Did you see something in this comment that didn't meet our terms and conditions? If so, thanks for letting us know. If you inadvertently reached this page, you can use your browsers "back" button to get back on track.
Keep in mind that this form is intended only for reporting comments that violate our terms and conditions. Your report will not be published on the website and will not be sent to the comment author.
You are reporting a comment on the following title:
Perhaps the single best first person account of warfare in the 20th century. Robert Graves story of his first thirty-three years of life is a powerful story of a man who lived through the last days of the old British Empire. His account of service on the western front during the worst of the trench stalemate is horrifying. I do not believe that in any other war have men been called upon to cross the same deadly ground month after month. The sure knowledge of death or wounding produced what Graves calls neurasthenia and we would call psychosis. It was not however enough to save a man from going over the top. The author dispels many myths about combat and shows what an ugly endeavor was the day to day business of trench warfare.
He calmly relates being badly wounded and left for dead. His family was actually informed that he had died of wounds. Following the war he reports on how little has been learned by the British Government and how general was the feeling that the Treaty of Versailles would lead to another conflict with Germany and that the war had all been for naught. With the social stratification of the British society setting back into place and the solders sacrifices being forgotten in 1929 Graves left England intending never to return. This book was meant to be both a good bye to England and a farewell to his youth.
Terms and Conditions
We welcome your comments and ideas, but we ask that you refrain from:
Obscenity
Spam
Illegal content
Copyrighted material
Commercial solicitations
By posting your comments you are granting the good people of Powells.com the right
(but not the obligation) to make your comments available to others over the
Internet, and to copy and distribute your comments via other media, in each case
on a royalty free basis. These terms govern the rights and obligations of the
person posting comments and Powells.com; there are no intended third party
beneficiaries of these terms.
Posted comments are subject to monitoring, editing, and removal at any time.
Please see our Terms of Use for our complete terms and conditions.
You are reporting a comment on the following title:
You are reporting the following comment:
ericgant, June 28, 2007
Perhaps the single best first person account of warfare in the 20th century. Robert Graves story of his first thirty-three years of life is a powerful story of a man who lived through the last days of the old British Empire. His account of service on the western front during the worst of the trench stalemate is horrifying. I do not believe that in any other war have men been called upon to cross the same deadly ground month after month. The sure knowledge of death or wounding produced what Graves calls neurasthenia and we would call psychosis. It was not however enough to save a man from going over the top. The author dispels many myths about combat and shows what an ugly endeavor was the day to day business of trench warfare.He calmly relates being badly wounded and left for dead. His family was actually informed that he had died of wounds. Following the war he reports on how little has been learned by the British Government and how general was the feeling that the Treaty of Versailles would lead to another conflict with Germany and that the war had all been for naught. With the social stratification of the British society setting back into place and the solders sacrifices being forgotten in 1929 Graves left England intending never to return. This book was meant to be both a good bye to England and a farewell to his youth.
Terms and Conditions
We welcome your comments and ideas, but we ask that you refrain from:- Obscenity
- Spam
- Illegal content
- Copyrighted material
- Commercial solicitations
By posting your comments you are granting the good people of Powells.com the right (but not the obligation) to make your comments available to others over the Internet, and to copy and distribute your comments via other media, in each case on a royalty free basis. These terms govern the rights and obligations of the person posting comments and Powells.com; there are no intended third party beneficiaries of these terms. Posted comments are subject to monitoring, editing, and removal at any time. Please see our Terms of Use for our complete terms and conditions.Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
In accordance with The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, you must be at least 13 to submit comments on Powells.com.