The Young Lions (Paperback)

by Irwin Shaw (Author), James Salter (Author) "THE TOWN SHONE IN the snowy twilight like a Christmas window, with the electric railway's lights tiny and festive at the foot of the white..." (more)
Key Phrases: love dandy, man with one eye, first correspondent, New York, Lieutenant Green, German Army (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Young Lions is a vivid and classic novel that portrays the experiences of ordinary soldiers fighting World War II. Told from the points of view of a perceptive young Nazi, a jaded American film producer, and a shy Jewish boy just married to the love of his life, Shaw conveys, as no other novelist has since, the scope, confusion, and complexity of war.

From the Inside Flap

The Young Lions is a vivid and classic novel that portrays the experiences of ordinary soldiers fighting World War II. Told from the points of view of a perceptive young Nazi, a jaded American film producer, and a shy Jewish boy just married to the love of his life, Shaw conveys, as no other novelist has since, the scope, confusion, and complexity of war.

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Product Details Paperback: 696 pages Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 1, 2000) Language: English ISBN-10: 0226751295 ISBN-13: 978-0226751290 Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,128 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #1 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Shaw, Irwin #8 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Salter, James

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First Sentence:
THE TOWN SHONE IN the snowy twilight like a Christmas window, with the electric railway's lights tiny and festive at the foot of the white slope, among the muffled winter hills of the Tyrol. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
love dandy, man with one eye, first correspondent, barracks bag

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Lieutenant Green, German Army, United States, Air Force, Johnny Burnecker, Miss Freemantle, American Army, Lieutenant Hardenburg, Captain Lewis, Captain Green, Administration Building, Captain Colclough, Civil Affairs, Colonel Pavone, Fifth Avenue, First Division, Major General, Sergeant Himmler, Private Ackerman, Company Commander, General Staff, General Ulrich, New Year's Eve, Smiling Jack

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 55 books:

• Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
• Short Stories: Five Decades (Phoenix Fiction) by Irwin Shaw in Front Matter, and Back Matter
• Lucy Crown by Irwin Shaw in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
• Printer of Malgudi by R. K. Narayan in Back Matter
• Evening in Byzantium. by Irwin Shaw in Front Matter

See all 55 books this book cites

 

100 books cite this book:

• Aspects ideologiques du roman americain de la Deuxieme Guerre mondiale (French Edition) by Pierre Deflaux on 6 pages
• The Cambridge Companion to Jewish American Literature (Cambridge Companions to Literature) by Hana Wirth-Nesher on 5 pages
• Brando: A Life in Our Times by Richard Schickel on 4 pages
• V Was for Victory: Politics and American Culture During World War II by John Morton Blum on page 67, page 69, and Back Matter
• Understanding the Literature of World War II: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents (The Greenwood Press "Literature in Context" Series) by James H. Meredith on page 1, page 11, and page 15

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews 5 star:  (14) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 21 of 21 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Forgotten Classic of World War II, July 14, 2001 By  "bibliomane01" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews It seems that Irwin Shaw is mainly remembered for light popular novels such as "Rich Man, Poor Man" and "Beggarman, Thief," and "Nightwork," but he was also a great writer of short stories (a former star for the New Yorker) and in "The Young Lions" he emphatically staked his claim to be numbered among the great American war novelists. In my opinion, Shaw's book belongs in the company of "The Red Badge of Courage," "A Farewell to Arms," "The Naked and the Dead," and "Catch-22." Hopefuly this new edition from Chicago will help to bring a forgotten classic of World War II before a new audience. Many war novels hover uneasily at the brink of sentimentality and melodrama, and many more simply fall in. But in this story about three young soldiers who are "The Young Lions" of the title, with their hopes, fears, loves and hatreds, Shaw's touch is deft and his clear, smooth prose leads the reader through an absorbing and tragic story that remains as fresh and moving today as it was when it first written over half a century ago. 16 of 16 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of shades of grey....., December 15, 1998 By A Customer This review is from: The Young Lions (Paperback) I'm a 30 year old person that was born and raised in the Netherlands and for the last 4 years has been living and working in Germany. I've allways been interested in novels, films and documentaries about the second world war. Living in the Netherlands and Germany I have been able to notice the differences in the way both countries try to cope with the war. Generalizing one could say that in the Netherlands emphasis is more on having been victims, wheras in Germany, people try to face the fact that a lot of their fathers and/or grandfathers were war criminals. A simple and clear picture: they were "good" and the others were "bad" Reading "The Young Lions", you more and more see the similarities between soldiers in the opposing armies: they have the same background, the same fears, the same hopes, they are just puppets of different rulers. They are not just good or bad, they just want to survive and go home. Shaw's book shows how horrible war is to every soldier. In war there is no black and white, just many shades of grey..... 27 of 31 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A great storyteller --and his greatest story, October 1, 2001 By  Birdman (Minnetonka, MN USA) - See all my reviews There were dozens of novels based on World War II, but only three that captured American readers by storm. Mailer's THE NAKED AND THE DEAD, Jones's FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and Shaw's THE YOUNG LIONS. Of the three, the most compulsively readable and the least self-conscious is Irwin Shaw's absolutely beautiful novel of love and loss during World War II. If there is a better sculptor of character in 20th century American fiction, I'd like to know who it is. Shaw has a knack for creating palpable characters (including some you'd ordinarily hate -- such as an errant Nazi) who live and breathe. All of his characters -- from Christian and Michael to Hope -- are people we care about, and many of the great historic scenes of the war come alive for even the most casual reader. The subplots (and there are quite a few of them) are integrated seamlessly and the pace is relentless and exciting. One wonders why Shaw never tried to repeat this stunning performance, but perhaps novels as fine as this only occur once in a lifetime. If you want to sink into a richly detailed, compulsively readable saga of World War II, this is the genuine article. A pity there aren't six stars.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars The Young Lions What does it mean to be at war, to be a man, to be an average Joe, to be a hero, to see war's horror, to see its tragedy, to learn to do what must be done to survive? Read more Published 2 months ago by Frank Richards 5.0 out of 5 stars A Deserving Classic It almost seems presumptuous to review a book that is over 50 years old. However, though Irwin Shaw's writing may seem rather moody and shadowed for readers educated in an... Read more Published 2 months ago by Richard A. Lawhern 5.0 out of 5 stars Perspective, anyone? I have never been presented with a better view of World War II. Usually, I get the point of view of a U.S. soldier in France, pushing against the Panzers. Read more Published on October 21, 2004 by Pen and Ink 5.0 out of 5 stars A true classic of men at war. This is truly one of the great novels dealing with World War Two. Throughout, the novel switches perspectives from that of a German lieutnant to an American private. Read more Published on April 24, 2004 by Roger J. Buffington 5.0 out of 5 stars #2 Characters are often interchangeable in war novels. This is true even in the works of some of the best novelists of the WWII era; including Mailer (Naked and the Dead), Wouk (The... Read more Published on December 23, 2003 5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, passionate fiction The Young Lions is a powerful novel written in the years immediately following World War II. It is a gritty and passionate novel, and in reading it the motivatations of men in... Read more Published on November 12, 2002 5.0 out of 5 stars THE ORIGINAL BLOCKBUSTER NOVEL Don't be put off by the war setting. This brilliant epic novel revolves around a richly drawn cast of characters - just ordinary people at the onset of the story - and shows how... Read more Published on November 9, 2002 by Kelvin MacGregor 5.0 out of 5 stars GOOD BOOK Only a great writer could compose a complicated work of this class. A difficult book to write but an easy one to read and to remember. Published on August 20, 2002 by Boris Zubry 5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional writing The narrative of this book is extraordinary. Every sentence is truly crafted to tell the story as succinctly as possible. Read more Published on July 16, 2001 by Richard Coutts 5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the Best WW 2 novel ever written This is one of the few books I've read twice (so far). Irwin Shaw - in my opinion - was one of the best novelists of the 20th century, and it's sad to see so many of his work out... Read more Published on June 21, 2001 by C. Kuschel-Toerber Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 696 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226751295
• ISBN-13: 978-0226751290
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,128 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Shaw, Irwin
  #8 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Salter, James

