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Title: The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell ISBN: 0-19-513332-3 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: February, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.65 (20 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Essence of the Great War
Comment: In 1916 on the Western Front, in a single hour, a well-placed single machine gun could slaughter a thousand men rising up out of the trenches, as they did in wave after wave. Hundreds of books have been written about the Great War, and in recent years, there has been renewed, intense interest in what (in my opinion) remains the most significant event of the 20th century. None of these works is better, and few equal Paul Fussell's 1975 WAR AND MODERN MEMORY. This extraordinary, moving book focuses primarily on the letters, diaries, reports, memoirs and fiction of Englishmen who were in the trenches. Residing in the dusty archives of the Imperial War Museum, much of Fussell's source material had not been seen in more than half a century, and most of it had never been seen by historians. There is little in Fussell's book about the causes of World War I (pick any explanation that appeals to you: you may be right), its battles or its politics. Rather it's mostly about what the people involved, from soldier to office worker, thought and felt about the war - then and later. It's about how these thoughts and feelings were reflected in contemporary poetry and literature, and how they continue to resonate across the decades. And, the book also about irony - the irony of trying to "win" a war which could not be won and resulted only slaughter. The irony of honorable, tradition-enslaved generals who mindlessly continued the slaughter in full knowledge (albeit, rarely first hand) of what was occurring. The irony of officers living among rats and decomposing corpses in the trenches, yet able to arrange for the regular delivery of hampers of delicacies from Fortnum & Mason. The inexplicable irony that although wholly and self-evidently pointless, their was simply no way to stop the killing.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Definitive Essay About the Meaning of the Great War
Comment: In 1916 on the Western Front, in a single hour, a well-placed single machine gun could slaughter a thousand men rising up out of the trenches, as they did in wave after wave. Hundreds of books have been written about the Great War, and in recent years, there has been renewed, intense interest in what (in my opinion) remains the most significant event of the 20th century. None of these works is better, and few equal Paul Fussell's 1975 WAR AND MODERN MEMORY. This extraordinary, moving book focuses primarily on the letters, diaries, reports, memoirs and fiction of Englishmen who were in the trenches. Residing in the dusty archives of the Imperial War Museum, much of Fussell's source material had not been seen in more than half a century, and most of it had never been seen by historians. There is little in Fussell's book about the causes of World War I (pick any explanation that appeals to you: you may be right), its battles or its politics. Rather it's mostly about what the people involved, from soldier to office worker, thought and felt about the war - then and later. It's about how these thoughts and feelings were reflected in contemporary poetry and literature, and how they continue to resonate across the decades. And, the book also about irony - the irony of trying to "win" a war which could not be won and resulted only slaughter. The irony of honorable, tradition-enslaved generals who mindlessly continued the slaughter in full knowledge (albeit, rarely first hand) of what was occurring. The irony of officers living among rats and decomposing corpses in the trenches, yet able to arrange for the regular delivery of hampers of delicacies from Fortnum & Mason. The inexplicable irony that although wholly and self-evidently pointless, their was simply no way to stop the killing.
Rating: 4
Summary: Worth the Read
Comment: Another excellent book on the top 100 list. I think that I have figured out that some of the merit to a book being included on the list is whether it provides a portal to other literature worth reading. This book certainly does that and I now have several more books on my to-be-read list. As others have said, this book details the effect the infantry of the Great War had on our literature, world viewpoint, and psyche. The two criticisms I have are that he over-uses the label "irony" and his classification of "homoerotic". I have come to the conclusion that any contrast is 'ironic' to Fussel; thus, black would be ironic to white. I do not believe that is the case, or if it is, then 'irony' is so broad a category, it is has become meaningless and we should use more particular terms to communicate. Also, while I have no doubt that 'homoeroticism' and 'homosexuality' exist, Fussel quotes so many passages that merely show sentimentality of a man to another man that, I think it unfair to say it is 'homoerotic'. Certainly, men can be friends and have developed a depth of feeling for each other through a common traumatic experience that it does not need to be classified as 'homoerotic'. Or, if it does, like 'irony' the term has become so broad to emcompass such a large spectrum of emotions and feelings that it too has become meaningless.
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Title: Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War by Paul Fussell ISBN: 0195065778 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: October, 1990 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Boys' Crusade : The American Infantry in Northwestern Europe, 1944-1945 by PAUL FUSSELL ISBN: 0679640886 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Good-Bye to All That : An Autobiography by Paul Fussell, Robert Graves ISBN: 0385093306 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 01 February, 1958 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Rites of Spring : The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age by Modris Eksteins ISBN: 0395937582 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 14 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry by Jon Silkin ISBN: 0141180099 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: August, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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