The Greatest War Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Four Incredible War Tales [Hardcover]

Lamar Underwood (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Greatest | Publication Date: June 1, 2001

From soldier to journalist, twenty-four epic tales of war from those who know it best.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Valor is of no service, chance rules all, and the bravest often fall by the hands of cowards," wrote Tacitus in A.D. 54. Chance, or fate, pervades war literature, Lamar Underwood (On Dangerous Ground) observes in an introduction to his anthology The Greatest War Stories Ever Told: Twenty-four Incredible War Tales from, among others, the American Revolution, the Spanish Civil War and Vietnam. This collection includes fiction and nonfiction by Victor Hugo, Leo Tolstoy, Bruce Catton, Rudyard Kipling, Ernest Hemingway, Erich Maria Remarque, William Faulkner, Martin Russ, Michael Herr and S.L.A. Marshall, on battles ranging from Waterloo and Antietam to the Chosin River in Korea. Serious war literature enthusiasts will already be familiar with many of these selections, but as the title promises, this is a greatest-hits compilation, intended for newer fans.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Given the general public's interest in war and survival tales, these two collections of fiction and nonfiction excerpts should jump off the shelves of public libraries this summer. Underwood, a former editor of Outdoor Life and Sports Afield, caters to popular taste with the enthusiastic comments he offers as introduction to each selection. In defining the "greatest" tales, he looked beyond literary merit for prose that is engaging and illuminating and serves as a tribute to the participants. In The Greatest Survival Stories Ever Told, the reader will be struck by how fate, foul-ups, or bad luck often caused the adventures to end in tragedy, whether it involved the loss of limbs or of life. Many of the survival tales are classics, such as Jack London's "To Build a Fire," Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat," and Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." The Greatest War Stories Ever Told relies on excerpts from the works of authors like Leo Tolstoy, Victor Hugo, Michael Shaara, and Erich Maria Remarque. In the introduction, Underwood explains his fascination with the symbolism of soldiers' boots. His goal is to capture how these boots traveled over beaches, jungles, and deserts, giving the reader a new way of appreciating these courageous soldiers. The sea tales of Irwin Shaw and C.S. Forester round out this anthology. Both are recommended for popular reading collections, including YA. Joyce Sparrow, Juvenile Welfare Board Lib. of Pinellas Cty., FL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585742392
• ISBN-13: 978-1585742394
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,988,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Buy The Stories, Not This Book, May 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Greatest War Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Four Incredible War Tales (Hardcover)

What could have been a good book is destroyed by the fact that nearly ever page has numerous spelling errors. Makes the book impossible to read. Obviously the author thought that just retyping or scanning in the existing text would be 100% accurate - no need to review.