Customer Reviews

To Serve Them All My Days

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Delderfield's To Serve Them All My Days is a book that I have read frequently over the years. I found it after I watched the PBS Series. It is a very interesting period in British history - the end of "the war to end all wars" and the start of World War II. It is a time of social change, economic downturn and political upheaval. Delderfield uses the vantage point of a boy's school in Dorset to look at these issues and events. It is an extremely successful tactic. But what makes this book even more memorable are the people, from the stationmaster on the first page to the last boy on the last page, these charecters all have a very human aspect that connects to you immediately. Even the not so admirable or more difficult to like charecters make an impression.

This book is one that should be in everyone's library. It is a must have for teachers - maybe not to use as a teaching guide, but to show that our problems of today, stimulating learning, school politics, funding, are not new. Nor are the problems with parents.

This is a fine book and I recommend it highly. It is just the book for a cold rainy day and a goes well with a hot cup of tea and a scone.

I've read most of Delderfield's fictional work and he's definitely in my Top 10. His characters are varied and richly presented, his understanding of the human condition profound, and his stories wonderful adventures in the human struggle to find truth, meaning and happiness. To Serve Them All My Days is the story of one man's struggle to face the seeming insensibilities of human tragedy (beginning with his experiences in the trenches of WWI) and finding humanity, understanding and, ultimately, salvation of the human spirit. Part of the joy in reading it is seeing the maturing of a man and the evolution of his thinking, from youth to late middle age, as he meets and overcomes hardships, prejudice, and even class struggle. Written before the age of PC, it is a story that rings true to the universal principles of surmounting life's difficulties. The truly rewarding life comes not in avoiding adversity but in overcoming it. This book is a treasure!

Now that I've finished "To Serve Them All My Days" I feel that I've lost an old friend. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, savoring it and rationing my reading so as not to finish it too quickly. A must read for those interested in teaching, education in general, and in understanding children. This story is a study in the trials and tribulations life offers us, and how one person not only overcame these setbacks but also flourished in spite of them. Although I watched and enjoyed the Masterpiece Theatre series on TV in the early 80's I did not really appreciate it then, as I would now if it were to be rebroadcast. I have exhausted all possibilities in trying to obtain a copy of a WGBH tape of this series. If anyone knows how to obtain a tape please let me know. I highly recommend this book.

I ran across this book by chance in a hospital lending library, and it was just the thing to read during a tedious recouperation. This is an enobling book, it reminded me of how people can rise to wonderful levels of caring and integrity, it showed a person wounded in body and spirit who found that concentrating on the details of teaching the schoolboys under his care was, in a sense, a healing meditation. I am slightly sceptical that anyone can be that free of ignoble impulses; it seemed that none of the characters in the book did anything at odds with their personality or with a base motive. However, I don't care: I'd RATHER that people's best selves were always visible. And I'd like to believe that the everyday world can be a healing place, and that I too can go forward with courage, confident that I would be able to show the truest part of my personality. -- In addition, I appreciated the book's description of the changing political mood in England during the two world wars.

This has been my favorite book for years and I reread it almost yearly. Like one of the other reviewers, I had worn out my original copy; then I had it rebound; and now it is falling apart. This book is a great character study of a young man deeply traumatized in WWI who finds healing in the close community of a boys boarding school. As it follows him through a long teaching career, his relationships with his students, and their effects on each other, the book creates a longing and a nostalgia for a world where relationships predominate and the external world seldom intrudes. Educators who love their work and their students will love this novel.

I love this book. It has been quite a long time since I've read a book with such depth and realistic characters. The people in this book ARE REAL. I am having trouble putting into words how much I loved this book. It made me laugh and cry, and I was very depressed when I had finished it. If you like Dickens, I think you will enjoy this author's style.
The mini-series is now out on DVD. I will be getting it soon, and it is hard for me to think about much else. I can't wait to see it; eleven hours! Excellent.

I'm on my third visit to Bamfylde (not counting the mini-series), it is richer each time. I so enjoy renewing friendships with P.J., Algy, Beth and Crusty old Howarth. In weaving this tale of one man's life on the Moors, Delderfield tells all our stories; our triumphs, tragedies, our hopes, our sorrows. And he does it beautifully. This is his finest work.

I know that it is WGBH's policy not to show repeats on Masterpiece Theater, however, I would hope that with the republication (after being out of print for many years) they might make an exception and rebroadcast this beautiful story. After all, it's been 17 years since it was aired.

To Serve Them All My Days is probably the greatest book ever written about post World War One life in England. Like other readers I regularly go back and revist the likes of PJ, Algy and the boys of Bamfylde. I am lucky to be able to regularly visit the Devon countryside where the novel was set. RFD loved his Devon and the people that live in it. Having read To Serve Them All My Days and other RFD classics like Diana, I now see Devon through RFD's eyes. If you haven't read any other RFD books I stongly urge you to try, I promise you wont be dissapointed. He is my oldest and dearest friend whose stories I return to whenever I need a lift.

Now that I've finished "To Serve Them All My Days" I feel that I've lost an old friend. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, savoring it and rationing my reading so as not to finish it too quickly. A must read for those interested in teaching, education in general, and in understanding children. This story is a study in the trials and tribulations life offers us, and how one person not only overcame these setbacks but also flourished in spite of them. Although I watched and enjoyed the Masterpiece Theatre series on TV in the early 80's I did not really appreciate it then, as I would now if it were to be rebroadcast. I have exhausted all possibilities in trying to obtain a copy of a WGBH tape of this series. If anyone knows how to obtain a tape please let me know. I highly recommend this book.

I ran across this book at a used book store some years ago, read it, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I cannot for the life of me understand why it isn't on the usual lists for classic works, as on par with the very best of them. The novel describes the personal growth and observations of one man in England between WWI and WWII, a soldier-come-schoolteacher with a deep sense of honor and compassion. For any movie buffs, _Goodbye, Mr. Chips_ is closest in character to this book, although the book has far greater depth. This book has been well received by all those to whom I have personally recommended it, and I hope all new readers will enjoy it as well.