Paths of Glory [Paperback]

Humphrey Cobb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1987

The anti-war masterpiece that became an iconic motion picture-now with a foreword by the creator of the acclaimed HBO(tm) series The Wire

Familiar to many as the Stanley Kubrick film starring Kirk Douglas, Paths of Glory explores the perilous complications involved in what nations demand of their soldiers in wartime. Humphrey Cobb's protagonists are Frenchmen during the First World War whose nightmare in the trenches takes a new and terrible turn when they are ordered to assault a German position deemed all but invulnerable. When the attack fails, an inquiry into allegations of cowardice indicts a small handful of lower-ranked scapegoats whose trial exposes the farce of ordering ordinary men to risk their lives in an impossible cause. A chilling portrait of injustice, this novel offers insight into the tragedies of war in any age.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

humphrey cobb (1899–1944) was born in Siena, Italy, on September 5, 1899, to Alice Littell Cobb, a physician, and Arthur Murray Cobb, an artist. He attended boarding school in England during his childhood. Cobb was kicked out of an American high school and he never returned to graduate. At seventeen he decided to enlist in the Canadian army. After serving in the army for three years during World War I, he returned to the United States to work by turns in the stock trade, the merchant marines, publishing, advertising, and the Office of War Information (precursor of the OSS, the CIA predecessor) writing overseas propaganda. During his lifetime he wrote Paths of Glory (1935) and None But the Brave (1938), and was the lead screenwriter on the movie San Quentin (1937).

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr (January 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820308846
• ISBN-13: 978-0820308845
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #865,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful Anti-War story. Highly Recommended!, October 22, 2001

By 

"weirdo_87" (Rancho Cucamonga, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paths of Glory (Paperback)

After seeing the excellent movies from Stanley Kubrick, I decided to read the novel, which it was based upon. Being out of print, it was difficult to locate. But I finally found a copy at a local library. It was worth searching.

Paths of Glory was written by Humphrey Cobb and first published in 1935. Cobb, who had served in the Canadian Army during the First World War, wrote this novel as an anti-war statement. In my opinion, it's one of the best. Cobb shows an unpositive view of war. There are no heroes. Not even Regiment Commander Colonel Dax is the courageous man he was in Kubrick's film. He doesn't even have that big of a part.

French General Assolant is given orders by his Army Commander (Whose name is not revealed) to take an important German position called the Pimple. To take the "Pimple", Assolant calls the 181st regiment, which was supposed to be placed on leave.

We see the attack beforehand from the eyes of those on the battlefield. A patrol is sent out, where one of the men gets killed by the drunken commander due to a careless accident. The incident is covered up, but would play a part later.

The next morning, the eargely anticipated attack on the Pimple is launched. It proves however to be impossible. The 181st is made up of a combination of battle weary vets and fresh new recruits to compensate for losses. Thus, casualties are high. The bombardment from artillery and machine guns also is so difficult to go through that many soldiers never even leave the trenches. Believing the men are mutinying, Assolant orders the battery commander to fire on the men. Fortunately, in what may be the only sensible act in the novel, the man refuses without a written order. Assolant then orders a court martial to preserved his dignity at the expense of others.

Four men are selected: One from each of the attacking sections. One section refuses to send a man but the other three select. The men are sent in front of a court-martial with a well-trained lawyer at their side. But it is really more of a Kangaroo Court. This is because the Indictment against the convicted is not read ("It basically states the accused are convicted of cowardice"), no Stenographic notes are kept of the trial, thus denying the convicted the possibility of a pardon, and the defense is not allowed to build its case. For example, when an attempt is made to call witnesses, it can only be "To prove that they made it to the enemy wire", which no one of the regiment did. And when the defense attempts to state the decorations one of the men has received (So it can be shown he isn't a coward) the president of the council says "The men are on trial for their current cowardice, not their former bravery" and that "Medals are no defense".

What is most ludicrous is the line of questioning on the defendants. It is absurd in the way it forces the men to answer irrelevant questions. An example by the President of the council on the convicted Private Ferol:

President: Did you advance?
Ferol: Yes, Sir.
President: How far did you advance?
Ferol: To about the middle of no man's land.
President: Then what did you do?
Ferol: Well, the Boche machine guns were like a hailstorm and I saw that-
President: No. Answer my question. What did you do?
Ferol: Well, sir, I saw that me and Meyer-
President: I didn't ask you what you saw. I asked you what you did.
Ferol: Yes, sir.
President: Did you advance?
Ferol: Not after I saw that me and Meyer-
President: Did you turn round and go back?
Ferol: Well, when I saw that-
President: Attention! Answer my question. Did you turn round and go back? Yes or no?
Ferol: Yes, sir.

This edition (Paperback, University of Georgia Press, 1987) includes a fascinating afterward by Stephen E. Tabachnick. He mentions about the book's placement of the chain of command and about themes from the book.

Sadly, Paths of Glory has become largely underrated over the years. My English teacher hadn't even heard of it. This book should be put back in publishing as soon as possible so more people can experience how great it is and should be recommended reading at schools so people can see how ridiculous war can be.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Irony of Glory, July 6, 2004

By 

Edwin E. Sundt "Ed" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paths of Glory (Paperback)

Soldiers have forever obeyed the commands of officers, knowing sometimes that to obey the command was to die and to refuse to obey it was to die. Compound the situation when the officer is acting solely in self-interest, for pride's sake, for the sake of a promotion, for his own ego regardless of the lives of the men he leads. The paths they must follow, the paths of glory, leads but to the grave.

This army is French, but it could be any nation's, any year's, any war. Cobb's evocation of pride and prejudice affectinfg the lives of innocent men is scary in that we know it is not over.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intense. The best book on WWI, June 30, 2010

By 

W. Calhoun (Akron, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paths of Glory (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

The other reviews posted here tell the details, but as for a description of the horrors of WWI, this is the book to read. I have no idea why this book has been out of print for decades. It should be heralded more than All Quiet on the Western Front, as it is so much more intense. The descriptions of the shellings, and the description of the battle for the Pimple will leave you stunned. This is one of the best books I have ever read (or re-read several times). This is the one book I have recommended to friends, but never lent for fear of it not being returned. Do not hesitate to purchase this book, since we don't know if it will disappear again soon.