborne operation in WWII). Just don't watch the movies!
- Yep, I love that one too.
In case you (or others) don't know, the movie Gettysburg is based on The Killer Angels, with the same focus on Lee and Chamberlain. It's very long, but good -- much was filmed on site, and Pickett's Charge is done in real-time. Harrowing stuff.
Also, let me plug the battlefield itself -- I just visited a couple of weekends ago for the first time as an adult. If you've read about it or seen the movie, it's a fantastic place to see. Unlike some Civil War battlefields, standing there really makes it clear -- you can look down from the top of Little Round Top, and you can look across the field of Pickett's Charge from both directions.
- If you enjoy history you may want to read Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels (historical fiction). I loved it.
