The Last Full Measure: A Novel of the Civil War

Jeff Shaara follows in his father's footsteps ... big shoes to fill indeed! He does a highly admirable job of researching and writing about the heroes, both North and South, who fought during the last two years of the Civil War. This book provides the reader a ring-side seat to key battles and positions, as each side fights to their last full measure of strength. The reader is provided personal information about the lives of the major players: General Robert E. Lee, General Ulysses S. Grant, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. We get inside the hearts and minds of these soldiers and although fiction it rings true to life. Historical fiction is a marvelous method to learn about detailed and important battles which became turning points in this most fundamental war in the history of the United States. Most impressive descriptions are provided as General Robert E. Lee struggles in his heart and soul to send his valorous troops against the much better equipped Northern soldiers. We learn how strategy and insight gave the South advantages over technology and numbers, in the beginning. We learn that after Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was given command of the North, the tides turned ... and the reasons why. Maps are provided which give proper visualization to the word descriptions of strategic locations and key battles. Divided into four parts, the prolog to each section uses the words of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address very effectively. Each section includes descriptions of a wide range of events, thorough analysis, and human emotions for the years of the war and post war events that it covers. The book goes beyond the war to include descriptons of when President Lincoln is shot. It concludes with an afterward that gives a wonderful summary of the post-war lives of major participants both Blue and the Gray. Reading this book was truly an eye-opening experience, filled with illuminating moments and unforgettable real people. It leaves the reader hungry to read more about the subject It compelled me to buy more books by this author - for example, "Gone for Soldiers" (the Mexican War) and "Rise to Rebellion" (the American Revolutionary War). Erika Borsos (erikab93)

The general consensus seems to be that Jeff Shaara is a good writer, but not up to his father's standards. I have to disagree. This book was thoroughly enjoyable and quite moving. Not only that, Jeff manages to write the book in the same style as his father, likely in a successful attempt to tie the trilogy together in similar prose. This is a lot harder to do than one might suspect.Also, to Jeff's credit, the scope of The Last Full Measure is greater than The Killer Angels, which focused exclusively on Gettysburg. Jeff takes up the war after Lee's defeat at Gettysburg, and follows it to its conclusion at Appomattox. His rendering of the horrific conditions of Lee's army as it tries to escape the inevitable, and the poignant moments of the final battles and the climax at the courthouse are as good as historical writing gets. I believe Jeff surpasses Michael's ability to tap into and reveal the minds and emotions of the key players, Lee, Grant, Chamberlain, and others.Don't discount or skip this book based on the comparative naysayers' comments. I place The Last Full Measure on the top shelf of Civil War literature. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

In reading this book I found it a lot more enjoyable than the other three stories. It gets right down into the heart and soul of the main characters in the book. I don't think that it was to wordy. I think he (Jeff Shaara) put as much effort possible into telling a complete and detailed account on what it was like for the soldiers in the Civil War. I think it is the best out of all three because it really gets into detail about what the soldiers had to go through in order to fight for their country. It shows how through bad and good the men from the South never gave up until they had given their LAST FULL MEASURE! I don't care what anyone says about this book being to wordy because I just think that they need an excuse to put down Jeff. Overall I think Jeff did an unbelievable job finishing what his father started and I hope that he continues to write books about how it was just for regular soldiers. I would like to read how it must have felt for them and not just the generals and people who never got dirty.

While "Killer Angels" tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg in poignant detail, and "Gods and Generals" provides the reader with insight into the minds of the men who commanded the armies of the Civil War, in "The Last Full Measure" Jeff Shaara brings you to your knees. I do a lot of reading during my lunch hour (I hate eating alone in restaurants!) I was sitting in a crowded local McDonald's when I read the part about Robert E. Lee's decision to surrender and the surrender itself and I sat there and cried. I reread it several times and cried every time. When I got home that evening, I read it to my husband. I had to stop several times because my voice kept breaking. By the time I finished we were both in tears. In all of the reading I have done about the civil war, I've never understood the pain of the South's surrender until now. It was heartbreaking! If you care anything about the South, or if you just want to understand why the Confederate soldiers continued to fight when there was nothing left to fight with, read this book!