's sight on Little Round Top was very moving and courageous. I realized all the things the men had to give up and how amazing it was to see that they still had hope they would win and be back home with their families. I enjoyed how the book made me feel like I was directly involved with the incidents that occurred. The book instills in one's mind what a battle fought during the Civil War was actually like. This is a tremendously moving novel, completely unforgettable. Throughout the book, the reader is exposed to the pain, difficulty, anguish, and other dilemmas the armies face leading up to the final confrontation. There is extreme loss and unimaginable pain expressed as General Lee realizes that he is close to losing the war, as quoted in the book, "No blame can be attached to the army for its failure to accomplish what was projected by me . . .. I alone am to blame, in perhaps expecting too much of its prowess and valor . . . could I have foreseen that the attack on the last day would fail, I should certainly have tried some other course . . . but I do not know what better course I could have pursued.” The passage that most deeply affected me is the conversation between Longstreet and Lee as they survey the ridge, planning for the next day's battle. Here Lee observes that in order to be a good officer, one must be willing "to order the death of that thing which he loves above all others", namely his men. Such is the terrible irony of war.On the cover of the book, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf is quoted as saying that the book is "The best and most realistic historical novel about war I have ever read."To enjoy it you don't have to be a Civil War buff or even know anything about the battle, you only have to be prepared to appreciate what is epic and human in the midst of this otherwise horrifying war....
