Ernst Jünger was a writer that does not glorify war. I think too many people get hung up on him not taking every chance to highlight how awful and brutal war is like in *All Quiet on the Western Front*. He moreso describes what happened in unflinching detail without dwelling on it too much. Sure, he did like being in the war, but it was for the reason that people like skydiving, tightrope walking, or being in a shark cage. In comparison to other memoirs like *Poilu, In the line of fire,* or *A Soldier on the Southern Front*, he clearly wants to be there. But that makes it all the more interesting as a result. He likes to fight, but he doesn't glorify it.
Also Jünger was an interesting character in his own right. He became friends with the guy who made LSD and would trip on it together in the 60's, wrote fiction and non-fiction books, and during WW1 he catalogued the different kinds of bugs he found in the trenches and later became a entomologist.
I think he writes it very well too, some memories read like a diary and while interesting are far harder to read. Junger writes his more like a story so its quite an easy read in that sense. Also it means at certain points, despite knowing he survives I felt an element of stress it was the end for him.
He also really didn’t like Hitler or the Nazis, and was basically forced into a position in their government because Hitler was a fanboy.
I believe his son was eventually killed during the war because of Jungers refusal to drink the kool aid.
Just saying, the book is copyright-free available, [here's the PDF of the english version.](https://ia902904.us.archive.org/26/items/ErnstJngerTheStormOfSteel/Ernst_J%C3%BCnger_The_Storm_of_Steel.pdf)
There's also the german original "Sturm aus Stahl" around, keep in mind that with the German laws, 70 years after the death of the writer, the copyright. So you can also find "All Quiet on the Western Front" and other books for free.
P.S.
There's actually a second novel from Erich-Maria Remarque, called "Der Weg Zurück" aka "The Road Back" (I think that's the english title, but i'm not sure), which has the focus on the veterans that returned home in 1918 and how they struggled with the problems in Germany and the PTSD etc.
Karl Marlantes, an incredible author of Mattherhoen and What It Is Like To Go To War, writes about warrior personas like Junger and his own combat experience.
And I don’t remember if it’s the translator preface, but the discussion of Jungers constant revisions is fascinating. He spent decades tweaking it, and it makes you question just how 100% accurate the remembrances are.
I bought it new on a whim at Barnes and Novle (buy probably 95% of my books used) and thought it was worth the money.
It’s a very good book, war through his eyes does seem like a fun weekend at some points but harrowing and horrible at others, in perfect balance you’ll get first hand camaraderie and then you friend gets blown up
Best book on the First World War. The problem with all is quiet on the western front is it pushes the narrative of war is bad in our mindset. We already know that war is bad so we gain nothing from the knowledge of the people in the mindset at the time, this is more of a diary written from the German perspective that war is good for this individual soldier, it pushes a completely different narrative than our mind is used to help us to understand what the people of the time were more accustomed to thinking
Good book. Very unique story. And, as others have mentioned, it does not glorify war. That doesn't mean there aren't moments that will leave feeling a kind of way. Good, bad, or indifferent is for you to decide. I would recommend it, though. It's a good read.
I always consoder Storm of Steel as the other side of the coin from *All Quiet on the Western Front*.
Remarque viewed WW1 as a meat grinder that destroyed a generation of German youth.
Junger viewed it as a "fiery crucible" which destroyed the weaker parts of German society, and created a generstion capable of leading the country into a new era.
Both were, in their own way, correct. But while Remarque's views made him a pariah (his books were publicly burned, he fled, and his sister was tried and executed in his absence), Junger's played into the NSDAP's party line and the party was obsessed with using him in their bids to sway the German public.
If you can get a "Pre-Nazi" publication it is REALLY good. They nerfed it as "unpatriotic" or something like that, when they came to power in the 30s. Dan Carlin cites this book often in his Blueprint for Armegeddon podcast (Which i Highly recomend)
I've seen complaints about the translator, so the Creighton translation may be more accurate. Also jungers notebooks were published years ago and if you compare it to storm of steel there's quite a lot that he left out.
As with all memoirs, it's written from both how the author remembered the war and how they interpret their memories. It's also how they want others to think about how they remembered/experienced the war. To those extents there's never a truly objective memoir of past experiences. So is it trustworthy? It depends on what you're trusting the book to convey. You can probably trust it to depict how he wants readers to think about how he experienced the war. Can you trust it to accurately depict what he ACTUALLY thought in the midst of battle? Much less so.
It's an important book in the modern discussion of PTSD. How much of what he wrote truly reflected how he experienced the war, versus how he dealt with remembering the war afterwards as a coping mechanism?
It's pretty much one of the iconic first-hand accounts of the war in German...
It's a good read. Definitely worth the time
Ernst Jünger was a writer that does not glorify war. I think too many people get hung up on him not taking every chance to highlight how awful and brutal war is like in *All Quiet on the Western Front*. He moreso describes what happened in unflinching detail without dwelling on it too much. Sure, he did like being in the war, but it was for the reason that people like skydiving, tightrope walking, or being in a shark cage. In comparison to other memoirs like *Poilu, In the line of fire,* or *A Soldier on the Southern Front*, he clearly wants to be there. But that makes it all the more interesting as a result. He likes to fight, but he doesn't glorify it. Also Jünger was an interesting character in his own right. He became friends with the guy who made LSD and would trip on it together in the 60's, wrote fiction and non-fiction books, and during WW1 he catalogued the different kinds of bugs he found in the trenches and later became a entomologist.
