Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42793 in Books
• Published on: 1980-05-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 656 pages

Customer Reviews

A clasic of English literature.
In my opinion this book is one of the great classics of literature. An autobiographical account of Sassoon's life from his earliest childhood in Edwardian rural Kent, through his hedonistic and drifting days as a 'gentleman sportsman', to finally the battlefields of the Great War.

The wonder of this book is the marvellous descriptive narratives of an idyllic pre-war rural England lost forever by the end of the war. Sassoon's early days are dominated by his passion for foxhunting, horses and cricket, and provide a stark contrast to his later life in the army, which took him not only to the horrors of the Western Front but Palestine and Ireland.

For me, one of the strongest points of this book are the images Sassoon creates of his life as a young officer, not only of the horror of life for the infantry during the Great War, but also the humour, the boredom, the fear and the beauty.

A marvellous book and a well deserved 5 stars.

Evolution of a Foxhunting Man:
It seems odd to be reviewing such a well known, indeed classic, book but here goes. It starts as a charming evocation of country life in the early 1900's as lived by a sensitive rather introvert young man living on a modest inheritance, no job, and obsessed with foxhunting.

Joining the army at the start of the war he rapidly becomes a diligent officer, very caring of his men. The descriptions of the trenches are if anything quite restrained but nonetheless the horror comes through. He experiences a pacifist conversion and starts to cause trouble for the authorities by consorting with well known pacifists and writing about tne iniquities of war - we see a lot on TV, in those days it was possible to conceal the appalling conditions in France from people in England. Not knowing how to deal with such a well born, educated and efficient officer they sent him to the shellshock hospital in Edinburgh largely to get him safely out of the way.

Eventually deciding he can get nowhere with his protest he goes back to the trenches. The style of writing is Edwardian but it is very readable and deservedly a classic book.

Not bad
Don't expect a horrific account of life in the trenches. It made me feel that being an officer in WW1 was merely an uncomfortable experience, but nothing more. His pre-war life made for a good read.
I'd recommend it but not as an anti-war story.