Storm of Steel (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) 1st Edition

by Ernst Jünger (Author),‎ Michael Hofmann (Translator)

227 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0142437902

ISBN-10: 0142437905

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The memoir widely viewed as the best account ever written of fighting in WW1

A memoir of astonishing power, savagery, and ashen lyricism, Storm of Steel illuminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war, seen through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier. Young, tough, patriotic, but also disturbingly self-aware, Jünger exulted in the Great War, which he saw not just as a great national conflict but—more importantly—as a unique personal struggle. Leading raiding parties, defending trenches against murderous British incursions, simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart, Jünger kept testing himself, braced for the death that will mark his failure. Published shortly after the war’s end, Storm of Steel was a worldwide bestseller and can now be rediscovered through Michael Hofmann’s brilliant new translation.

For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Storm of Steel (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The definitive World War I account from the German point of view.” —Margaret Atwood, Entertainment Weekly

“Storm of Steel is what so many books claim to be but are not: a classic account of war.” —London Evening Standard

“Extraordinary . . . Michael Hofmann’s superlative translation retains all the coruscating vitality of the original.” —Niall Ferguson, author of Civilization,Colossus, and The Ascent of Money

About the Author

Ernst Jünger (1895–1998) was born in Heidelberg. He ran away from school and volunteered to join the German army. Fighting throughout the war, he recorded his experiences in several books, most famously in In Stahlgewittern (Storm of Steel).

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Product details

Series: Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics; 1 edition (May 4, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0142437905
ISBN-13: 978-0142437902
Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 7.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 227 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Military > World War I
- #22 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Europe
- #31 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Military

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BySchrodinger's caton June 1, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Since this is the centennial of WWI I thought I would read a few books relating to it this summer. I had heard that this was a good book. I therefore ordered it and in anticipation of its arrival I read the reviews of it here on Amazon (This is the BEST feature of Amazon and will keep its stock selling for multiples above its P/E for decades) in more depth. I realized that some of this great novel had been expunged because of parts that cast a favorable light on the National Socialist. I then searched another book purveyor and ordered an earlier translation which was a reprint of a 1929 edition by Howard Fertig publishers, no attribution given to translation.

The Amazon edition, translated by Michael Hofmann and published by Penguin arrived first. I began to read it and enjoyed it. The translation is good, crisp, and has a nice flow and rhythm to it. I was on the 3rd chapter when the 1929 edition arrived. At this point I began to read the 1929 edition. By the time I had gotten to where I was with the Michael Hofmann edition I was stunned! The narrator, Ernst Junger, portrayed in both books were totally different. The narrator of the 1929 edition was a classically educated man that was strongly patriotic. The Hofmann translation was of a faceless, unthinking, soldier.

At this point I read them in parallel. It left me profoundly depressed to think that anyone would have the temerity to boldly blot out entire pages of a priceless autobiography. Whatever you may think of German nationalism and the German character, no one, not Hofmann, nor penguin has the right to butcher and slant a great work of literature. If you are a student of military history you want the 1929 edition as Junger takes the time to explain military tactics and the necessity for discipline and practice, practice, practice in the military arts. Hofmann has deemed this not fit for our enlighten.

After reading both of these translations I am left with a deep feeling of alienation and angst. How many "translations" have I read that have completely edited out the meat of the book? As an American, born free, and will live free or die, I regard as enemies of mankind those who take it upon themselves to tell us what to think. I just want an unedited text. Let me draw the conclusion.

For the above reasons I pronounce an anathema upon the Hofmann translation. Seekers of truth and authenticity I must wave you off; regard this translation as radioactive.

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Byeastcoast_joeon October 15, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you've made it this far, chances are you are interested in WWI, so Buy it Now. This book is a great, straightforward account of what the front lines of WWI were like. It's a raw, and sometimes humorous account of life in the trenches This book will stick with you long after you've finished it. I stumbled on this book on accident and wish I knew about it sooner, it's really an amazing story. I recommend skipping the long winded forward though, or maybe go back and read it after the fact.