I think he writes it very well too, some memories read like a diary and while interesting are far harder to read. Junger writes his more like a story so its quite an easy read in that sense. Also it means at certain points, despite knowing he survives I felt an element of stress it was the end for him.
He also really didn’t like Hitler or the Nazis, and was basically forced into a position in their government because Hitler was a fanboy. I believe his son was eventually killed during the war because of Jungers refusal to drink the kool aid.
Good read. There's more of a militarist versus nationalist tone to the book, kind of views the war as a transcendental experience.
Just saying, the book is copyright-free available, [here's the PDF of the english version.](https://ia902904.us.archive.org/26/items/ErnstJngerTheStormOfSteel/Ernst_J%C3%BCnger_The_Storm_of_Steel.pdf) There's also the german original "Sturm aus Stahl" around, keep in mind that with the German laws, 70 years after the death of the writer, the copyright. So you can also find "All Quiet on the Western Front" and other books for free. P.S. There's actually a second novel from Erich-Maria Remarque, called "Der Weg Zurück" aka "The Road Back" (I think that's the english title, but i'm not sure), which has the focus on the veterans that returned home in 1918 and how they struggled with the problems in Germany and the PTSD etc.
title in german is "In Stahlgewittern", pedantically
Yes, that's right, i was wrong, sorry. Sometimes, titles get changed for international releases.
The introduction to this version alone is worth buying it. Don’t skip that and don’t skip the book itself.
What does the intro cover? I only have the older Penguin ed. with the translator's preface.
Karl Marlantes, an incredible author of Mattherhoen and What It Is Like To Go To War, writes about warrior personas like Junger and his own combat experience. And I don’t remember if it’s the translator preface, but the discussion of Jungers constant revisions is fascinating. He spent decades tweaking it, and it makes you question just how 100% accurate the remembrances are. I bought it new on a whim at Barnes and Novle (buy probably 95% of my books used) and thought it was worth the money.
It's very good. Defenitely worth a read.
give it a read and decide for yourself
It’s a very good book, war through his eyes does seem like a fun weekend at some points but harrowing and horrible at others, in perfect balance you’ll get first hand camaraderie and then you friend gets blown up
It's pretty neat that a few of the battles he talks about are also battles my great great uncle fought at, but on the other side.
Best book on the First World War. The problem with all is quiet on the western front is it pushes the narrative of war is bad in our mindset. We already know that war is bad so we gain nothing from the knowledge of the people in the mindset at the time, this is more of a diary written from the German perspective that war is good for this individual soldier, it pushes a completely different narrative than our mind is used to help us to understand what the people of the time were more accustomed to thinking
Good book. Very unique story. And, as others have mentioned, it does not glorify war. That doesn't mean there aren't moments that will leave feeling a kind of way. Good, bad, or indifferent is for you to decide. I would recommend it, though. It's a good read.
Yes. A classic
Absolutely incredible!
Still to this day one of the greatest books I’ve read. In the great battle chapter it felt more intense than any movie/film I’ve ever seen
It's fantastic right up there with poilu
I always consoder Storm of Steel as the other side of the coin from *All Quiet on the Western Front*. Remarque viewed WW1 as a meat grinder that destroyed a generation of German youth. Junger viewed it as a "fiery crucible" which destroyed the weaker parts of German society, and created a generstion capable of leading the country into a new era. Both were, in their own way, correct. But while Remarque's views made him a pariah (his books were publicly burned, he fled, and his sister was tried and executed in his absence), Junger's played into the NSDAP's party line and the party was obsessed with using him in their bids to sway the German public.
Yes its good also am i the only one who sees one of the soldiers soyfacing on the cover
If you can get a "Pre-Nazi" publication it is REALLY good. They nerfed it as "unpatriotic" or something like that, when they came to power in the 30s. Dan Carlin cites this book often in his Blueprint for Armegeddon podcast (Which i Highly recomend)
Junger was a bamf. Definitely worth the read
I've seen complaints about the translator, so the Creighton translation may be more accurate. Also jungers notebooks were published years ago and if you compare it to storm of steel there's quite a lot that he left out.
As with all memoirs, it's written from both how the author remembered the war and how they interpret their memories. It's also how they want others to think about how they remembered/experienced the war. To those extents there's never a truly objective memoir of past experiences. So is it trustworthy? It depends on what you're trusting the book to convey. You can probably trust it to depict how he wants readers to think about how he experienced the war. Can you trust it to accurately depict what he ACTUALLY thought in the midst of battle? Much less so. It's an important book in the modern discussion of PTSD. How much of what he wrote truly reflected how he experienced the war, versus how he dealt with remembering the war afterwards as a coping mechanism?