Review: The Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara

I don't generally read books out of obligation any more (I stopped doing that in graduate school), but after finishing Gods and Generals, I felt somewhat of an obligation to complete the so called "Civil War Trilogy" and give The Last Full Measure a shot.

*sigh*  Where to begin.

In The Last Full Measure, Jeff Shaara once again faces his old nemesis of biting off more than he can chew.  He picks up where The Killer Angels left off, in July 1863, describing the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg and the inability of the Union army to capitalize on their victory.  Shaara attempts to sift through the confusion by focusing on three leaders this time -- Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and Joshua L. Chamberlain (who is really relegated to little more than a footnote in this final book).  But there is still just too much information.  The battle scenes are confusing -- without the incredibly dramatic chapter ends (Shaara explains where the battles are taking place by way of one general saying the name of the city/location i.e. "Appomatox" or "Cold Harbor" on several occasions), it's difficult to even discern where the battles are taking place.

The wounding of the superior officers gets somewhat repetitive as well.  Although Shaara's research is correct, and many commanding officers suffered major, yet not quite fatal wounds towards the end of the Civil War, his description of "the punch" in the arm or the gut for every single wounded man is repetitive AT BEST.  I concede that Shaara has never experienced a bullet or Minie ball to the stomach or one of his extremities...but a variation in the description might have served him well.

Jeff Shaara, unfortunately, is not working to the same caliber as his father Michael.  The original book, The Killer Angels, was based off of extensive research by Michael Shaara into the personal memoirs and reports of the soldiers at the battle of Gettysburg, which were then turned into a novel.  Jeff Shaara takes an alternate approach, and just writes the history.  He is more interested in telling a compelling story than he is concerned about the accuracy of emotion.  And it is painfully obvious when he was conjuring up his own interpretation of a character's reactions -- it is at these moments that his writing is most heavy, wooden, or awkward.

I said in my review of Gods and Generals that it is unfair to compare the writing of the father to that of the son.  But by attaching his body of work to his father's, Jeff Shaara opens himself up to the criticism that unfortunately I must give -- he is not his father, and the "prequel and sequel" to The Killer Angels are better read on their own, and not in connection to the Pulitzer-prizewinning novel.

Rating: **