Can you guys read this and tell me if you think it sounds good/flows well?

“Stephen Crane once said that he wrote The Red Badge of Courage because reading the cold history was not enough; he wanted to know what it was like to be there, what the weather was like, what the men’s faces looked like. In order to live it he had to write it. This book was written for much the same reason.” (Michael Shaara).



I was hesitant to buy this book with the fear that it would be another dull summary of the Battle of Gettysburg. But from the very first pages, one of the most illustrious battles in American history came to life. Shaara’s use of multiple viewpoints exposes the inner thoughts of Robert E. Lee, Joshua Chamberlain, James Longstreet and other men who fought there, and shows both armies aspects. Shaara spent a great deal of time researching the warrior’s letters and journals, making The Killer Angles possibly the most accurate work of Civil War literature ever written.



Although Shaara didn’t change any facts, The Killer Angels must be considered historical fiction because he condensed some of the action and language for the sake of clarity, making it easier to read his descriptions of historic events. He also. He also added dialogue based on his best guess of what was said, such as Stewart and Lee’s private conversation when the former finally arrived late to the action. When people learn about the Civil War, they tend to read boring, nonfiction books that don’t give any insight into how different people interacted or why certain affairs transpired the way they did. By contrast, Shaara analyzes the details and brings these points to life. For example, he writes of how Union General John Buford’s with one of his aids about his strategy for defending Gettysburg. “That’s a narrow road Lee’s coming down, and if we stack them back there they’ll be a while getting untracked. But the point is to hold long enough for the infantry. If we hang onto these hills, we have a good chance to win the fight that’s coming. Understood?’” (51). Buford explains that was holding the high ground because he was waiting for the infantry, as opposed to most non-fictional accounts which would just say that Buford was holding the high ground—with no mention of his reasoning behind it.



The Killer Angels recounts the Battle of Gettysburg differently than all other books, through viewpoints of leaders, giving the reader a better understanding of the character traits of people through their actions and internal monologues. Col. Joshua Chamberlain, for example, received a group of mutinous soldiers from a different regiment, and had orders told to shoot them if they didn’t listen to command. Chamberlain internally ponders the idea of shooting his own soldiers. “Kilrain says tell the truth. Which is? Fight. Or we’ll shoot you. Not true. I won’t shoot anybody.” (29). Chamberlain can’t find it in himself to consider shooting his war-torn statesmen (the mutinous soldiers, like Chamberlain, were from Maine). Internal monologues like these put The Killer Angels on another level for war accounts, because they show character traits, such as Chamberlains refusal to shoot his fellow statesmen, through the characters’ own thoughts.



Another great aspect of this book comes from its impartial view towards the North and the South; it just tells the story like it happened. Civil War books are often extremely biased towards one side, the Union or the Confederates. These books tend to glorify the side they praise while trying to make the other seem like savages. The Killer Angels however, explains what occurred with an unbiased view towards politics, showing the glorious decisions and the mistakes leaders from each side made throughout the course of the battle. The Killer Angels shies away from favoring one side, and instead tells the story, as it truly happened, making it a great account of Gettysburg.



This is a fantastic book: unique in that it is historically accurate, while telling a non-partisan story from multiple viewpoints of different military leaders. I highly suggest The Killer Angels to everybody, not only Civil War fans. It is history come to life, as compelling as any novel, all the more amazing for its insight into one of the most pivotal events in American history.Can you guys read this and tell me if you think it sounds good/flows well?
errors first as i noted them as i spotted them



second paragraph you spell Angels Angles



third paragraph you have a rogue "He also." that needs deleting



same paragraph aides not aids (you are talking about one of his aides-de-camp"



last sentence of that paragraph needs a "he" - explains that "he" was holding



no guarantee i've found them all!



it reads well and you certainly have justified the positive stance you have taken towards this book - i wouldn't want to suggest anything that waters down your argument but do feel it might be more accurate to refer to the "supposed" inner thoughts in your second paragraph as clearly the author does not know that they are all accurate and in most cases will be relying on accounts written some time later rather than contemporaneous ones.



all in all i think this is a good piece of work