The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

“This is a different kind of army. If you look at history you’ll see men fight for pay, or women, or some other kind of loot. They fight for land, or because a king makes them, or just because they like killing. But we’re here for something new. I don’t…this hasn’t happened much in the history of the world. We’re an army going out to set other men free.”

What motivates a nation to go to war with other nations? What motivates a nation to go to war with itself? Michael Shaara deals with this second question in his brilliant historical novel The Killer Angels. The battle of Gettysburg was one of the most important moments in our nation’s history, and Shaara’s novel brings it alive like few writers have. It is no wonder that it won the Pulitzer Prize for literature.

By letting us inside the minds of the major leaders of both the northern and southern armies, Shaara puts us right in the middle of the action and helps us to better understand what happened at Gettysburg and what it was like. The Killer Angels takes a remote historical battle and makes us care about the people who fought it, and helps us understand the reasons they fought.

Anyone with even a slight interest in the Civil War or military strategy should read this book. This is also a great book for those who have never tried historical fiction before. The writing never gets in the way of the story–it is easy to read, and moves along fairly quickly. Since most eighth graders study American history in their social studies classes, The Killer Angels would be a perfect choice to complement what you learn in class.

[This review was originally written for my students at Mr. Senger’s Junior High Reading Lists, a website for my 8th graders.]