Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… in the American South during the early 1820s and ‘30s. Raised in what is now West Virginia (but was then part of Virginia), Thomas Jackson developed a hunger for warfare from a young age. He attended West Point starting in 1842, and learned the basics of military strategy – a skill for which he would later become famous.
Living… during the American Civil War, the greatest bloodbath to ever strike the United States. Jackson is a general for the Confederate States of America. He believes he's fighting for his state’s rights, and justifies his motives thusly: “We never allow the armies of others to march into our states and tyrannize our people.” The lives of his men are paramount to him, as with any great general. He got his nickname, “Stonewall,” for holding a staunch line at Harpers Ferry when he was still a colonel.
Profession… brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States of America. He was promoted for his bravery and leadership during battle, and continues to prove himself a worthy adversary to even the greatest of Northern generals.
Interests… loyalty, fearlessness, and holding his ground. He’s the ideal warrior, a man whose interests range from courage to strategy.
Relationship Status… married. His second wife, Mary Anna Jackson, is a loyal wife who would sit by his side in any time of need, and understands the duties required of her as a general’s spouse. His duties to his men and his country often come before her, and she accepts it.
Challenge… defending the Confederate States of America. Stonewall Jackson will shed blood when blood needs to be shed. He admits, “I do not expect to live to see the end of this war. Nor can I say that without victory I would desire to do so.”
Personality… fierce in battle but calm in his interpersonal relations. He’s a sensitive man, appreciating solitude as much as his quality time among his soldiers. When it comes to war, he’s prepared to shout orders from horseback and remain on the front lines among his privates until the bitter end.
Get to Know him in...
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The film centers mostly around the personal and professional life of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a brilliant if eccentric Confederate general, from the outbreak of the American Civil War until its halfway point when Jackson is killed accidentally by his own soldiers in May 1863 during his greatest victory.
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Bring back the pleasure of reading, read Jeff Shaara in Large Print.
All Random House Large Print Editions are published in a 16-point typeface.
The story of Gods and Generals begins with Michael Shaara, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic The Killer Angels. A native of New Jersey, Michael Shaara grew to be an adventurous young man: over the years, he found work as a sailor, a paratrooper, a policeman, and an English professor at Florida State University. In 1952, his son Jeff was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Michael's interest in Gettysburg was prompted by some letters written by his great-grandfather, who had been wounded at the great battle while serving with the 4th Georgia Infantry. In 1966, he took his family on a vacation to the battlefield and found himself moved.
In 1970, Michael Shaara returned to Gettysburg with his son Jeff. The pair crisscrossed the historic site, gathering detailed information for the father's novel-in-progress. In 1974, the novel was published with the title The Killer Angels. This gripping fictional account of the three bloody days at Gettysburg won Michael Shaara a Pulitzer Prize and a vast, appreciative audience. To date it has sold two million copies.
When Michael Shaara died in 1988, his son Jeff began to manage his literary estate. It was a legacy he knew well, having helped his father create it. When director Ron Maxwell filmed the movie Gettysburg, based on The Killer Angels, he asked Jeff to serve as a consultant. Maxwell encouraged Shaara to continue the story his father began; inspired, Jeff planned an ambitious trilogy, with The Killer Angels as the centerpiece, following the war from its origins to its end.
With Gods and Generals, Jeff Shaara gives fans of The Killer Angels everything they could have asked--an epic, brilliantly written saga that brings the nation's greatest conflict to life.
