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 enlarge | Author: Willy Peter Reese
Creators: Max Hastings, Stefan Schmitz, Michael Hofmann
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Category: Book
List Price: $23.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 67199
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 0374139784
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.54217092
EAN: 9780374139780
ASIN: 0374139784
Publication Date: November 2, 2005
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| Customer Reviews:
 A German version of Red Badge of Courage. January 2, 2008
Ok, this book initially was slow going. Also, it was also unlike any of the German memoirs of the war such as the Forgotten Soldier. Reese was probably much too thoughtful for a regular infantry grunt in the German Army. Also, he mentions his comrades in only two or three entries. Reese talks about the inhumanity of war in Russia. Not only does he describe his unit's description of their brutality, he relates how war in general is inhumane to both civilians and the soldiers that wage it. There are some biting descriptions in this book of retreats that cost the Germans greatly. The loss of life is tremedous, and eventually the soldiers become desensitized to the brutality and loss of life. They make jokes when poking at dead partisans hanging from some trees.
This book reminds me of the Red Badge of Courage. The authors are both literate and highly sensitive people. However, for those interested in the conflict between Red Russia and Nazi Germany, this might be a less than satisfactory read. The loss of Reese in this conflict is sad, and makes a tragic ending, as he loved life.
"war as an aesthetic problem" January 2, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
More literary than military, more abstract than concrete, Willy Peter Reese's memoir of his experiences on the Eastern Front offers a window into the soul of a man as it and he are crushed by the brutalities of modern war.
Reese provides few details about the tangibles of the war. No comrades or units are named. No dates are given. Few geographical locations are mentioned. Battles are described in the vaguest of terms; the reader doesn't encounter 88s or Tigers, doesn't hear about tactics. For these things, we have to read Guy Sajer or Otto Carius. Instead, Reese is interested in something more subtle, more indefinable, more psychological: as he puts it, "war as an aesthetic problem," specifically, the problem of describing HOW a man experiences war, not solely WHAT he experiences -- how he perceives war and describes it, how his mind, body, and soul change.
As such, the book won't be for everyone, certainly not those who prefer to read about war's technical aspects. Still, Reese offers a unique perspective on the Eastern Front, on World War II, and warfare in general. At times difficult to penetrate, at others repetitive, it is nevertheless worth reading.
 Boring, Lacks details. Reads like a poetry book November 22, 2007
I found this book to be quite boring. It lacked detail. The author never wrote a word about any of his comrades as if they didn't exist. It was like he was the only one there. It was very surreal as if the author was in a constant dream. If you want to read a great first person account try Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer.
Fine...If You Like Poetry September 20, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was excited to read what sounded like a fascinating memoir from a relatively rare point of view: a German solidier on the Eastern front. What I ended up with was a rambling, at times barely coherent attempt at writing memorable quotes. By the time I was 2/3 of the way through the book, I found myself pleading, "Just tell me what happened! Quit trying to sound so poetic!"
Toward the end of the book, Reese finally starts describing what he was going through in a less-flowery manner. Then it became pretty interesting. It just took a LONG time to get there.
Reese's story is a tragic one, but there are more informative war memoirs out there if you want actual information.
 This book proves war is hell. June 5, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Willy Peter Reese. I had never heard of him before the first part of June 2007. I met Reese, in his memoirs. He bared his soul for me. I sat next to him as he endured the frigid cold of a Russian winter. He told me of his pain when wounded. I watched as he and his fellow soldiers wore lice infested uniforms, suffered from pyoderma and lymph inflammations.
I watched a young man, quiet and reserved, go to war. In degrees I witnessed this young man give up on life and accept the horrors of war.
Reese, through his writing style, has left behind a compelling piece of literature; painting the war on the eastern front in such vivid colors so as to burn a hole to the readers soul.
Please read, A Stranger To Myself. For those who glorify war this may give you a realistic perspective of what can, and usually does, happen when soldiers face each other. As an Army veteran I am not so naive as to think war can be avoided every time, but when one reads what war is really all about then it is worth the time to try diplomacy first.
Read this book. It will take your breath away.
Richard Neal Huffman
The Bear And IDreams in Blue: "The Real Police"
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