Almost finished reading The Killer Angels with my ninth graders. For a book about the the battle of Gettysburg, there is very little action and fighting! It's very introspective historical fiction...trying to show the feelings and ideas of the major players of the war.
"This is free ground. All the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here's a place to build a home. It isn't the land - there's always more land. It's the idea that we all have value, you and me, we're worth something more than the dirt. I never saw dirt I'd die for, but I'm not asking you to come join us and fight for dirt. What we're all fighting for, in the end, is each other." Union officer, Colonel Chamberlain in The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara
"Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds...encouraging one another" Hebrews 10:24-25
How great that you are reading THE KILLER ANGELS with your ninth graders. I would never have read it, except for my husband's interest in history. It certainly brought the men who fought that terrible battle to life. Our later visit to Gettysburg became one of the most profound and unforgettable experiences of our lives.
ReplyDeleteI probably wouldn't have ever read it myself, but the school had already purchased it. However, as we've made our way through it, I'm liking it more. The Civil War has always seemed bigger than life and I never stopped to think of the individuals involved.
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