Product Description

The life of Siegfried Sassoon has been recorded and interpreted in literature and film for over half a century. He is one of the great figures of the First World War, and Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man and Memoirs of an Infantry Officer are still widely read, as are his poems, which did much to shape our present ideas about the Great War. Sassoon was a genuine hero, a brave young officer who also became the war's most famous opponent, risking imprisonment and even a death sentence by throwing his Military Cross into the Mersey. He was friend to Robert Graves, mentor to Wilfred Owen and much admired by Churchill. But Sassoon was more than the embodiment of a romantic ideal; he was in many senses the perfect product of a vanished age. And many questions about his character, unique experience and motivations have remained unanswered until now.

'Unmistakably the best thing anybody has ever written about Sassoon' D J Taylor, Independent

'Egremont's work outclasses his predecessors . . . this is an outstanding and original biography' Max Hastings, Daily Telegraph

'Sassoon is the ultimate ambiguous man, and Egremont does him full justice . . . he has honoured him with a biography of subtle affection and truth' Sebastian Barry, Financial Times

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69376 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 656 pages

Review
'Unmistakably the best thing anybody has ever written about Sassoon' - D J Taylor, "Independent". 'Egremont's work outclasses his predecessors ...this is an outstanding and original biography' - Max Hastings, "Daily Telegraph". 'Sassoon is the ultimate ambiguous man, and Egremont does him full justice ...he has honoured him with a biography of subtle affection and truth' - Sebastian Barry, "Financial Times".

Daily Telegraph
Egremont 'makes the latter half of Sassoon's life as engaging as
the daredevil antics on the battlefield'

About the Author

Max Egremont was born in 1948 and studied Modern History at Oxford University. As well as four novels, he is the author of two biographical studies, The Cousins, which won the Yorkshire Post First Book Award, and Balfour: A Life of James Arthur Balfour. Max Egremont lives in West Sussex with his wife and four children.

Customer Reviews

A long and powerful read about a long and powerful life
Unlike with many bioraphies I have read, upon reading this book I was not left feeling like I had just read a history text-book or run a marathon. The 'narrative' is skillfully crafted to make this seem more like a novel than a factual book and this adds to it greatly.

As for the content, one would think that Sassoon had had enough information written about him- how could this biography be any different? Well, first of all, there was the input of George Sassoon, who has never previously been involved with one of his father's biographers. There is also the skillful weaving in of Sassoon's poetry- either to explain his feelings at a particular point in his life or as a study of his character.

From a personal point of view, I enjoyed reading about Sassoon's relationship with W.H.R Rivers, a great hero of mine, and I was also intrigued by the new poetry and photos that have been added to this biography.

10 / 10 and I would strongly recommend this book.

an excellent read
For an author whose main claim to fame is an autobiography and a trilogy of novels based around his autobiographical `Memoirs of an Infantry Officer', one might question the purpose of a new biography. This is especially so as there have been a number of biographies of Sassoon already published. However, in this very readable latest biography of Siegfried Sassoon, the reader will learn about a life that was never really covered in any of his published writings or poems. There is a vast array of facts and information concerning the author and poet's life that would be otherwise unknown from just reading his work and creates a fully faceted image of the man himself. It is at times not an altogether pleasant read, but this reflects his turbulent life. Thus for anyone who has read his work this book provides an excellent means to gain a greater insight into the man who was Siegfried Sassoon.