Customer Reviews

All for Heaven, Hell, or Hoboken: The World War I Diary and Letters of Clair M. Pfennig, Flash Ranger, Company D, 29 Engineers, A.E.F.

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Mr. Finan was able to take an interesting approach to the diary entries of Flash Ranger Pfennig during WWI. Although some of the entries are not very extensive, Mr. Finan fills in the voids with great descriptions of what was happening during that time period during the war. His descriptions of the ships as they crossed the sea had me dodging torpedos in my mind. The vivid decriptions of the coloring and geometric figures on the ships made me feel like I was actually riding across the Atlantic. This book will step you through the WWI experience and will touch on the small intimate experiences in the daily lives of a soldier.

This book gave me the true experience and insight of what a soldier went through in WWI. The annotations by Mr. Finan added the background and placement to set the diary into context. Very interesting reading!

It is a pleasure to see a micro-history book written by a first time author with such grace and precision. Finan has created a work which, unlike traditional battlefield accounts, reflects the nature of war for most participants--the extreme boredom, being disinfected for disease and pests, and the long process of being moved overseas and overland.

What I found amazing about this account is how Finan was able to pull so much information from such a small original document. The only way this can be accomplished successfully is through the skill and ability of the author. Congratulations are due to Finan, and it is hoped both that Crimson Shamrock press continues to print works such as this and that Finan continues to produce history that is so technically sound and utterly enjoyable.