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Summary: A Worthy "Crusade"
Review: The Boys' Crusade is a terrific volume that, though relatively slim, adds immeasurably to our understanding of the Second World War and the American foot soldiers who battled the Nazis from Normandy to the Rhine River and beyond. Unsentimental and yet profoundly moving, this book would make an excellent addition to the reading lists of high school and college students. The Boys' Crusade reveals more than facts about "The Good War" - it tells the truth about war experiences that few Americans can imagine.
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Summary: Unusual, Yet Superb, edition to the Modern Library Chronicle
Review: The Boys' Crusade is specifically about, as per the subtitle, the American infantry in Northwestern Europe in the final two years of World War II. The author, Paul Fussell, concentrates on the actual experiences of the soldiers themselves over the entire campaign. This is a departure for the always superb Modern Library Chronicles series, which generally focuses on large, sweeping periods of history or topics. This small volume is concerned solely with such things as intimate as the personal fears of individual soldiers during a particular battle. This book is not a chronicle of the battles, which are covered exhaustively elsewhere (a wonderful bibliography will guide the reader) but it strictly covers the drafted soldiers who fought those battles. This book is the perfect antidote for anyone who believes that war, any war, is glorious. There may be good reasons for fighting (and the chapter on the uncovering of the German work camps provides one) but the fighting itself is never noble, never heroic, and never truly over for those on the front lines. This book should be a companion piece for any other on the Second World War as it lets the soldiers speak in a voice not often heard. A perfect addition to the a great series.
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Summary: As a Veteran's nephew it is GREAT to see this book!
Review: The Modern Library Chronicles are a great series and as the nephew of a veteran of the kind described in this book (Uncle Lacy Foster Paulette Jr fought in Normandy and in the Battle of the Bulge), it was especially exciting to see a book that gives due honour and credit to those of the Greatest Generation who fought for the freedom we now all enjoy and take for granted when they risked their lives in North West Europe in 1944-1945. Christopher Catherwood, proud nephew of a 44-45 veteran!
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Summary: Don't buy this book
Review: The title of this book and the actual text do not match. This has to be one of the most disappointing books about WWII that I have ever read, and I have read many. There is no personal account, nor real coverage of the topic as to how the war was fought by young infantry. And no personal authenticity is included. Very disappointing.
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Summary: Non-fiction in the spirit of Vonnegut, Heller, and Jones
Review: This is a fascinating, frightening book. A good war, a just war, a moral war: Fussell's compact chapters show how these concepts simply don't exist for the American youths who had to walk through France and Germany carrying rifles. I don't think of Fussell's work as a counterpoint to Spielberg's and Ambrose's versions of history; I think of it as shining a light into the corners of history that make us uncomfortable and even nauseous.
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Summary: One Man's Viewpoint
Review: This is a great book, but one must recognize that it is only one man's viewpoint. True, he is a professor and author, but when it comes to his experience of the war and his interpretation of the effects of combat and war on a soldier and why the soldiers fought, his viewpoint is no more valid than any other veterans.I say all this in preface, since one of Fussells points is that the experience of combat is brutal, dehumanizing and had long term detrimental effects on the soldiers who actually endured combat. All this is to counter point the SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and greatest generation view of WWII. Now, I admittedly am way too young to have fought in the war, but my father was a Artillery Forward Observer. He was one of a group of 26 who landed in Normandy, he and 1 other survived the war. I had him read this book after I was through and his observations were that in detailing the rigors of combat, the daily grind of being in the army, etc. Fussell got it right. He differs in some of Fussells other contentions though. In his division (and most of the WWII army from what I have read) the average age was the low 20's, not much of a difference from 17, 18, 19, but at that age pretty signifigant. And, he further felt that they all knew that the combat and the slog across France would be hard and dirty, but that they all knew what they were fighting for and why. They (and my dad) did go into combat to not let their buddies down, but in a larger sense they knew they were fighting an evil that had to be eradicated. As for the long term effects, he feels that the army and his experience in the war were one of the defining experiences of his life and on the whole very good. He felt her got to see a larger world, meet people from all over and learn just how much he could accomplish. He also says that he never experienced any long term bad effects from being in the war -- but then again, he is a very strong person, mentally and physically. He also took exception to the statements about the troops hating their officers. He felt that there was a lot of resentment against officers who took advantage of their position to get luxuries that the men didn't get, but he also said that those officers where the exception not the rule, and usually did not survive long in combat. He disagreed totally with the assertions that whole veteran units ran or refused orders at the end of the war. He was involved in putting down some of these 'mutinies' and they were green units who had never seen combat and mutinied or ran when they were rotated in, the veteran units were solid. And, lastly, he felt that SAVING PRIVATE RYAN was truthful, or at least as truthful as a movie can be about a lot of the experience of being in France in 1944 -- the combat, the banter of the troops, etc.. was pretty authentic he thought. He doesn't think he was part of the greatest generation (he feels that the Civil War Generation or the Revolutionary War generation would be 2 that could contend for that title), but he does have a lot of pride in the fact that his generation stood up to evil (in Germany and Japan both), fought and defeated it. And then stood up to the Soviet Union and defeated it without a war. And, he feels that the American Fighting Man was every bit the equal of the German Soldier as some of the battles (for instance the Vosges Mountains) where the odds were even show. So, I would recommend this book highly, it is sure to provoke discussion, but one has to remember this is just one veterans take on what happened, as are my Dad's observations.
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