Author:Ernst Junger,Michael Hofmann
Presenting the desperate conflict of the First World War through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier, Ernst Jünger's Storm of Steel is translated by Michael Hofmann in Penguin Modern Classics.
'As though walking through a deep dream, I saw steel helmets approaching through the craters. They seemed to sprout from the fire-harrowed soil like some iron harvest.'
A memoir of astonishing power, savagery and ashen lyricism, Storm of Steel depicts Ernst Jünger's experience of combat on the front line - leading raiding parties, defending trenches against murderous British incursions, and simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart. One of the greatest books to emerge from the catastrophe of the First World War, it illuminates like no other book not only the horrors but also the fascination of a war that made men keep fighting for four long years.
Ernst Jünger (1895-1998) the son of a wealthy chemist, ran away from home to join the Foreign Legion. His father dragged him back, but he returned to military service when he joined the German army on the outbreak of the First World War. Storm of Steel (Stahlgewittern) was Jünger's first book, published in 1920. Greatly admired by the Nazis, Jünger remained at a distance from the regime, with books such as his allegorical work On the Marble Cliffs (1939) functioning as a covert criticism of Nazi ideology and methods.
If you enjoyed Storm of Steel, you might like Edward Blunden's Undertones of War, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.
'To read this extraordinary book is to gain a unique insight into the compelling nature of organized, industrialized violence'
Niall Ferguson, author of War of the World
'Hofmann's interpretation is superb'
The Times
'Unique in the literature of this or any other war is its brilliantly vivid conjuration of the immediacy and intensity of battle'
Telegraph
'Storm of Steel is what so many books claim to be but are not: a classic account of war'
Evening Standard
Undoubtedly the most powerful memoir of any war I have ever read ... Storm of Steel combines the most astonishing literary gifts with absorption with war in every detail. It has German loyalties and a German sensibility, but not a trace of propaganda. It is particular, yet universal ... What Jünger saw and recorded was, to use his own word, 'primordial'. It takes great art to convey that appalling simplicity
—— Charles Moore , TelegraphStorm of Steel is what so many books claim to be but are not: a classic account of war
—— Evening StandardHofmann's interpretation is superb
—— The TimesUnique in the literature of this or any other war is its brilliantly vivid conjuration of the immediacy and intensity of battle
—— TelegraphUnprecedented in scope...rich both in detail and in its unique insights... Khan's history has paved the way for a more complex understanding of the Second World War as India's War
—— Vinay Lal , Indian ExpressA fascinating, vividly written history full of surprises, some of them shocking
—— The TimesYasmin Khan...offers a richly researched social history of wartime India that is peppered with fascinating detail
—— The EconomistRemarkable Account… Compassionate, judicious and brilliantly readable, this is a compelling account of a dramatic, but little examined, aspect of history
—— Daily MailThis fascinating book tells the story of World War Two's impact on India: the shattering of the ordered relations which underpinned the Raj making its end inevitable. It's also a much needed reminder of India's contribution to that war
—— Mark TullyEpic and intimate
—— Aamer Hussein , IndependentMasterly
—— John Keay , Literary Review[Has] brought undeservedly obscure histories into a powerful and startling light
—— Matthew Price , Nationalan intricately detailed insight into an underexplored area of wartime history
—— Emma Jolly , Who Do You Think You Are?[Khan marshals] a dazzling array of first-hand sources – soldiers and politicians, but also non-combatants such as nurses, refugees, peasants and prostitutes – to illustrate the effect the conflict had on South Asian society and politics
—— Saul David, 4 stars , Mail on Sunday[an] important book
—— Jason Burke , ObserverKhan’s research has been extensive and she combines it with a gift for storytelling. She is at her best and most original in bringing us the revealing perspectives of witnesses other historians might ignore.
—— Zareer Masani , History TodayAn exhaustively researched history that uses a dazzling array of first-hand sources to illustrate the effect the Second World War had on South Asian society and politics
—— Saul David , Evening Standard[Khan] shows convincingly how Indians could no longer be fooled, or fool themselves, that the British presence was either benign or irreversible
—— David Horspool , GuardianRevelatory study… Khan balances analysis, history and human compassion in a narrative that leaves one shaken.
—— Sunday TelegraphKhan has written a first class book... Exceptionally well told facts throughout the book, I was staggered at her revelations … It is a bitter, sweet story throughout … Overall, the book enlightened me in many ways, perhaps it makes me regard the Indian in a different light today. It certainly has made me look up other deeper facts about various matters pertaining to the era of the Second World War, and that has to be a good inducement to read the book.
—— Reg Seward , Nudgea book of the greatest importance… written with searing intellectual honesty.
—— Anthony Beevor , Sunday TimesSnyder's extraordinary book may be about events more than seventy years ago, but its lessons about human nature are as relevant now as then
—— Rebecca Tinsley , Independent Catholic NewsDisturbing but utterly compelling... The how’s and whys of what happened have never been better explained.
—— Simon Shaw , Mail on SundayHighly praised, and indeed it is a worthy contribution to the subject.
—— Ruth Ginarlis , NudgeHarding has recorded the fate of the house and its inhabitants, from the Weimar republic until reunification. This is German history in microcosm ... as exciting as a good historical novel.
—— Die WeltAn inspirational read: highly recommended.
—— Western Morning NewsA genuinely remarkable work of biographical innovation.
—— Stuart Kelly , TLS, Books of the YearI’d like to reread Ruth Scurr’s John Aubrey every Christmas for at least the next five years: I love being between its humane pages, which celebrate both scholarly companionship and deep feeling for the past
—— Alexandra Harris , GuardianRuth Scurr’s innovative take on biography has an immediacy that brings the 17th century alive
—— Penelope Lively , GuardianAnyone who has not read Ruth Scurr’s John Aubrey can have a splendid time reading it this summer. Scurr has invented an autobiography the great biographer never wrote, using his notes, letters, observations – and the result is gripping
—— AS Byatt , GuardianA triumph, capturing the landscape and the history of the time, and Aubrey’s cadence.
—— Daily TelegraphA brilliantly readable portrait in diary form. Idiosyncratic, playful and intensely curious, it is the life story Aubrey himself might have written.
—— Jane Shilling , Daily MailScurr knows her subject inside out.
—— Simon Shaw , Mail on SundayThe diligent Scurr has evidence to support everything… Learning about him is to learn more about his world than his modest personality, but Scurr helps us feel his pain at the iconoclasm and destruction wrought by the Puritans without resorting to overwrought language.
—— Nicholas Lezard , GuardianAcclaimed and ingeniously conceived semi-fictionalised autobiography… Scurr’s greatest achievement is to bring both Aubrey and his world alive in detail that feels simultaneously otherworldly and a mirror of our own age… It’s hard to think of a biographical work in recent years that has been so bold and so wholly successful.
—— Alexander Larman , Observer