Customer Reviews

The Gentle Infantryman: A Novel

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The Gentle Infantryman details the journey of one young replacement soldier across the carnage of the Western Front during the later stages of WWII. It depicts one young man's struggle to overcome his limitations as he faces death, weather and fear during the winter of 1944-1945. This book gives an eminently readable and personal face to history recently documented by Stephen Ambrose in Citizen Soldiers. Boyd not only details the coming of age of one young soldier, but he also touches on themes such as the courage, comradeship and the universality of man that have been explored by authors such as Crane and Remarque. As a history major I would recommend this book to anyone who desires to read more about an period of history from a perspective that is not often voiced. This should be required reading in order to help those who were not there understand the sacrifices put forth by another generation fifty years ago.

This is the most realistic and unforgetable book I have ever read on the Second World War. The characters, situations and the reactions of those men in combat were uncannily real. I felt I was there and should receive combat pay. The book, itself is superbly written and should receive the Nobel Prize for Literature!

This is the best book about the WW2 combat soldier I've ever read. The information is historically accurate and exacting in detail, told with a true storyteller's memory and eye for a good yarn. The fact that the author experienced WW2 in Europe gives you the feeling that he is writing his own life story. The story is neither sentimental nor maudlin, nor is it gritty; it is realistic. Easy to read, it makes you proud to be an American and will leave you with immense respect for the "Greatest Generation." A must for every WW2 historian.

One of the best books among the many about infantry combat. That it is fictional detracts not one iota. The author quite obviously writes from experience and makes use of the freedom fiction provides to paint a powerful and realistic picture of ground warfare, particularly the randomness through which men live and die. As one who fought in the infantry during the Battle of the Bulge, the setting for Mr. Boyd's novel, and produced three highly researched chapters about it in a memoir, I am proud to recommend "The Gentle Infantryman" as an authentic account of the way it was. Fiction can indeed be more true than fact. This honest little book is a primary example.

This story was so gripping you felt like you were with William Pope (the main character) every step of the way. It provides the reader with great insight into World War II, as well as into the personal journies of the soldiers. I have not been so captivated by a book in a very long time.

A very moving look into the fragile psyche
of soldiers in combat. I couldn't put it down from the first page until the end, and I strongly recommend it to young soldiers and junior leadership in the armed forces today. Not only is it historically accurate, it is a testament to the strength of the human emotion and the bonds of friendship during war.

The Gentle Infantryman was a thouroghly captivating book. It was probably the first book I couldn't stop reading. Dramatic, exciting, seemingly true to the reality of war (the author was an infantryman in WWII), I recomend it to all who enjoy books of this nature. (I came upon it by chance at the library while doing research for school)

Very good book explaining the advance of American troops across Germany in WW II very entertaining!

A Vet I met at the Bloomsburg PA county fair told me about this book. He said that the author was in his unit and that the stories were very well retold in the book. You as the reader can get a real feeling of what Bill Boyd and the men in unit went through. When you finish the story you are left with an feeling that it just incredible that anyone survived those final months of the war as the Germans fought to save there homeland and sadness for those who didn't make it. You will thoroughly enjoy reading this book.

President A. Lincoln marveled at the qualities of both American armies in the Civil War because they were made up of ordinary men who were extraordinary citizens of their nations. Bill Boyd shows us the enduring qualities of the American soldier of 1945 in his quiet, compelling account of an ordinary young American who saw the best and worst of men in combat. His story is poignant and harsh. The harshest truth is left for us to ponder: How would today's young American stand the test he took? Other military experts have tried to make us hear what our re-discovered admiration for "the greatest generation" seems to confirm: Since Viet Nam we've lost the innocence and courage displayed in this book. That legacy,"we died today for your tomorrow" as the inscription at another unkown field of WW II says, may not have endured outside the pages of this amazing testament. He makes us proud, and humble.