This full Patreon episode is brought to you, without commercial interruption, by our Patrons. When you can't come to Gettysburg, we bring Gettysburg to you, but that costs us in time and money. So, we hope that, if you like the show and appreciate our effort, you'll become a patron. Click here to join our community. One cannot be a Gettysnerd without at least having HEARD the name "Shaara." Of course, Michael Shaara is the author who could very well be rsponsible for helping to reignite interest in Gettysburg in the latter portion of the 20th Century. Ken Burns cites the Killer Angels as the book that inspired him to make his epic documentary "The Civil War." That documentary brought Gettysburg a rise in visitation. Then, a few short years later, Ron Maxwell's "Gettysburg" was released and visitation soared. That movie came out when I was in 9th grade, or thereabouts, and it immediately captured my imagination. But Michael passed away before he could see any of this. His son, Jeff, dutifully picked up the torch and carried it on into a writing career yielding an impressive 18 titles. We'll have Jeff on shortly to talk about his own works. But, we asked him to first come on and talk about his father's work and his father, the man. Enjoy.