Jeff Shaara Explained

Jeffrey Shaara
Birth Date:	21 February 1952
Birth Place:	New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation:	Novelist
Nationality:	American
Alma Mater:	Florida State University
Genre:	Historical fiction
Notableworks:	Gods and Generals, The Last Full Measure
Relatives:	Michael Shaara (father)

Jeffrey M. "Jeff" Shaara (born February 21, 1952) is an American novelist and the son of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Shaara.^[1]

Biography

Jeffrey Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and grew up in Tallahassee, Florida. He graduated from Florida State University in 1974 with a degree in Criminology^[2] and lives in Gettysburg.^[3]

He wrote Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, which is the prequel and sequel, respectively, to his father Michael's award-winning novel The Killer Angels.^[4] Jeff followed his father's footsteps upon the latter's death, writing historical fiction and documenting the American wars and their most historically relevant characters. In total, Jeff has written fifteen New York Times bestselling novels.^[5]

Jeff delivered the commencement speech at the University of Delaware's 2005 undergraduate ceremony. Jeff has deemed this "one of the most important moments in his life."^[6]

He completed a trilogy in 2010 about World War II in the European and North African theaters. A fourth World War II novel, titled The Final Storm, covers the end of the war in the Pacific, and was released on May 17, 2011.^[7]

Awards

Shaara received the W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction from the American Library Association in 2022 for The Eagle's Claw,^[8] in 2018 for The Frozen Hours,^[9] in 2005 for To The Last Man: A Novel of The First World War,^[10] and in 1997 for Gods and Generals.^[11] The American Library Association's Reference and Users Services Association recognized The Steel Wave as a 2009 Notable Book.^[12]

He has also been awarded The Lincoln Forum's "Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement",^[13] New York Civil War Round Table's "Bell I. Wiley Award",^[14] and Florida State University's "Artes Award" as a Distinguished Alumnus.^[15] In 2011, Shaara was inducted into the FSU College of Criminology Hall of Fame and awarded FSU's first annual Distinguished Writer's Award.^[16]

Film adaptations

In 2003, Warner Brothers made the major motion picture Gods and Generals, which was based upon his book of the same title.^[17]

Works

• Jeff Shaara's Civil War Battlefields: Discovering America's Hallowed Ground (2006)

Novels

• Gods and Generals (1996)—Civil War (1858–1863)
• The Last Full Measure (1998)—Civil War (1861–1865)
• Gone for Soldiers (2000)—US-Mexican War (1847–1848)
• Rise to Rebellion (2001)—Pre-American Revolutionary War (1770–1776)
• The Glorious Cause (2002)—American Revolutionary War (1776–1783)
• To the Last Man (2004)—World War I (1914–1918)
• The Rising Tide (2006)—World War II (1939–1945), Trilogy Part 1 of 3
• The Steel Wave (2008)—World War II (1939–1945), Trilogy Part 2 of 3
• No Less Than Victory (2009)—World War II (1939–1945), Trilogy Part 3 of 3
• The Final Storm (2011)—World War II (1939–1945), Pacific Theater
• A Blaze of Glory (2012)—Civil War (1861-1865), Western Theater, Tetralogy Part 1 of 4
• A Chain of Thunder (2013)—Civil War (1861-1865), Western Theater, Tetralogy Part 2 of 4
• The Smoke at Dawn (2014)—Civil War (1861-1865), Western Theater, Tetralogy Part 3 of 4
• The Fateful Lightning (2015)—Civil War (1861-1865), Western Theater, Tetralogy Part 4 of 4
• The Frozen Hours (2017)—Korean War (1950-1953)
• To Wake The Giant (2020)—Pearl Harbor, World War II (1939–1945)
• The Eagle's Claw (2021) - Battle of Midway, World War II (1939–1945)
• The Old Lion (2023) - Teddy Roosevelt's life and times, including Amazon exploration
• The Shadow of War (2024) - Cuban Missile Crisis

References

• "Interview with Jeff Shaara", by Gene Santoro, HistoryNet.com, September 2009.
• "Meet Jeff Shaara" official web site
• "Author Jeff Shaara" 3 interviews at BookReporter.com: May 16, 2008; November 10, 2006; October 2004.
• "Interview with Best-Selling Author Jeff Shaara", by Greg Caggiano, January 24, 2011.

External links

• Author's website
• Interview on The Rising Tide at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on November 30, 2006
• Video or audio interview by Karen Saupe on Inner Compass
• Video interview on The Steel Wave
• Interview on his father and No Less Than Victory at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on February 4, 2010
  • • In Depth interview with Shaara, September 7, 2003

Notes and References

1. Web site: CNN - Like father, like son - July 14, 1998. www.cnn.com. 2018-11-27.
2. News: Author Q&A: Jeff Shaara. The Clarion Ledger. 2018-11-27. en.
3. Web site: Jeff Shaara Penguin Random House. www.penguinrandomhouse.com. en-US. 2018-11-27.
4. News: Bookmarks Presents Jeff Shaara, Best-Selling Military Author - Salisbury Post. 2017-05-28. Salisbury Post. 2018-11-27. en-US.
5. Web site: Jeff's Bio Jeff Shaara. jeffshaara.com. 2018-11-27.
6. Web site: Commencement speaker felt 'part of UD family' . University of Delaware . June 30, 2005.
7. Web site: The Final Storm: A Novel of World War II in the Pacific (World War II: 1939-1945 #4) . . 2012-01-07.
8. Web site: 'The Eagles Claw' by Jeff Shaara wins the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction. May 25, 2022. News and Press Center.
9. Web site: 'Frozen Hours: A Novel of Korean War' by Jeff Shaara wins 2018 W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction. CMALDEN. 8 May 2018. News and Press Center.
10. Web site: W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction Awards & Grants. www.ala.org. en. 2018-11-27.
11. Web site: W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction Awards & Grants. www.ala.org. en. 2018-11-27.
12. Web site: Awards and Honors. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141221214558/http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/annualreport/annualreport/annualreportarch/awardsandhonorsa/awards. 2014-12-21.
13. Web site: lincolnforum Richard Nelson Current Award. lincolnforum. en. 2018-11-27.
14. Web site: Civil War Round Table of New York Bell I. Wiley Award. www.cwrtnyc.org. 2018-11-27.
15. Web site: Vires, Artes, Mores A university-wide donor recognition society. vam.fsu.edu. en. 2018-11-27.
16. Web site: Cassidy & Fishman Inc » Blog Archive » Jeff Shaara. www.cassidyandfishman.com.
17. Web site: Gods and Generals. www.warnerbros.com. en. 2018-11-27.