A satisfied reader
This book was just what I was looking for after finishing The Killer Angels, my friend who lives near Gettysburg recommended Mr. Hartwig's book to me. I enjoyed The Killer Angels but I don't know enough about the Battle of Gettysburg to be able to discern fact from dramatization that one expects in fiction. I think this book was well worth the money spent. I plan to give the books together as a gift. A great companion!
A Historian's Critical Eye
As a long time resident of South Central PA, I have visited Gettysburg dozens of times, have read 'The Killer Angels', seen the movie, read the Companion and have had the privilege to attend talks and tours given by Scott Hartwig. Both in his talks and in the forward to 'Companion', Hartwig is genuinely complimentary of Shaara's work. But within his text, Hartwig's tenor seems to take a lawyer-like argumentative turn. I do not believe that he does so out of any malicious intent to undermine Shaara's fine work. Instead, I believe that Hartwig is attempting -as advertised- to create a clear deliniation between fact and fiction. Perhaps he could have reinforced his stated respect for Shaara the novelist throughout the 'Companion' but ultimately, Hartwig's loyalties are with historical fact. To that end he is quite successful. That in remaining faithful to fact, he has unintentionally stepped on toes is unfortunate because I truly believe that Hartwig does indeed hold Shaara in very high regard.
A very good companion.
Not What I really Expected
I was excited when I bought this book as I loved the Killer Angels, but after buying this book during a recent visit to Gettysburg I was a bit disapointed. Hartwig does not really say what is accurate in the novel, instead he argues against what Shaara writes. He focuses on Lee, Chamberlain, Buford, Longstreet, and a bit on Pickett and Armisted but virtually ignores the other characters in the novel. Tom Chamberlain, Ellis Spear, Kilrain, Trimble, Pettigrew, Kemper, Garnett, and Harrison. I was personally more interested in these minor characters than in the ones that I already knew about, and this nook did not expand my knowledge of them. To me, this book was ok but not really what I expected.
Exactly what I wanted.
When visiting Gettysburg National Military Park, considering its grand scale, it is best to have the facts when trying to picture in your mind what happened there. Scott Hartwig's descriptive book does just that by clarifying the difference between reality and the fiction work of Killer Angels by Shaara. The "Companion" was a pleasure to read.
Historical context for a great story
I did not have deep prior knowledge of the battle of Gettysburg before enjoying The Killer Angels (and the movie Gettysburg, which was based on it). I loved the book but I spent a lot of time wondering just where the facts ended and the fiction began. The Killer Angels Companion supplies some thoughtful answers. It does not debunk Shaara's work at all. Instead, it highlights the historical context where dramatic requirements led Shaara to simplify and focus his story. It doesn't take anything away from the book, and you realize, fairly quickly, that you agree with the choices Shaara made, and why. Hartwig worked as a historian at Gettysburg. After The Killer Angels was published, he probably was asked the fact vs. fiction question hundreds of times. Here, he has written the answers down for a wider audience. This book (really just a pamphlet) is not to be judged on whether it's a good read on its own, just whether it enhances our appreciation of The Killer Angels itself, and on that count it is quite satisfying.
