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Categories: Science fiction Fantasy Mystery Romance Business Classic Sports Young adult Humor Memoirs See all categories... |
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Categories: Science fiction Fantasy Mystery Romance Business Classic Sports Young adult Humor Memoirs See all categories... |
Well, that was quite a story. Told as a first-hand, on the spot account of WWII France by an English officer named Bruce Bairnsfather. It was my first of any type of war related writing, and I found it pretty amazing. Not only was he was matter of fact about everything that he was seeing and doing, but also saying that trench warfare was enjoyable. There seemed to be no fear reported in his journal, by him or anyone else; it was all just something that a regular soldier either thrives on, or makes the best of. I was amused when he tells about receiving leave to go home for 30 days and packing up all his "souvenirs" he had collected up to that point: shell casings and the like. It puzzled me that he would want those reminders, especially at the moment. But want them he did. In fact, as he was taking his leave, he had two rucksacks going back with him. When he couldn't quite manage, he gave one to a friend on the train, and kept one under his own watch. His clothes and personal belongings became lost when he and his friend became separated. Fortunately, for him, his bag full of war prizes was safe, since that was the bag he had chosen to protect! His final showdown was in Ypres. He didn't have time to get scared, and he made his way back to England, but you'll have to read yourself to find out how. Some good humor, a bit of history, and a lot of interesting details that most people are not privy to when reading a stale classroom textbook. This is a quick read and entirely appropriate for younger, interested readers.
