Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Gods and Generals
Book Review: Could not put it down
Summary: 5 Stars
This past Christmas, my mom got my grandpa the Civil War Trilogy of books by Jeff and Michael Shaara. He read them and really enjoyed them. So, I picked them up at the book store as well and all I have to say is,as of reading the first volume "Gods and Generals" I could not put it down. I am now reading "The Killer Angels" and it is excellant as well. These books are amazing in their characterizaton and detail and provide a look into the history of te Civil War that I have never had before.Book Review: Disappointing and flat
Summary: 2 Stars
I must be one the few that did not read Killer Angels before reading Gods and Generals. So what I'm about to say has nothing to do with any comparison to a work by this author's father.
The Civil War should be a very rich backdrop for any historical fiction book. It has everything that an author would need to write a compelling novel. However, I must agree with the other criticisms of this work. Without knowing the names of the Generals, and there were what seemed like hundreds of them, there is no way to determine who is talking. I have never read a book where the characters were so intermixable. Not one character had any charisma or even a distinguishing trait. I couldn't tell Lee from Jackson or Jackson from Hancock. Not one of the starring Generals has any personality that manifests throughout the book. The tone was constant, droning without excitement. There was no interest to get back to the book in any hurry. I've read nonfiction with much more movement and pizzazz. This was downright disappointing. With all of the hype and potential, the author has failed to attract me to another of his works.
It might be that this is the author's first book and maybe he didn't receive the better editors and such, but my recommendation is to skip this book and move on to something else.
Book Review: Don't be fooled: Jeff Shaara is not his father
Summary: 1 Stars
Don't be fooled (as I was, and as marketeers hope you will be) into thinking that Jeff Shaara carries on the tradition of his father's writing: he doesn't. His writing drags and plods along. He should have left well enough alone. "The Killer Angels" is a masterpiece, and Jeff Shaara is dragging it out to no good end. He should try to write something of his own, rather than capitalizing on his father's good name. "The Killer Angels" stands alone and does not need to be dragged out in this manner. Jeff Shaara adds nothing to the story.Book Review: Eating the Civil War "elephant"
Summary: 4 Stars
I was addicted to Civil War (er, "The War of Northern Aggresion") stories as a boy. With the 100th anniversary of the war in 1960-1965 occuring duing my 5-10 age period, the whole thing was an outstanding fantasy. As I've gotten older, I've longed for a way to get back into Civil War (uh, "The War for Southern Independence") stories. Most of the stuff written for adults, though, makes it tough to get started. Books quickly veer from sensory immersion to left-brain statistical abstraction. This book has really acted like the first forkful of Civil War (I mean "The War Between the States") history and I'm ready to "eat the elephant" and take the plunge again. I've got "Killer Angels" on the bedstand -- I can't wait to see how his father writes. This book is competently written and very engrossing. Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote -- set the table!Book Review: Enjoyable, but somewhat shallow at times, Jackson portrayal weak
Summary: 3 Stars
I had high hopes for Gods and Generals. I enjoy Civil War reading, as long as it's more focused on the people and less on specific battle movements. And, I'd heard of Gods and Generals the movie and thought the book was a good possibility. In the end, I would say it was an enjoyable "light" read, shallow at times, and flawed in Jackson's portrayal.
The book focuses on the perspectives of Lee and Jackson from the Confederacy and Chamberlain and Hancock from the Union. But, there were hugely significant events that were missing the perspective of key participants. Jackson's Valley Campaign was not covered from his perspective but was a 1-paragraph blurb in the middle of Lee's section. Jackson's men marched 646 miles in 48 days and won five victories with about 17,000 men against a combined force of 60,000. It was something of a defining moment for him, giving him the reputation for having "foot calvary," because of how much ground his men covered. For another example, there is an entire battle covered only from the perspective of the Union, nothing from the Confederates. The characters just were not developed as well as they could have been, and some events were covered rather shallowly.
The author didn't seem to have a good handle on Jackson. He seems to misunderstand Jackson's conservative Calvinistic religious views, and goes with about the worst puritan caricature you could come up with. Jackson is portrayed as not daring to speak about his joy in his newborn daughter aloud, because God might punish him by taking her life. There are several other similar portrayals which show a failure to grasp Jackson's Christian character and beliefs. Try reading Life and Campaigns of Stonewall Jackson (Battlefield Evangelism) written by a contemporary of Jackson's to get a better idea. Meanwhile, the author fails to portray things such as Jackson's Sunday School in Lexington for local blacks in which he taught them to read (against the law) so that they could read the Bible, something which provides a real insight to his character and beliefs.
I would also have liked to have a bit more information to let me know what was truth, what was guess-work based on truth, and what was pure speculation. The issues with Jackson do make me question the accuracy of the other men's portrayals.
So, I did finish the book and found it enjoyable enough as I went through it. But for all the above-mentioned reasons, it's not one that I'm likely to read again or to recommend to others.