Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant
Review: A fascinating, emotional journey against the backdrop of WWI and its terrible carnage - evocative use of poetry, memories of music and descriptions of places (especially Malta). Though I object to the word "colonials" to describe Australians. And I would have liked to know more about her Mother (& her experiences).
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: A fascinating, emotional journey against the backdrop of WWI and its terrible carnage - evocative use of poetry, memories of music and descriptions of places (especially Malta). Though I object to the word "colonials" to describe Australians. And I would have liked to know more about her Mother (& her experiences).
Rating:
Summary: You will never forget.
Review: An excellent and an amazing account of one womans life during the period of WW1. To read a womans story during this period I have found rare. Vera is a strong character, a feminist, born ahead of her time. I liked her enormously, I wish I could of met her.Anyone who is interested in WW1 should read this. If I had even half of Vera Brittains strength of character, I should be very well pleased!! I am only sorry that I cannot express my feelings on this book as well as she has written her own biography. My life will not be the same again. A MUST read!!
Rating:
Summary: just great
Review: As I have set myself the topic "War in English literature" for my final examination you can imagine that I have to read quite a lot of books dealing with warfare. So far, this is undeniably the best. Brittain's book really is a testament to future generations about the "Great War". The content is far too diverse to summarize in a few sentences; let us just say that Brittain managed to capture the spirit of a whole generation. I might add that I think that World War One is the perfect showcase of a futile conflict. Those dealing with world war literature would do well not just to read the literature of one side. For the American reader I can recommend Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" or (less known) Kraus' "The last days of mankind." In fact, many of these authors (and also many of the war poets) voice the sentiment that the real enemy wasn't the soldier in the opposite trench - it was one's own general staff.
Rating:
Summary: just great
Review: As I have set myself the topic "War in English literature" for my final examination you can imagine that I have to read quite a lot of books dealing with warfare. So far, this is undeniably the best. Brittain's book really is a testament to future generations about the "Great War". The content is far too diverse to summarize in a few sentences; let us just say that Brittain managed to capture the spirit of a whole generation. I might add that I think that World War One is the perfect showcase of a futile conflict. Those dealing with world war literature would do well not just to read the literature of one side. For the American reader I can recommend Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" or (less known) Kraus' "The last days of mankind." In fact, many of these authors (and also many of the war poets) voice the sentiment that the real enemy wasn't the soldier in the opposite trench - it was one's own general staff.
Rating:
Summary: One "history lesson" you'll never forget.
Review: Cheryl Campbell's reading of Testament of Youth is one of the most gripping audiobooks I've ever encountered (and I've heard quite a few). Despite it's six-hour length, I've listened to it three times. Campbell's interpretation is pitch-perfect as the voice of a girl from a provincial, upper-middle-class English family who sees her world changed forever by the cataclysmic events of the First World War. Brittan's quiet and deliberate style makes the horrors she has to tell speak for themselves. Spend six hours with Campbell, and you'll understand our troubled century as never before.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: I began this book unsure of what I would find. Two days later I was glad I took a chance. A powerful book. All the cliches come to mind, of course, and they all work.This book lacks the acid of Graves biography, it's sadder, in many respects it's deeper and has a sense of humanity that one never finds in Graves or Sasson. One should read this book if for no other reason then to look at WW1 with a different perspective.It gives you a sense of what pre-war England was like and what was lost in the trenches, both the physical and spiritual cost. Excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written by a World War 1 Survivor!
Review: I couldn't put this book down and I don't usually have little interest in WWI. I tend to read more about World War II and the Holocaust of Nazi Germany, but this book grabbed me and did not let me go until the last page! I wish more people knew about this rich and engrossing book. It has so much to say to us moderns about life as it was in the early 19OO's. A spectacular read for anyone interested in history.
Rating:
Summary: Gift Book
Review: I first became aware of this author when I saw the PBS series of this book. Another reviewer was right, it should be a movie, instead it was a television series. I also had this book, then someone borrowed it and they lost it. I found a new copy at a garage sale and everytime I find a copy, I buy it as I am always giving them away as gifts telling people that they must read this book.My 16 year old daughter loves it also. It is well-written. As someone who taught high school history, I know how important having an interesting book dealing with history is when trying to get most teens to think about the past.. I also recommend reading Testiment of Friendship and Testament of Experience, the continuation of this story.
Rating:
Summary: evocative autobiography of one woman's experiences in WWI
Review: I first read this book when I was not much younger than Vera Brittain was when she "viewed the outbreak of the First World War as an interruption of her plans", and I was immediately touched by her experiences. I have read (and re-read & re-read) this book many times. While I am not of the same social class that she was, I can relate to her desire to make something of her life, first through a university education (then restricted to many women) and later through finding meaningful work. (This is something that we all seek.) She fell happily in love, only to lose first her fiance, then her two male friends, and finally her beloved only brother in the carnage of the First World War. Her experiences as a V.A.D. (Volunary Aide Detachment) nurse in the war--from describing what the wards were like, to the frenzy she faced during a "push", to watching the Americans arrive in 1917, to her life on the hospital ship "Britannic", that's right, the sister ship to "Titanic"--both went down, are unforgettable. When she writes, she does not spare herself, nor seek to make herself look good--and she takes an unflinching look at her own difficulties (a word which does not even begin to describe it!!) adjusting to a post-war world which did not want the survivors. She tells of the difficulties she had fitting in (again, but this time older & wisher) at Oxford, of her mental near-breakdown, and of the bright light that was Winifred Holtby. I cannot recommend this book enough. It should be required reading in colleges and universities, and not just for history, English, and womens' studies majors. Perhaps those who do not understand what all the fuss over "women's lib." is all about should make this required reading as well (both male and female). She is the first feminist role model for me, and inspired me to learn as much as I could about current events AND history (so much so that I majored in history in college, with a concentration in modern Europe). This book is well worth your time and effort, and will probably send you to the nearest library or bookstore to hunt for more books on this era. It is also rare because most of the books written about the First World War are written by men (Sassoon, Graves, etc.), so this is unique in that it tells of the impact of the war from a woman's perspective. History tends to forget that women as well as men have experienced war. Brittain writes both from the view of those back home in Britain (when she is on leave) and from the view of someone at the front, cleaning up the wreckage (as a volunteer nurse). If you are wondering what happens to her, she wrote a "sequel" of sorts titled "Testament of Experience", which chronicles the years 1933-1950. "Testament of Youth" is a wonderful book, one which you will read again and again, and all the more moving because it is a true story.
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