Forsyth Reads Together: An Evening with Jeff Shaara at the Forsyth Conference Center Monday night was a smashing success! Thankfully the rain did not scare away the 243 attendees who turned out to hear author Jeff Shaara speak about his serendipitous writing career, his numerous bestselling books, or his passion for researching primary sources.
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| It was a full house on Monday night at the Forsyth Conference Center! |
Here are some of the highlights from the event...
Library Director Anna Lyle welcomed everyone, thanked the Forsyth County Arts Alliance and FCPL Friends and Advocates for their generous sponsorship of this event, and introduced our guest, Mr. Shaara. The audience chuckled when Anna dramatically recounted the FOUR times this program was canceled and rescheduled over the past two years due to the pandemic.
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| Library Director Anna Lyle introducing author Jeff Shaara. |
Mr. Shaara revealed some very interesting and personal information about his writing process and motivation. He sees himself primarily as a storyteller rather than as a historian or pundit, and the hunt for a good story has become his guiding principle over the past three decades as a full-time writer. It’s the “stories nobody knows” rather than the facts and dates we all had to memorize in school that get him really excited. That being said, he draws the line at “airing dirty laundry” and has no plans to write about his relationship with his father, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara.
Jeff Shaara’s passion for uncovering hidden stories from primary sources was clearly evident when he spoke about Mira Hancock’s memoir which was the inspiration behind one of his favorite scenes in Gods and Generals. As Mr. Shaara was talking about it, I could almost hear Mira playing the piano while longtime friends Hancock and Armistead tearfully vowed to never raise arms against each other. Both men eventually became generals, fought on opposing sides of the Civil War, and were wounded during Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg. General Armistead died of his wounds several days later.
The story of how and where Armistead fell in Pickett’s Charge is what Mr. Shaara said changed his father’s life, and ultimately his own. Mr. Shaara was only 12-years-old visiting Gettysburg with his father when he experienced the emotional effect of his father’s powerful storytelling. Mr. Shaara said it took his dad the next 7 years to research and write The Killer Angels. He passed away before it was made into the highly successful 1993 film, Gettysburg, which subsequently inspired Jeff Shaara to "follow in his dad’s enormous footsteps" and write Gods and Generals, the prequel to The Killer Angels.
One of the lighter moments of the evening was when Mr. Shaara discussed the importance of visiting battlefields and walking the grounds where his stories took place. When researching The Frozen Hours he expressed an interest in visiting the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. His contact at the State Department told him, “Well, we can get you in…” Needless to say, the battlefields in North Korea are one of the few settings in his books that he hasn’t actually visited.
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| Jeff Shaara speaking about the challenges of trying to visit certain battlefields. |
I was fascinated to learn that Jeff and Stephanie Shaara’s home is a historic landmark in Gettysburg (which I also learned is pronounced GETT-is-burg by the locals). Known as Red Patch, it was built as a summer home in 1900 by Union Brevet Major General Charles H. T. Collis and is adjacent to a Gettysburg battlefield where actual cannons still stand. Jeff and Stephanie Shaara are committed to restoring the house to its original Victorian style and have a really interesting Facebook page dedicated to their progress.
Our audience posed many excellent questions to Mr. Shaara during the Q & A. One such question was if Shaara has any reluctance to write about uncomfortable moments in history. Mr. Shaara’s answer, “I don’t care if there’s controversy, the history exists… ignore it at your own peril,” received a round of applause from the audience.
I think my favorite part of the night though was chatting with attendees as they waited in line to get their books signed by Mr. Shaara. I was especially enthralled by some of our younger audience members and their enthusiasm about Mr. Shaara’s writing. One such attendee, a very articulate 11th grade homeschooler named Iris Anne told me, “Jeff Shaara’s books made me fall in love with history.” Pretty powerful endorsement! Her favorite book by Jeff Shaara is The Last Full Measure, which is the 3rd book in Jeff and Michael Shaara's Civil War trilogy.
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| Iris Anne (3rd from left) with her family at Forsyth Reads Together 2022. |
Another young man, Alexander, a local 6th grader who attended the event with his father, told me he and his dad are both "huge history buffs." They both really enjoyed reading Jeff and Michael Shaara's Civil War trilogy and were very excited to hear Jeff Shaara speak in person.
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| Alexander and his father at Forsyth Reads Together 2022 |
This was the 8th time FCPL has hosted Forsyth Reads Together, which was launched in 2012 and designed to bring neighbors together through a shared reading experience. An Evening with Jeff Shaara did exactly that! The fact that our community filled a conference room to the gills with people of all ages and backgrounds (including descendants of both Union and Confederate families) to hear an author speak about his work is a wonderful testament to the value of our libraries in Forsyth County.
This event would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors, Forsyth County Public Library, FCPL Friends and Advocates, and Forsyth County Arts Alliance at the Forsyth County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the North Georgia Community Foundation. We are so grateful!
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