I read TGWAMM on the recommendation of my mother, not too long after the eponymous war ended, and still think about it all these years later. Also, "Class" was useful back when I was writing about rich people.

RIP, Paul Fussell.

 

Comments

[Chip Berry]

There was once a bookstore catalog called A Common Reader that led me to many good writers, including Fussell. I liked "Bad" too.

[prell]

I really wish more people would engulf themselves in WWI histories. Pretty tough to glorify that debacle. Hollywood can't even salvage that disaster.

[Ed Cone]

Fussell learned from his own experiences in WWII. From the linked obit: "During his tour of duty he won the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts — he was wounded in the back and legs — and he emerged with a disdain for those who would justify wars, especially those who never fought."

[Lex]

If I recall correctly, he dedicated either TGWAMM or his WWII book to a friend in his unit, "killed in action beside me" during the European campaign.

But, Ed, if you read TGWAMM "not too long after the eponymous war ended," you must have a portrait in the attic that looks like a zombie.

[Ed Cone]

A slight exaggeration, Lex, although in historical terms my high school years and the war to end all wars stand cheek by jowl. I should reread that book, I'm sure 17-year-old me missed a lot in it.