Considered by many the greatest war novel of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front is Erich Maria Remarque’s masterpiece of the German experience during World War I.I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. . . .This is the testament of Paul Bäumer, who enlists with his classmates in the … enlists with his classmates in the German army during World War I. They become soldiers with youthful enthusiasm. But the world of duty, culture, and progress they had been taught breaks in pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches.
Through years of vivid horror, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principle of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against one another . . . if only he can come out of the war alive.
“The world has a great writer in Erich Maria Remarque. He is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank, a man who can bend language to his will. Whether he writes of men or of inanimate nature, his touch is sensitive, firm, and sure.”—The New York Times Book Review
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Hitler chose to burn it. Hard to find a better recommendation. Beyond that, it’s probably the best (and the first) ant-war book ever written. The fact that it’s never been out of print. Never!…since it came out in the 20s says more than I ever could.
It saved my mental and emotional life in Vietnam when I read it for the first time. Then ten years later I happened upon his later novels. All of them beautifully written, amusing, and inspirational. Stylistically similar to Hemingway but done so, so much better. Every word chosen with care, but without any bullfighting/warrior machismo. Just average people struggling with 1930s Europe. Everything he wrote is worth a read.
An enduring classic worth reading a second time.
Classic
This book I think captures the true horror of war and our inhumanity. I think everyone especially politicians.
The book is horrific. It tells it like I imagine it was. No embellishments. It needs none. One of the best I have ever read. I will never forget it or all the men and women who have lived thru hell on earth.
I spent a lot of time thinking about how Americans felt when they read this book shortly after it was published. At that time the realities of WWII were still top -of-mind and emotionally raw with everyone. Telling the story from the perspective of very young men caught in many hopeless and senseless situation created by war. Your heart goes out for them… and yet they are German soldiers fighting for the other side. It touched me deeply.
Can’t believe I have never read this before. Don’t know how I missed this in High School English class. But maybe it was not on reading lists because it is told from the German everyman’s perspective.
This is the most realistic war story I have read. The characters, the situations and life experiences are truly alive. You are really there! One of the most touching scenes is the mother sleeping in her son’s room before he goes back to the war zone. The realization that we are with a German, not American, soldier makes the story even more poignant because I myself have always thought about the senseless killing of other humans just like ourselves. We are with the main character every step of the way and feel everything he feels. Excellent writing. It forces a self-searching “Why?” This book makes you want to change attitudes of every person in the world about the senselessness of war. Alas, it seems that will never happen.
I first read this classic over fifty years ago, and have re-read it numerous times since. Remarque carefully crafts an extremely thought -provoking and insightful novel that develops and delivers a very powerful and timeless message about the glories attendant to Warfare-In-General.
A masterpiece of a soldier’s view of war. The one that should have ended war.
I realize why this is a classic. Realistic, horrifyingly tragic look at war.
A classic dealing with the trauma of WWI trench warfare. An introspective look into one soldier’s experiences and feelings.
A great, but tragic time for war. Very well written for descriptions, emotions. Regardless how the world evolves , this “description” of war and insight will never change.
Great classic. Good to read it as an adult, not part of a heavy load in school lit class.
Shows war in an unvarnished light.
I read this book years ago, and just re-read it. I’d forgotten how sad it is, and how raw the descriptions are of WWI. It’s one of those books that you think about long after it is finished.
An amazing book about the effects of war on the mind and soul
A true classic that should be on everyone’s must read list…I read this when I was in high school after I had seen the movie…One of the greatest war, anti-war books ever written…The movie was pretty good , also…I have always wanrted to read again and just recently bought the book…I cannot recommend it enough…
Simply put, one of the finest novels of the 20th century. A beautiful, sad, brutal book – everyone should read it at least once in their lives. If you think you know what war is, and how it can affect lives, think again. Read. This. Book.