Memoirs of an Infantry Officer

Rating:
Summary: Vivid account life at the front line during WW1.
Review: Siegfried Sassons' "Memoirs of an Infantry Officer" is a first-hand account of life at the front line during World War 1. This is not a just a historical document or diary however. Sassoon writes via an alter-ego called George. In real life, Sassoon was an infantry officer who fought at the front, but eventually grew suspicious of the reasons for the continuation of World War 1, and as such became a dissenter. This book may be fiction, but it is based on fact and it gives an impressive account of what life must have been like in those trenches, nearly a hundred years ago. Sassoon's incredible ability with words paints a much more vivid picture than any war movie will ever provide.

George was a middle-class officer who had the luxury of a university education and was an avid reader of classic English literature. He juxtaposes the themes and ideas in this romantic poetry with the realities of life at the front to great effect. Although a tad repetitive in it's ideas (perhaps to get the point across clearly), this book is rewarding and still relevant this whole century later. As one character in the book says, "In war-time the word patriotism means suppression of truth" .

Rating:
Summary: Vivid account life at the front line during WW1.
Review: Siegfried Sassons' "Memoirs of an Infantry Officer" is a first-hand account of life at the front line during World War 1. This is not a just a historical document or diary however. Sassoon writes via an alter-ego called George. In real life, Sassoon was an infantry officer who fought at the front, but eventually grew suspicious of the reasons for the continuation of World War 1, and as such became a dissenter. This book may be fiction, but it is based on fact and it gives an impressive account of what life must have been like in those trenches, nearly a hundred years ago. Sassoon's incredible ability with words paints a much more vivid picture than any war movie will ever provide.

George was a middle-class officer who had the luxury of a university education and was an avid reader of classic English literature. He juxtaposes the themes and ideas in this romantic poetry with the realities of life at the front to great effect. Although a tad repetitive in it's ideas (perhaps to get the point across clearly), this book is rewarding and still relevant this whole century later. As one character in the book says, "In war-time the word patriotism means suppression of truth" .

Rating:
Summary: Clean description of a dirty war.
Review: This book, along with Robert Graves' "Goodbye to all that" are simply the best combat memoirs ever written by officers. Horror is mundane, desultory; selflessness is the literal order of the day. Yet senior officers are lost in form as always. Even better both men served in the same division, although never together, and even better yet, were prewar friends. This book is Sassoon's answer to Graves' book, and I don't believe anyone can feel the full impact of the mindless brutality on the Western Front without reading both. These books convince me that the Western Front was a lot like Vietnam without end, the years came and went... and Sassoon became an accomplished killer for God and King.

Rating:
Summary: Clean description of a dirty war.
Review: This book, along with Robert Graves' "Goodbye to all that" are simply the best combat memoirs ever written by officers. Horror is mundane, desultory; selflessness is the literal order of the day. Yet senior officers are lost in form as always. Even better both men served in the same division, although never together, and even better yet, were prewar friends. This book is Sassoon's answer to Graves' book, and I don't believe anyone can feel the full impact of the mindless brutality on the Western Front without reading both. These books convince me that the Western Front was a lot like Vietnam without end, the years came and went... and Sassoon became an accomplished killer for God and King.

Rating:
Summary: Superb book!!
Review: This was an extraordinary book. Some of the descriptions of battle are unforgettable and have seared themselves forever in my memory. The author brilliantly paints mental pictures that leave you thinking about them for days. I was also struck how ahead of its time the book seemed. Though written prior to WWII, the disallusionment and hopelessness expressed by the protaganist as he is expossed to more and more action in the trenches read much like a Vietnam era work. Would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a front line, junior officer's account of WWI and just plain good writing.