All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Marie Remarque
I never saw the movie Saving Private Ryan, but everyone who saw it tells me that it was very realistic and showed the true horror of battle. No John Wayne heroics. No comic book killings or minimal gore. Well, All Quiet on the Western Front, following the experiences of one German soldier in World War I, is just like that movie: no sentimentality, heroics, stirring music, or idealism. Just reality. Or at least it seems like reality. Happy, funny, blasé and sad.
If you think the First World War is some distant and very dusty event, read this book. When you follow this typical German soldier in that conflict and live through him the good, the bad and the ugly you will understand how horrible a war it was. This book lets you feel his very human emotions as he shifts from the front with all of its foxholes, whizzing bullets, tanks, bombs, mustard gas, and death to the rear where he sees his mother, overeats, visits a brothel, harasses fellow soldiers, and gets harassed himself.
But that is not all. This is probably the story of all infantry soldiers in any war. The only difference is the means of killing—whether it is a spear, an arrow, a musket, a rifle, or an M16. There are instances of terror followed by days of boredom and times of excitement and happiness.
I don’t want to tell you too much about the book because it would spoil your enjoyment. The experience is this: you are accompanying a young German soldier in all his experiences on the Western Front in 1919. I liked him and didn’t want to leave him. And I won’t spoil the surprise for you when you find out where the title of the book comes from. Also reading this, it is easy to understand why the Nazi’s banned this book. There is nothing glorious in this war.
This book is written in the first person by Paul Baumer, a 19 year old volunteer who was told that he was one of the Iron Youth of Germany. The most important thing in his life, more than anything else, is his friendship with his comrades. He loves them. His friends are farmers, shoemakers, etc. All of them were schoolmates and they joined up together after hearing a rousing speech about defending the fatherland. But the guy who made that speech never went up to the front himself.
Get the book. It is short and it will never leave you
If you think the First World War is some distant and very dusty event, read this book. When you follow this typical German soldier in that conflict and live through him the good, the bad and the ugly you will understand how horrible a war it was. This book lets you feel his very human emotions as he shifts from the front with all of its foxholes, whizzing bullets, tanks, bombs, mustard gas, and death to the rear where he sees his mother, overeats, visits a brothel, harasses fellow soldiers, and gets harassed himself.
But that is not all. This is probably the story of all infantry soldiers in any war. The only difference is the means of killing—whether it is a spear, an arrow, a musket, a rifle, or an M16. There are instances of terror followed by days of boredom and times of excitement and happiness.
I don’t want to tell you too much about the book because it would spoil your enjoyment. The experience is this: you are accompanying a young German soldier in all his experiences on the Western Front in 1919. I liked him and didn’t want to leave him. And I won’t spoil the surprise for you when you find out where the title of the book comes from. Also reading this, it is easy to understand why the Nazi’s banned this book. There is nothing glorious in this war.
This book is written in the first person by Paul Baumer, a 19 year old volunteer who was told that he was one of the Iron Youth of Germany. The most important thing in his life, more than anything else, is his friendship with his comrades. He loves them. His friends are farmers, shoemakers, etc. All of them were schoolmates and they joined up together after hearing a rousing speech about defending the fatherland. But the guy who made that speech never went up to the front himself.
Get the book. It is short and it will never leave you
posted by Jack Cuff | 2:23 PM
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