Rating: Summary: He is destined to be forgotten Review: As German Army was an armed arm of the Nazi regime which conducted a racial war of extermination against Russia it's a pity that he got out alive from Russia. My tribute to millions of brave Russian soldiers who were killed expelling Sajer and his army and saving mankind from destruction.
Rating: Summary: The Forgotten Soldier Review: Hollywood's jingoism has falsely led many to believe that the American soldier was singular in showing bravery beyond the call of duty. Insights on the German soldier are few, with the exception that he is often portrayed as little more than a second-rate enemy; cannon fodder in the allies inexorable march towards Berlin. We forget that modern warfare is based on the combined arms principle (Blitzkrieg for want of a better term), and a tactic devised by the Wehrmacht. Let us remember that the SS was the predecessor of our elite Rangers - the first "special forces", and far from an easy walkover. This harrowing account of warfare will set the record straight regarding anyone's view of the SS soldier during WWII. Their courage, in light of the overwhelming odds was equal, if not greater than any heroic feat the allies could muster. Underfed, under clothed, undersupplied, and most definitely under-respected: Sajer's unit endures more than a lifetime of suffering during his 3 "short" years of military service on the notorious Eastern Front. As a soldier, I am grateful for what I have, because this horrifying eyewitness account of human misery not only makes me thankful that wars are no longer fought this way, but makes me realize that we are spoiled compared to the discipline that was present in Guy Sajer's Gross Deutschland SS Unit. This book puts our modern day griping into perspective. It also puts to shame all those whose greatest worries revolve about splitting up with a partner, or remuneration issues. This work is an exemplar of bravery and honour, whilst redefining the meaning of fear and lost youth. The fact that Sajer survived to tell this tale is a testament to intestinal fortitude, and of man's unrelenting will to survive at a time when man was at his most barbarous. I cannot find the superlatives that describe this book. It is quite simply compelling.
Rating: Summary: Beyond good and evil Review: This text details the life of a soldier at war. This particular soldier is French, but fighting for the Wehrmacht on the Ost front. His nationality is almost meaningless in the raging conflict he is involved with and I think his experience is universally applicable to soldiers on any front. This book is well written, compelling, dramatic and painful.Everyone should read this book, pacifists or soldiers, young or old. The misery and the human cost of war fly from these pages like an artillery barrage.
Rating: Summary: The best personal account of WWII that i have read... Review: For those with an subjective view of the Axis forces during WWII this book reveals that the ordinary German soldier endured far more than the Allies in Europe. This book is an amazing insight into the horrors of war and the feeling invoked by the book stays for a long while after finishing the book. If more people in authority read this book they may be less inclined to send men to war. Rated my best read alongside "The Long Walk"
Rating: Summary: UNFORGETTABLE Review: "THE FORGOTTEN SOLDIER" IS THE BEST BOOK ON COMBAT I HAVE EVER READ.I PICKED IT UP AS SOMETHING TO READ ONE SUMMER,AND WAS COMPLETELY STUNNED BY IT.I HAVE RECOMMENDED IT TO MANY FRIENDS,AND ALL HAVE THANKED ME FOR DOING SO.IT PROVIDES A LOOK AT THE WAR FROM A SIDE THAT I KNEW LITTLE ABOUT.DO YOURSELF A FAVOR,BY THIS BOOK.IT IS WORTH BUYING AND READING.
Rating: Summary: War up close and terrifyingly personal Review: I have read dozens of books on the second world war, and many more articles, it has always been one of my favorite subjects to read about. Perhaps this is because it has plenty of drama and a well defined good guy, bad guy, with the good guy winning. This book changed all that by putting a human face on the German soldier with all the same cares and fears our men had to contend with. I will never look at war the same again. Read this book and prepare to experience war up close and terrifyingly personal.
Rating: Summary: Best book on war I have ever read and I have read many. Review: I could careless if people doubt the historical accuracy of this book. I could not understand why someone must attack it on a basis of "he made a mistake on which sleeve his insignia should be on" who cares. What he remembers in vivid detail is the love and lose of friends and brothers to brutal warfare fought on the Eastern Front. Fear is so gripping I would almost cringe when I read about his wait for an attack, or feel the cold and hunger. Of the luck of the draw in many instances, they as young soldiers of Germany had and have every right to a memorial that this book has become for the soldiers of the German Army in WWII. A memorial that is far greater then some marble statue it is a living breathing memorial that one will never forget. Nor should they... Should be mandatory reading for anyone with the very least bit of interested in the horrors of war.
Rating: Summary: From the far side Review: Guy Sajer's litany of his struggle to survive an infantry man's life on the eastern front. Excellent autobiography which details his stuggles with his identity, born to a German father and French mother,and brought up in Alsace-Lorraine (France). At first proud to be a member of an elite division in the German forces of ww2, and then his disillusionment and struggle to survive the Russian onslaught and the hoped for return home. Great story.
Rating: Summary: The most enjoyable and probably best book I have ever read Review: This book profoundly changed my life. Its sheer epic contents regarding human endurance and perseverance is simply impeccable. Guy Sajer was a dignified Frenchman who found himself suddenly thrust into a world of total war - consequently he suffered incredibly, but miraculously survived to tell a tale that sheds light significantly on the extreme capabilities of human nature. Having read this book I feel a better person.
Rating: Summary: All Quiet on the Eastern Front Review: I first read Sajer's book when I was a cadet at West Point. It was required reading in our Military History course, and the point, of course, was to let us know how bad combat really could be. This book is arguably the "All Quiet on the Western Front" of WWII; it shows that the young men who fight wars are the tragic victims of their elders' political choices. Sure these young men were enthusiastic volunteers, but a teenager from the country (especially 50 years ago) has no idea what war is like, has no real idea of what he is getting into, and is unlikely to have any political convictions that are more than a reflection of his parents' or teachers' views. The message is that war is almost never worth its cost in human life, and war for the purpose of conquest never is. This book is not an apologia for the actions of Germany in WWII, and of course would be rightly shunned if it were. At the end, you feel sympathy for Sajer, not for his former country. By the way, I disagree with those reviewers who say there really was no difference in the relative conduct of the Russian, German, and American Armies; any serious student of WWII knows that the fighting was more vicious, and much more often without quarter on the Eastern Front. This is a great, realistic war story from a little known (to westerners) theater of WWII.
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