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4.0 out of 5 stars
Newsflash: War is Hell, Jul 4 2004
Before Matheson became a prolific writer of science fiction stories, novels, Twilight Zone episodes, and films, he served as a replacement infantryman in World War II. Some fifteen years later, he set down his experiences as a novel about a teenager sent to the front lines for the Allied advance into Germany. The story covers the first two weeks of Private Everett Hackermeyer's war, as he joins an understrength squad under the leadership of a grizzled Sergeant who acts as a father figure. But having been abandoned by his drunk father to be raised by his nasty uncle, Hackermeyer has no conception of what a father figure is, or really of what it means when people are nice to him. The result is that when thrown into the tight camaraderie of small unit combat, Hackermeyer is often confused, and retreats into his head to analyze the meaning behind every gesture and phrase directed at him. He survives his initial baptism by fire, and accidentally discovers that he has an actual talent for killing the enemy. The question becomes, will he be able to operate as a good soldier, or will his inner demons lead him into increasingly risky and bloodthirsty acts? He's a bit of a stock character, the poor kid raised by wolves and never given a chance, who blossoms under a firm and wise guiding hand. But his mental issues keep him from becoming the kind of everyman hero common to World War II stories. His fellow privates are also somewhat stock figures: the sardonic joker/college boy from California, the bumbling idiot, the religious nut, and so on. The Sergeant is an incredibly cliche figure, who even offers Hackermeyer a job on his ranch, should they ever make it back home. These character deficiencies aside, the book is notable for its ability to put the reader in the middle of the terror and tedium that was World War II. The descriptions of shelling are truly horrific, and the chaos of small scale combat really comes to life. Matheson clearly pulls no punches in his description of what it meant to be on the front line, and the fear that inspired. I read this at the same time as watching the "Band of Brothers" miniseries, and found it very complementary. Both do an excellent job at showing the mix of boredom and horror that infantrymen faced, however this book emphasizes how utterly alone each man is on the battlefield, while the miniseries (per its title), emphasizes the camaraderie. Ultimately the book is somewhat cliche across the board, but still well worth reading if you're interested in World War II.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Real Deal, Mar 6 2003
Penned by one of the greatest and most prolific writers of the 20th century and based in part upon his own experiences in one of the greatest conflicts of the 20th century, this is a novel that needs to be read -particularly by those in power anywhere who would send their troops to war. This is the most utterly enveloping account of front line combat I have ever read. The story is about a mere three weeks in the life of a young man named Hackameyer who participates in the latter offensive in Europe in the closing days of World War II. We are immersed entirely in the body of this introverted, easily confused kid who has sprung from a dead-end family that gave him nothing but self-doubt, only to find that it seems our one true talent in life is killing. While all the typical genre devices of the two-fisted World War II tale are here (the fatherly Sergeant, the pacifist religious guy, the incompetent private), this is NOT typical fare. We are THERE. We can feel the reverberation of the shells as they hit all around us. We are sick to our stomach at the squeaking sounds of the tank treads and the groan of the engines as they smash through the brush. We feel for the characters Hackameyer gets attached to, and we hate the ones he hates. We exhult in Hackameyer's accomplishments, even while we, as readers outside the character can plainly see the dangerous line he is treading between hero and maniac. We want desperately the same things Hackameyer wants - a home on a ranch with a real father. This should be read by anyone who wants to understand the experience of the soldier - ANY soldier on the front line.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent writing documenting the feelings of soldiers., Dec 28 2002
"The Beardless Warriors", by Richard Matheson, sub-titled, " A Novel of World War II". A Tom Doherty Associates Book, New York, May 2001, but first copyrighted in 1960.According to the fronts piece, this is a work of fiction based upon the experiences of the noted writer, Richard Matheson, when he was shipped as an 18-year-old replacement into the European Theater of Operations in late 1944. Matheson portrays the development of Private Hackermeyer from a stumbling, inexperienced and frightened young soldier to a competent killer, who ignores the surrendering gestures of German soldiers. He has become so proficient in shooting his M-1, that Hackermeyer automatically registers on the target, pulls the trigger and then begins to scan for more. Although written as fiction, there are two separate analyses of the wisdom of using young men as soldiers; these analyses are couched in dialogue among squad members. (Sergeant Cooley states, "I ain't running a rifle squad, ...I'm running a kindergarten.") There is also some discussion about life after death, resulting in Hackermeyer's introspection on that subject, on the death of his mother, and on life back in Brooklyn, NY. The writing is excellent and Richard Matheson vividly establishes the range of feelings among the young soldiers, ranging from absolute terror to complacent acceptance, during the various attacks and defensive actions that take place in a very short calendar time. In my opinion, Matheson has captured day to day combat better than most writers.
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