Rating: 
Summary: The timeless infantry
Review: I first read this book 20 years ago, as a senior in high school. My uncle, a Korean war-era Ranger, gave it to me. My Dad, a Vietnam infantryman, liked it too. Sadly, I lost that old, faded copy somewhere along the years.Imagine my joy to find a reprint! The book means much more now that I can understand it. I've got 13 years in the Army myself, in Infantry and Special Forces. I'm a Major now, and I pay close attention to what Mauldin writes about officers. I want to be the kind of officer that he respects: always putting the welfare of my men first, respecting my men, and leading from the front. His narrative and comments are a constant reminder to me of the responsibility I hold for my soldiers. If you are from the World War II era, you already know about Willie and Joe, and there's nothing new I can tell you. If you are an old soldier and you somehow have missed this book, then you are in for a treat. If you are a young soldier, or a prospective soldier, or the family of a soldier, then you NEED to read this book. For anyone else, it's a great window into a world that, thanks to some brave men 50 years ago, you will hopefully never have to see.
Rating:
Summary: The timeless infantry
Review: I first read this book 20 years ago, as a senior in high school. My uncle, a Korean war-era Ranger, gave it to me. My Dad, a Vietnam infantryman, liked it too. Sadly, I lost that old, faded copy somewhere along the years. Imagine my joy to find a reprint! The book means much more now that I can understand it. I've got 13 years in the Army myself, in Infantry and Special Forces. I'm a Major now, and I pay close attention to what Mauldin writes about officers. I want to be the kind of officer that he respects: always putting the welfare of my men first, respecting my men, and leading from the front. His narrative and comments are a constant reminder to me of the responsibility I hold for my soldiers. If you are from the World War II era, you already know about Willie and Joe, and there's nothing new I can tell you. If you are an old soldier and you somehow have missed this book, then you are in for a treat. If you are a young soldier, or a prospective soldier, or the family of a soldier, then you NEED to read this book. For anyone else, it's a great window into a world that, thanks to some brave men 50 years ago, you will hopefully never have to see.
Rating:
Summary: Up Front: Relevant Then, Relevant Now
Review: I first read Up Front as a boy--well, the cartoons, not the text. Fifty years later, I read both text and cartoon, though not the edition with Ambrose's introduction. Though I've never been in the military, the text is clear enough for the reader to emphathize with the dogface and the hell he went through--as well as the grunts who followed him in Korea and Vietnam. Anyone who wants to kick butt in Afghanistan or whoever directed the WTC and Pentagon crashes had better read this book first before he--or she too, nowadays--signs up. This is the best illustration of Sherman's "War is Hell" quote. The mud and constant rain, the incompetent officers, the jerk in the jeep who doesn't slow down to avoid splashing the infantrymen whom he passes--they're all in the book. Read it--cartoon and text both--and see what you're in for if you join the military. Willie and Joe were committed Americans, tested as they were by the conditions they endured--and the present war, if it draws all the military into the conflict, not just the Special Forces--will be your test, as well.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Ever Written on World War Two
Review: I was first introduced to Bill Mauldin by my late father who gave me his battered copy of "Up Front" that was printed in 1945. He told me when he gave it to me that it was his favorite book growing up (he was age 10-15 during World War Two) and that I should read it to better understand the human side of war. He couldn't have been more correct. I came to understand that even when the cause is noble, and the enemy leadership is evil, that war is a horrible thing, even when it is necessary. Bill Mauldin, who died recently, was a national treasure. His characters Willy and Joe (themselves a national treasure) form the crux of his cartoons from that era, and they embodied everyman in the heroes of the war. For his work he eventually won a Pulitzer prize. Mauldin claimed to be more of a cartoonist than a writer, but the writing is, in my opinion, at least the equal of the cartoons. For people who have never been exposed to the human level, front line realities of war, this book is vital for understanding the men who fight for the freedoms we enjoy. This is a wonderful book, and I wish that every high school student was required to read it when they studied World War Two in Europe. I am so glad to see it back in print. While I cherish the copy that my Dad gave me many years ago it is now very fragile. I am grateful to have a new copy to thumb through on my bookshelf. If you read any one book this year on World War Two, this has to be it. It will make you proud to be an American, and proud of the men who fought for freedom sixty years ago.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Ever Written on World War Two
Review: I was first introduced to Bill Mauldin by my late father who gave me his battered copy of "Up Front" that was printed in 1945. He told me when he gave it to me that it was his favorite book growing up (he was age 10-15 during World War Two) and that I should read it to better understand the human side of war. He couldn't have been more correct. I came to understand that even when the cause is noble, and the enemy leadership is evil, that war is a horrible thing, even when it is necessary. Bill Mauldin, who died recently, was a national treasure. His characters Willy and Joe (themselves a national treasure) form the crux of his cartoons from that era, and they embodied everyman in the heroes of the war. For his work he eventually won a Pulitzer prize. Mauldin claimed to be more of a cartoonist than a writer, but the writing is, in my opinion, at least the equal of the cartoons. For people who have never been exposed to the human level, front line realities of war, this book is vital for understanding the men who fight for the freedoms we enjoy. This is a wonderful book, and I wish that every high school student was required to read it when they studied World War Two in Europe. I am so glad to see it back in print. While I cherish the copy that my Dad gave me many years ago it is now very fragile. I am grateful to have a new copy to thumb through on my bookshelf. If you read any one book this year on World War Two, this has to be it. It will make you proud to be an American, and proud of the men who fought for freedom sixty years ago.
