#30 in Historical fiction
The Killer Angels
- 374
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- Film 1993
- On screen
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
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Our view
“The Killer Angels” turns the three days of Gettysburg into a novel about the men who commanded there, and makes them people one cares about. Michael Shaara tells the battle through historical figures on both sides, which gives a clear sense of how the fighting unfolded. Some readers wish it showed more of ordinary soldiers and of the brutality, and others, who do not take to historical fiction, find it dull. The writing is clear without sounding modern.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Killer Angels is a 1974 historical novel by American writer Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book depicts the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and the days leading up to it: June 29, 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 historical figures from both the Confederacy and the Union. A film adaptation of the novel, titled Gettysburg, was released in 1993.
Reading order · The Civil War Trilogy
Full order & progress →- Gods and GeneralsStart hereGods and Generals–Not ranked yet
- The Killer AngelsThis book
8.38.3 / 10 - The Last Full MeasureThe Last Full Measure–Not ranked yet
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen once.
- FilmGettysburgIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.4 across 156 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 51% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Historical fiction average of 8.0. That is how 8.3 comes out. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.7 | 18 | 12% |
| Google Books | 8.0 | 12 | 8% |
| Hardcover | 8.4 | 126 | 81% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Killer Angels?
It has 374 pages — shorter than 65% of the ranked books in Historical fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Historical fiction — with scores between 8.1 and 8.2, closest to this book.
