Product Description

‘As though walking through a deep dream, I saw steel helmets approaching through the craters. They seemed to sprout from the fire-harrowed soil like some iron harvest.’Storm of Steel is one of the greatest works to emerge from the catastrophe of the First World War. A memoir of astonishing power, savagery and ashen lyricism, it illuminates like no other book the horrors but also the fascination of total war, presenting the conflict through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier. As an account of the terrors of the Western Front and of the sickening allure that made men keep fighting on for four long years, Storm of Steel has no equal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18115 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Evening Standard, August 18, 2003 (by Richard Holmes)
"This is unquestionably one of the most striking accounts of the First World War..."

Telegraph, August 23, 2003 (by Daniel Johnson)
"What raises Jünger to the level of epic is the grandeur of the prose, which is sublime but never sentimental."

Telegraph, August 24, 2003 (by Tibor Fischer)
"Ernst Jünger is unarguably an original…"

Customer Reviews

Excellent new translation of classic memoir
This is a much needed new translation of one of the finest military memoirs ever written. The original has long been recognised as essential reading to anybody with an interest in world war one but has been quite hard to find due to being long out of print, and the original translation left much to be desired. This book is very direct with no attempt to analyse or judge the wider war, it is a simple account of the experiences of one junior officer in the German army and is full of the excitement, danger and tragedy of his war years. For many people used to the British war poets and the "lions led by donkeys" school of world war one this book will be a new and provocative experience as Junger saw the war as one of the greatest experiences of his life and makes no apologies for his feelings. Whether one agrees with or disagrees with his view there can be no doubt he represents a long ignored voice yet a voice which represents more men than we would like to admit. Essential reading.

A different perspective
I had read so much about this book beforehand that I snapped up "Storm of steel" as soon as I saw it in the shop. Forget preconceptions about the stereotypical Great War literature, this is a book whose author appears to have accepted the horror of warfare and ,perhaps, thrived on the experience.
Unlike efforts such as the more famous "All quiet on the Western Front" or the work of the British war poets, this book eschews the pathos of the war for a realistic account of the everyday quest for survival and the brutality of the conflict. Some of the accounts, such as the pursuit of British soldiers through the trenches during German offences are vivid and shocking and illustrates how the soldier became de-humanised.
Although written from the German point of view, this is a book that merits it's reputation, if not for the style of writing, then for it's honesty. An essential read for those interested in The Great War.

Gripping Eyewitness Account
This new translation by Michael Hoffman is an absorbing account of Junger's experiences in the trenches of the Western Front. His survival against all the odds and the true random violence of trench warfare is vividly conveyed. The terror, the courage, the comradeship are all palpable. I recommend this book without reservation not only to those interested in the First World War but to anyone interested in Man's ability to withstand almost unspeakable horror.