The Killer Angels

VERY GOOD condition — DUST JACKET: Wear & tear to top and bottom edges of spine, panels, folds and flaps. Minor chipping top of spine; small closed tear to same. Very minor chipping to all outside corners. One inch void, front panel, bottom right of spine; diagonal crease extending from same. Small closed tear bottom right edge, front panel. Minor touch up of void edges. Minor creasing, top edge of flaps. In first 2 pics, paper insert placed inside for improved appearance. BOARDS: Horizontal crease just below top edge of spine. BOOK: Minor foxing to textblock head. Very light foxing to top right corner of FFEP. Slight lean to spine. Please inspect photos closely for condition details.

Here on offer is a very nice example of Michael Shaara's Puliltzer Prize-winning novel of the Civil War, The Killer Angels, chronicling the Battle of Gettysburg. This copy is a 1st trade edition, 2nd printing of the work published by David McKay in 1974. The dust jacket is protected from further wear by a Mylar sleeve.

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" 'My favorite historical novel . . . a superb re-creation of the Battle of Gettysburg, but its real importance is its insight into what the war was about, and what it meant.'—James M. McPherson

In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation's history, two armies fought for two conflicting dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Bright futures, untested innocence, and pristine beauty were also the casualties of war. Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece is unique, sweeping, unforgettable—the dramatic story of the battleground for America's destiny."

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Michael Shaara (June 23, 1928 – May 5, 1988) was an American author of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to an Italian immigrant father (the family name was originally spelled Sciarra, which in Italian is pronounced in a similar way) in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated in 1951 from Rutgers University, where he joined Theta Chi, and served as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division prior to the Korean War.

Before Shaara began selling science fiction stories to fiction magazines during the 1950s, he was an amateur boxer and police officer. The stress combined with cigarette smoking led to a heart attack at the early age of 36. He managed to recover completely and later taught literature at Florida State University while continuing to write fiction. His novel about the Battle of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. Shaara died of a heart attack in 1988 at the age of 59.

Shaara's children, Jeffrey and Lila, are also novelists. In 1997, Jeffrey Shaara established the annual Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction, awarded at Gettysburg College.

The above text was taken from, respectively, Random House Publish (via Google Books) and Wikipedia.