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Forgotten Classic of World War II, July 14, 2001

By	"bibliomane01" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

It seems that Irwin Shaw is mainly remembered for light popular novels such as "Rich Man, Poor Man" and "Beggarman, Thief," and "Nightwork," but he was also a great writer of short stories (a former star for the New Yorker) and in "The Young Lions" he emphatically staked his claim to be numbered among the great American war novelists. In my opinion, Shaw's book belongs in the company of "The Red Badge of Courage," "A Farewell to Arms," "The Naked and the Dead," and "Catch-22." Hopefuly this new edition from Chicago will help to bring a forgotten classic of World War II before a new audience. Many war novels hover uneasily at the brink of sentimentality and melodrama, and many more simply fall in. But in this story about three young soldiers who are "The Young Lions" of the title, with their hopes, fears, loves and hatreds, Shaw's touch is deft and his clear, smooth prose leads the reader through an absorbing and tragic story that remains as fresh and moving today as it was when it first written over half a century ago.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of shades of grey....., December 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Young Lions (Paperback)

I'm a 30 year old person that was born and raised in the Netherlands and for the last 4 years has been living and working in Germany. I've allways been interested in novels, films and documentaries about the second world war. Living in the Netherlands and Germany I have been able to notice the differences in the way both countries try to cope with the war. Generalizing one could say that in the Netherlands emphasis is more on having been victims, wheras in Germany, people try to face the fact that a lot of their fathers and/or grandfathers were war criminals. A simple and clear picture: they were "good" and the others were "bad" Reading "The Young Lions", you more and more see the similarities between soldiers in the opposing armies: they have the same background, the same fears, the same hopes, they are just puppets of different rulers. They are not just good or bad, they just want to survive and go home. Shaw's book shows how horrible war is to every soldier. In war there is no black and white, just many shades of grey.....

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great storyteller --and his greatest story, October 1, 2001

By	Birdman (Minnetonka, MN USA) - See all my reviews

There were dozens of novels based on World War II, but only three that captured American readers by storm. Mailer's THE NAKED AND THE DEAD, Jones's FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and Shaw's THE YOUNG LIONS. Of the three, the most compulsively readable and the least self-conscious is Irwin Shaw's absolutely beautiful novel of love and loss during World War II. If there is a better sculptor of character in 20th century American fiction, I'd like to know who it is. Shaw has a knack for creating palpable characters (including some you'd ordinarily hate -- such as an errant Nazi) who live and breathe. All of his characters -- from Christian and Michael to Hope -- are people we care about, and many of the great historic scenes of the war come alive for even the most casual reader. The subplots (and there are quite a few of them) are integrated seamlessly and the pace is relentless and exciting. One wonders why Shaw never tried to repeat this stunning performance, but perhaps novels as fine as this only occur once in a lifetime. If you want to sink into a richly detailed, compulsively readable saga of World War II, this is the genuine article. A pity there aren't six stars.