Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic retelling of a Canadians life in WWII
Review: I bought this book almost in a state of doubt. I had seen the name Farley Mowat and automatically assumed it was a good piece of writing as is most if not all of his other pieces of work. He is perhaps one if not the best Canadian writer ever to pick up a pen and paper. And after reading this book, i quickly realized why. I had been searching for a book that could possibly inform and educate me on a Canadian's standpoint of the second world war. I quickly realized that I had picked out a good book. It puts you in the mind of a young man reaching adulthood and as had every other young man at the time, had his mind set in joining his fellow Canadians and Allies in the battle. This mindframe had been to be fairly excited and actually happy to go to the frontlines. As it had obviously not been programmed to the unfortunate reality of the war itself. Farley Mowat tells a great and wonderful story of his life before and during the timeline of the Canadian military's part in the war itself. Whether it was the obvious anxiety of waiting to be shipped overseas to the frontlines, or the brutal and graphic reality of the battle itself, Mowat unveils a true and dramtically emotional story of World War II. Myself I was seaching for a book such as this one. It retold the historically correct graphic and terrifying nature of war, more specifically that of the Second World War. I know that one such as myself will never know and hopefully never experience the reality of war but, I can honestly say that I have infinite gratitude and thanks for those who fought for our freedom. All in all, a WONDERFUL book and I highly recommend it to any Farley Mowat fans or anyone who likes great historical literature. I just cannot seem to express how great of a book this really was. Hope you like it too!
Rating: 
Summary: A good book, but not a great book
Review: I didn't really want to read another war book, but a friend convinced me he thought this was the best one ever written. However, I came away from it thinking it wasn't as good as "The Forgotten Soldier". The last chapter about the battle over the Moro river was just as good. However, the depth of the first three chapters I felt was diminished by the author's sense of humor and his tendency to exaggerate. For example, the dying of the inscrutable A K Long - taking out his pipe for a smoke and a book to read when he was so seriously wounded, calm in the midst of terror - struck me as unrealistic. In sum, this was a good book but I would say, not really memorable.
Rating:
Summary: A good book, but not a great book
Review: I didn't really want to read another war book, but a friend convinced me he thought this was the best one ever written. However, I came away from it thinking it wasn't as good as "The Forgotten Soldier". The last chapter about the battle over the Moro river was just as good. However, the depth of the first three chapters I felt was diminished by the author's sense of humor and his tendency to exaggerate. For example, the dying of the inscrutable A K Long - taking out his pipe for a smoke and a book to read when he was so seriously wounded, calm in the midst of terror - struck me as unrealistic. In sum, this was a good book but I would say, not really memorable.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Funny and Thoughtful
Review: I remember reading this book way back in Grade 12. Its not so way back considering that it was probably two or three years ago. This book ranks among the best war books I have ever read. In some places, I laughed so hard I nearly dropped a lung. In other places, I remember being so sombre and imaging the horror experienced by Mowat and his band of Hasty Ps. This is a must read for any Canadian even remotely interested in the Canadian role in World War II.
Rating:
Summary: A Horrors of Being Part of a Sideshow in Italy
Review: In late 1943, the western allies attack the so-called "soft-underbelly of Europe" and worked their way up from Sicily through the boot of Italy. Horrendous battles ensued with names writ large in history, Salerno, Cassino, Anzio are a few that are evoked. On the extreme right hand side of the Allied Line, at a coastal village called Ortona, a personal contest of wills was under way between the German Parachute Regiment of battle-hardened soldiers who has seen tours of duty on the Russian Front, against Canadians from dispirate backgrounds with little combat experience. In the month-long battle that followed nearly 2000 Canadian soldiers were killed to capture a small village. Farley Mowat was a young officer in one of the Canadian regiments, the Hastings Prince Edward Regiment "Hastie-Pees." After a landing at Sicily and fighting their way up this far in Italy what to come at Ortona made all that came before pale in comparison. Mowat, a writer known for his wit shows that even during the dark, wet, winter months he was able to find things that give him joy in the charnel house of Ortona. He describes the pressure on an officer just before and attack goes in, the corssing of the Moro River, and, in one of the most amazing tales of battlefield desperation, describes his charge against a German tank with fixed bayonets. As the battle drew on streets in the town changed sides frequently with the focus of the battle being a particular house in a particular street. Ortona earned the name of "little Stalingrad" for those who faught there and Mowat describes the drama day by day as the battle winds on and the Germans are forced out leaving the legacy of 1600 Canadian corpses buried in the British Commonwealth Moro River Cemetary. It is a changing experience for Mowat and one wonders how he retained his wit and verve to produce the wonderful naturalist novels that he later became famous for. This is lyrical poetic auto-biography of an intelligent, well-educated young man coming to terms with the horrors of war. As such Mowat is very much like Robert Graves in "Goodbye to all That" --- smart enough to be troubled by the nature of war yet too young to come to terms with all that it entails. Perhaps that is why Mowat waited over 40 years before he wrote the book in the first place.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: This book is an excellent personal account of WW2. Any Canadian that has friends or family that were a part of WW2 will find this book quite powerful. This is a perfect book for conveying to young people the sacrifice that Canadian soldiers made in WW2.
Rating:
Summary: An Anti-War War Read
Review: This book was a great surprise for me. I picked it up at a local library because I saw the name Mowat and thought, "Funny, Isn't he a Canadian naturalist? What's he doing in the History section?" What followed was a fascinating voyage of war,adventure,hilarity and,ultimately,tragedy and pain. Walking into the experience of WWII with a completely innocent demeanor, anxious to get into a fight, this brilliant writer has many funny and almost fatal false starts. When the fighting gets serious, the glib descriptions of his units treacherous challenges are positively riveting. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. If you like your war personal, exciting and honest, get this book to a comfortable chair and be prepared to not move for a night and a day. A brilliant book by a Canadian national treasure.
Rating:
Summary: An Anti-War War Read
Review: This book was a great surprise for me. I picked it up at a local library because I saw the name Mowat and thought, "Funny, Isn't he a Canadian naturalist? What's he doing in the History section?" What followed was a fascinating voyage of war,adventure,hilarity and,ultimately,tragedy and pain. Walking into the experience of WWII with a completely innocent demeanor, anxious to get into a fight, this brilliant writer has many funny and almost fatal false starts. When the fighting gets serious, the glib descriptions of his units treacherous challenges are positively riveting. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. If you like your war personal, exciting and honest, get this book to a comfortable chair and be prepared to not move for a night and a day. A brilliant book by a Canadian national treasure.
Rating:
Summary: A Spiral Descent into the Horrors of War
Review: This book, written about the author's personal war experiences as an infantryman fighting in Sicily and the mountains of Italy, exposed the brutalities of war and also the kinship of the common foot soldier. Mowat's usual humor is present but the savagery of the battles in combination with the cold, rainy weather of the Appenine mountains in winter, threaten to break both his spirit and his sanity. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the hardships that an infantryman experiences in combat and also anyone with an interest in the Italian campaign of World War II. I was completely engrossed in this book and was sad to see it end.
Rating:
Summary: This should be a big screen movie!
Review: This is a great book. I love Farley Mowat and have read nearly all of his books and this one in particular I have read 3 times. It takes you through the myth, reality, horror, and pain of war through the eyes of a young man. Absolutely brilliant with a lot of history and depth.
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