All Quiet on the Western Front

A book which quickly became one of the great classics not only of World War I writing but also of all the 20th century literature, All Quiet on the Western Front describes life in the trenches of Flanders of a group of German school leavers encouraged, or perhaps more accurately bullied by their schoolmaster and the general sentiments expressed all around them to enlist and fight in the “glorious war”. Narrated by one of them - a very perceptive 19-year-old soldier, the book, better than anything written since its publication in 1929, describes the horrors of the trench warfare, the absurdity of army regulations, and the alienations of young men dragged away to fight before they had a chance to establish personal and professional life they could return to.