The Fateful Lightning

This concluding novel of Shaara's epic Civil War tetralogy tells the dramatic story of the final eight months of battle from multiple perspectives: the commanders in their tents making plans for total victory, as well as the ordinary foot soldiers and cavalrymen who carried out their orders until the last alarum sounded. Through William Tecumseh Sherman's eyes, we gain insight into the mind of the general who vowed to 'make Georgia howl' until it surrendered. In Johnston, we see a man agonizing over the limits of his army's power, and accepting the burden of leading the last desperate effort to ensure the survival of the Confederacy.