Rating:
Summary: What made them the Greatest Generation?
Review: It didn't occur to me until I was thumbing through my 1945-edition of Up Front, that Mauldin saw many of the same things in the GIs he drew that Brokaw did in writing The Greatest Generation. Further, Mauldin's fine contemporaneous narrative (he wrote the accompanying text while the war was still in progress) anticipates many of the same points about these men (and their wives and girlfriends waiting for them at home), that Brokaw relates in his phenomenal best seller. For those who enjoyed getting to know Brokaw's WWII vets, I heartily suggest reading--or re-reading--Mauldin. It's like meeting them all again for the first time.
Rating:
Summary: The best book ever about soldiers
Review: Mauldin wisely includes a great deal of text along with his cartoons. This is a fascinating book, and one that I highly
recommend to everyone. His two solders--Willie and Joe--have
nearly become household names. Some of the cartoons made me burst out laughing (an old calvaryman averting his eyes while he
shoots his jeep, which has a broken axle, with a .45). In the text Mauldin details the troubles he had with his cartoons. Some people were offended by them, back then, although now none of them appear to be offensive. Mostly he was showing up the way war was like for the average soldier--the contempt for officers, the
dirt, the lack of sleep, the miserable food, but mostly, the desire of everyone to just go home.
Rating: 
Summary: Up Front, Everyman's view of war
Review: My Father bought Up Front when it was released and I read the cartoons numerous times. Later, I read the text. This book does more to capture the human experience of war than any other of its time. It prefigures and anticipates the recent oral history books such as, "The Good War", "D-Day" and most recently, "Citizen Soldier". The last two, by the way, are well worth the read. Through Willy and Joe, Maulden protrayed the absurdity and the eternal human spirit in the everyday events that make up so much of the experience of war. The cartoons alone make this a book which even the most casual student of WWII should read. His text captures the experience on the ground, the mud and cold, the rain and heat, the boredem and fear and the workman like approach to war that made up the GI's life. Get it. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Classic...
Review: Over half a century has passed since it's initial publication and it arguably remains still the greatest book ever written about the dogface infantryman. With his brilliant cartoons serving as the book's illustrations, Mauldin explains in wonderfully clear language, life as experienced by the regular frontline infantryman. This book is a must have for all World War II infantry buffs. That it hasn't ever gone out of print since it's appearance in 1945, I think says volumes for it's staying power. One last note: Mauldin went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for his work in 1945 at the tender age of 23, not too shabby. I also heartily recommend Mauldin's complete World War II cartoon collection, "Bill Mauldin's Army."
Rating:
Summary: The best ever...
Review: This book is, without a doubt, the greatest book on the World War II infantryman ever written. Why? Because it was written by and infantryman, for infantrymen. Sgt. Bill Mauldin claims on the first page that his business is drawing, not writing, and that his text is only there to back up the cartoons. However, the text is some of the most endearing, personal, and excellent works on WWII ever. Mauldin brings the war down from the lofty views of Generals and reporters to the personal level, to the point of giving you a basic narration of the average day in the life of an infantryman. The cartoons, naturally, are the main power behind the book, and they are, even to this day, still hilarious. Hilarious, but at the same time showing you the gripes and hardships of the average GI during the war. If you want to experience World War II from the GI's perspective, read this book!
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