benjames's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
bundy23's review against another edition
4.0
Very gentlemanly tales of the absolute horrors of the Germans trenches of WWI.
At first I struggled a little with the upper-class voice/language of Jünger (although it may have been the translation). It opened a bit distant and dispassionate but the further the book goes, the more immersed he seems to get, but I guess being shot or injured 14 times will get your juices flowing.
I did find the final few pages a little concerning as not only is this not anti-war like pretty much all the other soldier memoirs that I've ever read but instead Jünger talks up the joy and happiness that he got fighting from the motherland. Sadly I can definitely see this being on a lot of neo-nazi bookshelfs.
At first I struggled a little with the upper-class voice/language of Jünger (although it may have been the translation). It opened a bit distant and dispassionate but the further the book goes, the more immersed he seems to get, but I guess being shot or injured 14 times will get your juices flowing.
I did find the final few pages a little concerning as not only is this not anti-war like pretty much all the other soldier memoirs that I've ever read but instead Jünger talks up the joy and happiness that he got fighting from the motherland. Sadly I can definitely see this being on a lot of neo-nazi bookshelfs.
travelgirlut's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting perspective on WWI. Junger was a junior officer in the German army and lived through the entire war from beginning to end (and continued to life well past the age of 100). He sustained multiple injuries and kept going back for more. His attitude seemed to be that since he was a soldier, he was going to be the best soldier he could be. He would go patrolling on the lines for fun whenever he found trench life boring. There isn't a lot of the nitty gritty details of trench life in this, but there's definitely a lot of death and dismemberment. You see how much the troops moved around from place to place and the meager conditions they lived in. A lot of the other memoirs talk a lot about the bad food and conditions, and Junger just kind of takes it as part of living the soldier's life in a war. Kind of a refreshing attitude in a world of dismal memoirs. The beginning was slow and I almost didn't continue reading, but I'm really glad I did.
pakebrokenshire's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
pelumitowuru's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Blood, and Violence
malkarium's review against another edition
4.0
I like this book and the way that Jünger wrote about his experiences during WWI. He neither praise the war, nor condemns it but shows both the bad and the slightly less bad.
m_j_webb's review against another edition
3.0
Another holiday book. I found it a very interesting read which was well written with vivid descriptions and historical facts. Unfortunately I had just read 'Harry's War' and that kind of soared in comparison. It meant this book had to receive a three, though a four may have resulted in different circumstances. Shame there are no half points on here. Regardless, it makes one feel so very lucky to have been born in a generation which reaped the benefits of the sacrifices made by others.
ahabspipe's review against another edition
5.0
All of the media that I have consumed about WW1 in movies and shows throughout my life pale in comparison to the picture that is painted in this book. I haven’t read books on WW1 before but after reading this I feel like I must have picked the best one. The glimpse of war you gain from reading Jünger’s memoir about his experience in WW1 is absolutely incredible, and I would add, spiritual. I don’t have the words to describe just how impactful this was for me but I’ll remember it forever as a must read.