"What a Piece of Work Is Man": Human Dignity in The Killer Angels on Its Fiftieth Anniversary.

The article critiques the 1974 historical novel "The Killer Angels," by American author Michael Shaara. Topics discussed include its fictionalization of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, the depiction of human dignity, slavery, and racism in the novel, and the way the political situation in the U.S. in the 1960s may have influenced Shaara's creation of its characters and their political perspectives.