Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other--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 trank, 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
|
Customer Reviews: Read 450 more reviews...
 Murder on the Western Front September 17, 2008
'All Quiet on the Western Front' is Remarque's timeless tale of war during WWI. It is trite to refer to it as an 'anti-war' story. It is all of that and much more. It's a story of youth, patriotism, naivete and brutal death in the mud of German trenches. It's a tale of bloody assaults, destructive retreats and the story of brave men facing impenetrable walls of bullets and steel. It is told from the German pespective but the story could have been told, with equal impact, from the British, French or British perspective. Their experiences, despite differences in nationalities, was almost exactly the same--filth, fear, desperation, wounds and death.
To what end? Remarque's answer is simple--none. It's all for nothing. All the heroism, cowardice, greed and sacrifice are, ultimately, for exactly nothing. Boys don't come home to their parents or women. They are built into the walls of trenches or their bloated corpses float in the watery mud of shell craters. In the end, they all--German and Allies--smell the same and the maggots are the only ones to benefit.
Of all the poignant scenes, the one I like best is when the young German soldier, seeking shelter during an enemy counterattack, dives into an open crypt. A French soldier dives in after him with his bayonet. There is a struggle and the Frenchman is killed. Now the young German must live face to face with his guilt. He goes through his victim's wallet and finds pictures of his wife and children and loving letters from his wife, praying that he will return to her safe. The German grieves over the horror of his act.
There is a day of quiet. The war seems far away. A butterfly lights on a flower growing in the muck. The young soldier's hand reaches out to touch it. The sniper takes careful aim...
Not to remarkably, Hitler on coming to power, exiled Remarque. Hitler gloried in the winnowing process of war, regarding the culling the 'unfit' in favor of the most fit as Darwinian progress.
Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico
 Not in English September 12, 2008
I received All Quiet In The Western Front but found that the
CD was not recorded in English.
A must for any student or non-specialist general reader September 4, 2008
"All Quiet on the Western Front" is a well-known work throughout the western world. "Bloom's Guides: All Quiet on the Western Front" is a complete and comprehensive book on the book. Exploring Remarque's work, looking at the roots and meanings scattered throughout that may not be obvious to a simple reader, it is also enhanced with a collection of critical essays discussing the work's impact on the world of literature and the world in general. This Bloom's Guide to a literary classic is a must for any student or non-specialist general reader wanting better understand the nuances, historical references, character insights, and writing style that created "All Quiet on the Western Front."
Great BOOK!!! August 11, 2008
Thank you for your timely shipping. This book was for a reading assignment, and it was a great book. I did not really want to read it, but it was an exciting and very informative book. I enjoyed it so much I got an A+ on my report!!!
Unusually packaged, but I got it! July 19, 2008
The book came wrapped in cardboard and tape, but nothing was damaged. Great buy! Awesome book, very intense and graphic. I had to read it for an AP European History class.
|
