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Product Description
Review
Generals Die in Bed is no gentle treatise on war.... Highly Recommended. (Darleen Golk Canadian Materials )
A stark and poignant novel. (Canadian Children's Book News )
Book Description
A new edition of the classic novel about the frontlines of World War I.
"Unique among the novels of its day, it has stood the test of time."
-Author and historian Pierre Berton
All war is hell -- but for troops serving in World War I, it was the bloodiest trench warfare ever known. Generals Die in Bed is a first-hand account of one young man catapulted from new recruit to walking wounded on the Western Front.
From day one, he is surrounded by mud and fear. Artillery whistles down without warning. Boys, barely men, cry out for their mothers. Close combat is worse: sudden frenzied scrambles with German soldiers, and bayonets that don't come out smoothly from their victims.
Regular rotation takes them away from the front, and the weary combatants scramble for wine, women or whatever else will help them forget they'll have to go back. This harrowing spiral continues until an ill-fated hill charge leads to a gushing leg wound and release papers home.
A new introduction to this edition places Harrison's novel alongside its literary contemporaries -- All Quiet on the Western Front and A Farewell to Arms. Originally published in 1930 and acclaimed as "the best of the war books" by the New York Evening Standard, Generals Die in Bed remains an unforgettable book.
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Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Canadian classic anti-war novel,
By
This review is from: Generals Die In Bed (Paperback)
The horrors of the First World War are relived in Harrison's controversial classic, "Generals die in bed" which questions the notion of war as a noble and glorious endeavour. The story is of six Canadian men and their experience as being shock troops against Germans. Though the unnamed protagonist does kill several Germans over the course of the book, from the onset, he and his squad learn who their "real enemies are - the lice, some of [their] officers, and Death." (Chapter "Out on rest" p.23, 2007 edition)The protagonist witnesses several events which undermine the nobility of war and progressively desensitizes him to violence. During one of his leaves from the front, he is repulsed by the humorous and light-hearted portrayal of the war in London by middle class folk, non-combatant military personnel and even religious figures. He witnesses the looting of a village and the ensuing chaos. Finally, he and his squad are lied to in order to increase their aggressiveness in what seems like the final assault. Occasionally lacking some detail, the almost "point-form" writing style does require an active reader and an active imagination. Still though, Harrison's poignant novel transcends the realities of the First World War and undermines the military as an institution in general.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible, but sadly unread account of WW1,
By "franke123" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Generals die in bed (Paperback)
This book takes in the experiences of a WW1 Canadian soldier during the mustard gas, lice, trench warfare, flame throwers, snipers, and other assorted horrors.At times, it is not an easy read due to the candid and almost non-descript accounts on the battlefield. He has little prose and even less flowery description - everything is to the point, which further reinforces the terror of all he sees. At certain points of the story, it can also be incredibly sad as well. Not an easy story to read. The description of his bayonett being stuck in a live german boy while his brother watches on in terror is one of the most candid and sad experiences ever read. As well, when Charles is wounded, it is written almost in a surreal fashion, as he hallucinates and falls in and out of consciousness. Pick this one up. It's a true account from the writer (meaning he was there), and it's a story that isn't easily put down. 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
a stunning look into the soul of a Canadian soldier in WW I,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Generals die in bed (Paperback)
This is a seminal work, written and published before All Quiet on the Western Front, which bears a strong resemblance to it. The life of a Canadian soldier in the trenches of World War I allowed little room for nobility or love or friendship, filled as it was with rats, lice, poison gas, the ubiquitous stench of death and the few shattered yards of polluted mud which became his whole world. Written in the simple, flat style of Hemingway, this is a Canadian classic.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best WW1 book ever,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Generals die in bed (Paperback)
This is the greatest book i have ever read in my life. The story takes you, hits you in the stomach, and never lets you go.
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