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A review by rileysamsa
Storm of Steel by Ernst Jünger
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Most narratives about the First World War are dishonest: mostly done by people many years after the events, with a political motive to oppose the war and anything that comes of it; but also a perceived ethical obligation to present the war as something they did not enjoy at all. Jünger answers All Quiet on the Western Front 10 years before it was written, by discussing the war how he saw it: violent, brutal, exhilarating, intoxicating, and very human.
Jünger, like most people did and would, revels in the excitement and chaos of war, and is almost addicted to the rush of putting his life on the line daily. In that way, he admits what others are ashamed to: that he is a human being, and sometimes human beings are unreasonable, brutal, savage, and aggressive - yet, none of those things make him, or any of his comrades or enemies, evil.
A vivid and all too real look into why human beings go to war, and why so often they're willing to die for a country.
I genuinely think this is one of the best and most important books ever written.
Jünger, like most people did and would, revels in the excitement and chaos of war, and is almost addicted to the rush of putting his life on the line daily. In that way, he admits what others are ashamed to: that he is a human being, and sometimes human beings are unreasonable, brutal, savage, and aggressive - yet, none of those things make him, or any of his comrades or enemies, evil.
A vivid and all too real look into why human beings go to war, and why so often they're willing to die for a country.
I genuinely think this is one of the best and most important books ever written.