- Paperback: 156 pages
- Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; 1st ed. reprinted with corrections edition (Sep 1979)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 019281267X
- ISBN-13: 978-0192812674
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.9 x 1.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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- #64 in Books > History > Military History > World War II > Alamein
Alamein to Zem Zem
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Proof that real-life is better than fiction,
By
This review is from: Alamein to Zem Zem (Paperback)
This first-hand account of the battle of El Alamein by a tank commander who was also a well-regarded poet is well worth reading. While it is rather more gung-ho, the closest parallel I can think of is some of Wilfred Owen's poetry from the Western Front of the previous round of Unpleasantness. I was particularly struck by something that is very common in real military memoirs but almost entirely absent from fictional ones: that soldiers - even officers - rarely know what's going on, are frequently confused, spend far more time waiting around than they do fighting, and that their biggest enemy is often the environment as opposed to the other side's soldiers. Some of the confusion seeps through to the pages. In a very short book, it is sometimes hard to keep track of who is who in Douglas's squadron, but whereas in a work of fiction that would be terribly important, in this true account it really doesn't matter - the overall impression is what counts. In short, this is one of the few books that I can whole-heartedly recommend to absolutely everyone, no matter whether your normal diet is great literature or formulaic pot-boiler thrillers. Buy it. Now.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good account of battle.,
This review is from: Alamein to Zem Zem (Paperback)
This book is really good. It has great descriptions of the North African battle environment, and it does a great job in describing the life of an infantry soldier in battle. Other than just the informative descriptions, that make a great book on their own, the author's thoughts and impressions of the battle routine, other soldiers, commanders and the war mentality in general reflects well in the book. The book has it's own unique sort of philosophy on the war, and the author did a great job in putting it into words. The fact that the book was written by an English infantry soldier while he fought in the battle of El-Alamein in WWII, and later died in Normandy, makes the words stand out even more. I enjoyed the book very much.
4.0 out of 5 stars
gripping,
This review is from: Alamein to Zem Zem (Paperback)
An outstanding and very personal exposition of life in a tank in combat in North Africa by an equally outstanding war poet...
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