Book Review - The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War

Title: The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War

Author: Michael Shaara
My Rating: 👍👍👍👍
My Review: Pending...

Description (Audible): July 1863. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia is invading the North. General Robert E. Lee has made this daring and massive move with seventy thousand men in a determined effort to draw out the Union Army of the Potomac and mortally wound it. His right hand is General James Longstreet, a brooding man who is loyal to Lee but stubbornly argues against his plan. Opposing them is an unknown factor: General George Meade, who has taken command of the Army only two days before what will be perhaps the crucial battle of the Civil War. In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation’s history, two armies fight for two conflicting dreams. One dreams of freedom, the other of a way of life. More than rifles and bullets are carried into battle. The soldiers carry memories. Promises. Love. And more than men fall on those Pennsylvania fields. Bright futures, untested innocence, and pristine beauty are also the casualties of war.

Description (ChatGPT): The Killer Angels is a historical novel that doesn’t just tell the story of the Civil War—it feels it. Michael Shaara’s vivid portrayal of the Battle of Gettysburg brings to life the warriors, the heartache, and the chaos of war. With rich character development and battle scenes so intense, you’ll swear you can hear the cannons. It’s history, but make it gripping. If you’re looking for a book that combines strategy with humanity, this one will march right into your heart. Just be ready to leave with a few more questions about what it means to be a hero.

Book Review - By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land

Title: By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land
Author: Rebecca Nagle
My Rating: 👍👍👍👍
My Review: Pending...

Description (Audible): Before 2020, American Indian reservations made up roughly 55 million acres of land in the United States. Nearly 200 million acres are reserved for National Forests—in the emergence of this great nation, our government set aside more land for trees than for Indigenous peoples. In the 1830s Muscogee people were rounded up by the US military at gunpoint and forced into exile halfway across the continent. At the time, they were promised this new land would be theirs for as long as the grass grew and the waters ran. But that promise was not kept. When Oklahoma was created on top of Muscogee land, the new state claimed their reservation no longer existed. Over a century later, a Muscogee citizen was sentenced to death for murdering another Muscogee citizen on tribal land. His defense attorneys argued the murder occurred on the reservation of his tribe, and therefore Oklahoma didn’t have the jurisdiction to execute him. Oklahoma asserted that the reservation no longer existed. In the summer of 2020, the Supreme Court settled the dispute. Its ruling that would ultimately underpin multiple reservations covering almost half the land in Oklahoma, including Nagle’s own Cherokee Nation. Here Rebecca Nagle recounts the generations-long fight for tribal land and sovereignty in eastern Oklahoma. By chronicling both the contemporary legal battle and historic acts of Indigenous resistance, By the Fire We Carry stands as a landmark work of American history. The story it tells exposes both the wrongs that our nation has committed and the Native-led battle for justice that has shaped our country.

Description (ChatGPT): By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land is a passionate, eye-opening exploration of a battle that’s been burning for centuries. With sharp prose and a fierce dedication to truth, this book ignites the untold stories of Native communities fighting for justice—both in the courtroom and on the land. It's a compelling reminder that history isn’t just written in books, but lived in the fires that still burn. If you’re looking for a book that combines history, resilience, and activism, grab a seat by the fire and prepare to be moved.