The Forgotten Soldier

Rating:
Summary: Excellent fiction about a German soldier
Review: This is a great fiction about the life and travails of a German soldier in WW2. The author does a great job of describing the images and sensations of the war on the Eastern Front, from the biting, bitter cold that permeated every- thing and everybody, to the shock and violence of an artillery barrage. One especially poignant remarks is how German soldiers felt swallowed up by the vastness of Russia while fighting there. The main detraction is that this book is a fic- tion, even though the author claims that it is based on his real-life experience. There are people who have investigated this story and found many purported "facts" in the story to be unfounded or unsubstantiated.

Rating:
Summary: My Favourite Story of All
Review: I have read this battered old paperback nine times and each time I read it I still manage to feel the cold. What a brilliant effort at presenting the common soldiers view of the harsness, desolation and confusion of war.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ever written on the war.
Review: I have read alot of books on the European Campaign.This book shows a side of the war you very seldom read about.Someone caught up on the German side and going through everything about war in a very short time.We have to many books on wars from the Generals who only try to help their image by telling us what they did and how they did it when it comes to winning or losing a war. Guy tells what it was like just to get out alive as a soldier who wasn't sure really what was going on except to follow the orders given by the generals.Great book!! A must read for anyone interested on who fights the wars.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant and Powerful.
Review: This is simply one of the most memorable and important books that I've ever encountered. I first read it in 1994 and it remains as vivid in my mind today as it did on the day ten years ago that I finished it. I have heard questions regarding its historical accuracy but can only say that his account of the nature of war can be supported by other German memoirs of the Eastern Front such as "The Black March." Was the GrossDeutschland Division in all the places that he claimed? Perhaps not, but I will say that, as the Eastern Front disintegrated, it was far from unusual for scratch companies to be formed regardless of where the units derived. Either way, it's a magnificent read. His desription of the Hitler Jugend before the battle of Belgorod is absolutely priceless with their banners reading "The World Belongs to Us." In chapter four, his romance with the Berlin girl Paula happens to be one of the most engaging and believable relationships I've ever run across in print. I've read it aloud to high school students and they loved it. The book should appeal to anybody who has experienced passion.

Rating:
Summary: Super first person account.
Review: If youve only read the American perprective of WW2 then you must read this!!! It is an eye opener and clearly reveals both the similarities and differences between the German landser and the American GI. Some have critisized Sajer for inaccuracies but considering the stress he faced I would have a difficult recall also.

Rating:
Summary: An excelent book
Review: Even though it is a translation from the original French, this is a beautifully written book. It is much more than a war diary. It is thoughtful and reflective. It does not dwell on the horror of war and yet the desperate plight of the ordinary German solder is portrayed in moving detail. I thoroughly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking
Review: This book is both exhilarating and heartbreaking. I am a WW2 buff, and these are the best memoirs of that war that I have read to date. Guy Sajer was a half french/half german soldier fighting for the Wermacht in WW2. The book takes you through his basic training in 1942, up until the end of the war in 1945. Mr. Sajer was not a nazi, but just a 17 year old kid caught up in a war started by evil men. He struggles with his identity, as he tries to fit in with his fellow Germans but fears he is thought of as an outsider. What he went through during this war is horrific and it pains my heart to read his story. His comradery with his fellow soldiers and the hardships they endure on the hellish eastern front brought me to tears. This book is a moving account of one man's struggle to survive in the worst of circumstances. It also shows the bond between men when facing such misery together. You forget about which side he is fighting on, and realize that every man's suffering is equal.

Rating:
Summary: One of the "must haves" of military history genre
Review: I found this book to be moving and definitely brings the war to a personal level. Kinda like Angela's Ashes meets the Eastern Front in WWII.

Rating:
Summary: Best memoirs ever written
Review: Like I said: the best germanmemoirs of WWII. Unlike the unbearable "in deadly combat", the author here is candid, honest and frank. Never before have I felt the intensity of a soviet bombardement, the fear of combat the sorrow of lost friends. Sajer's memoirs are just amazing to read.

Rating:
Summary: The best book I have read on the subject
Review: I just finished reading the book. I have read many books about WWII.

Synopsis: Autobiography of a 17-year old who fought for Germany for over 2 years on the Eastern Front. Tells the horrors of what he, personally, went through. (See other reviews regarding the how credible these adventures are.)

Criticism: Wow! This is the best book I know of on the subject. Everyone who is interested in WWII ought to read this book. You will never forget it.

That said, no book is perfect, and I'll spend the rest of this review on its limitations and weaknesses.

First of all, this is a very personal story. You learn what happened to the author, but won't read a word about strategy, the Holocaust, what Germany did to Poland, Russia, etc. What you do learn is: the horrors of what the average foot soldier on the Eastern Front went through. Being a common G.I., he had a very narrow window into what was going on in that war.
All of the weaknesses of the book are quite minor except for one: There are no maps! Maps are especially important for this book, since another one of the weaknesses is that when the author mentions a place name, it might be the English name, the German name, or the Russian or Polish name. You don't know which. And many of the place names, especially in the last third of the book, have been changed since WWII.
Added to this is that the author, being a common G.I., often didn't have a clear idea where he was. Even when he later learned where he was, he doesn't clarify it.

Minor weaknesses include:
Sometimes, when relating an adventure, the author writes around what happened, rather than stating what happened up front. Here is a simplified example, which I made up, of what I mean. "Our anti-tank men moved up. The Russian tank came upon us. There was a Flash and an explosion. Two men died. We ran to a ditch for safety." Notice that you don't know which side fired, which side died, what the outcome was.
The book is filled with detail. It is simply not credible that the author could remember all that detail about all those adventures. He seems to have remembered everything that happened to him for two and a half years!
The author often uses technical terms without defining them. I read the entire book, and have yet to understand what many of the weapons he repeatedly refers to are.
Although the book is filled with stories of atrocities committed by Germany against the German G.I., there is not a word showing any appreciation for what Germany was doing and trying to do to the Allied nations. Not a hint that this was all their fault; that they were aggressors, and the enemy were defenders.
Other, even more minor, points are that the translations sometimes need improving. For example: "No victory is possible over men who have died toward everything."
Lastly, there are some 50 photographs included. These are small and very badly reproduced. They are only incidental to the story, and are useless.

Don't let these points deter you from getting this book. Dig hard to find WWII-era maps of Poland and the Ukraine, and prepare yourself to learn what homo Sapiens is capable of.