The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara was the second recommendation from my American friend Anne, that I saved up to read on the flight to Philadelphia in June. I was hoping to go to Gettysburg on the trip, though strangely that proved impossible by public transport from Philadelphia, so I didn’t get to go. It’s possible in some ways that I got a better sense of the place though. This excellent and Pulitzer Prize winning book was probably preferable to competing with the crowds a week before the 150 year anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg.

This is literally a blow-by-blow account of the three day battle from the point of view of the Confederate generals Robert Lee and James Longstreet, and Joshua Chamberlain and John Buford from the Union army.

Thankfully for British readers, it starts with an excellent introduction explaining the civil war and the place of the battle within it so you have a sense of what you’re reading. Also, and invaluably, it has maps showing the positions of the troops at the beginning of each section so you understand exactly what is going on.

My knowledge of American history comes entirely from a trip to Boston that got me reading around the subject and from this recent trip to Philadelphia, so I was glad to be reminded about the origins of this war, and which side was which (in brief and somewhat oversimplified: Confederates southern army bad, Union army anti-slavery good).

What makes it so utterly readable is that it’s written from the very personal viewpoints of these men, the choices they made, and how they felt going into battle and condemning so many of their own men to death. It’s truly gripping.