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Phenomenal war memoir

ByBrian HawkinsonVINE VOICEon February 18, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I've read a ton of war memoirs lately, but this was my first WWI memoir. Junger so compeltely captured the feeling of being in war in general, and more so the trench warfare of WWI that I was completely blown away. Storm of Steel should be a must read for at the least WWI, if not for the time period in general.

Junger compeltely captures what its like to fight in the trenches in WWI. His descriptions of the interconnecting trenches that were used to attack or to wildly run through - and get lost on many an occasion - in an attempt to flee the offensive nipping at your heels. His descriptive abilities were so precise and so accurate that I feel I completely understand what the soldiers went through. The onslaught from enemy artillery and mortar fire was so random and yet precise, especially his descriptions on being able to tell where they are going to land and how close they were going to come to you, that to the practiced soldier it just seemed normal to either duck and take cover in a crater or walk around without a care because you know you aren't going to be hit.

One horrendous thing that I didn't know was so prevalent was the use of gases and toxins as a means of attack. Junger is able to portray the atmosphere so well that you can literally picture the frantic soldiers running around, stooped over looking for clear air, just as much as you could picture the soldier in his death throes because he breathed too much. These are just a few of the examples that Junger exhaustively lays out for the reader in very precise detail. None of this distracts from the very lucky Junger from getting so wounded that he would be incapacitated. This isn't to say was never wounded, because he was certainly wounded many times over, but his luck and skill as an officer kept him alive to lead his fellow soldiers and himself to the end of the war. A must read and a definite recommend.

5 stars.

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Two accounts of the trenches

Bygbmillionon April 3, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book starts in the trenches and finishes not far from them. It's all about the war and the battles that the author fought on the Western front. At times the constant slaughter is tedious. But this is not just a macho account of a collection of battles. The author is highly sensitive to his own emotions and to the world around him. The language is colourful and stylish. His descriptions of being in constant danger and, more than once, on the verge of death are engrossing.

Despite tremendous odds and being hit by bullets and shrapnel numerous times over four years of war the author survived. He lived to the ripe old age of 102. He revised the book many times. Thus, we are told, this is the first book published on the trenches and the last book to be published on the trenches. Constantly revised, Storm of Steel has been pared down to pure description. There is no moralizing on the glory or the folly of war. He merely tells graphically how it was. In this he succeeds.

I recently bought this book and Robert Graves's Goodbye to All That. Storm of Steel is all about the trenches whereas Goodbye to All That is twenty or thirty percent trench and the rest life before and after the war. Juenger is committed to soldiering without questioning his motives. Graves is a more complex character, berating the folly of politicians and senior officers, yet drawn to combat like a moth to the flames. Both accounts show how war can bring out an addictive lust for killing and destruction notwithstanding the horror and regret. As such, they are both illuminating accounts of human nature.

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Most recent customer reviews

Great book, easy to read.

Published 10 days ago by Matt

More Than A Military Memoir - A Literary Classic

I cannot overstate how fantastic this book is. Junger's writing style is both easy to read and beautiful at the same time.Read more

Published 16 days ago by Matthew L. Shiney

Great book. You never see books about the other side.

Published 19 days ago by bobo the disgruntled mule

THE Great War read...

The classic account of war on the Western Front told by a man who lived it.

Published 1 month ago by Patrick Mooney

An amazing insight into one man's experience of the war to end all wars.

Published 2 months ago by Matt McCormack

Excellent portrayal of trench warfare in WWI.

Published 2 months ago by Michael K Smock

Thank you for the great book

Great book, great price, pondering theory and thought

Published 3 months ago by Micah

good book, would recommend for anyone who is Interested in the war or the other perspective of the Germans. Good

Published 4 months ago by Patricia Williams

A good read. What struck me is the similiarity between ...

A good read. What struck me is the similiarity between this tale and tales from WW2, tales from Vietnam and from the gulf wars.
Some thing never change.
Important book.

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer

This book is a non fiction story that exceeds any I have read from the great war. A must buy for both shelf and mind.

Published 4 months ago by ksmith

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