Colección de artículos publicados por Steinbeck durante su etapa de reportero que acompañaba a las tropas angloamericanas en la 2 Guerra Mundial.
Quizás lo mas interesante es el largo prólogo escrito por el propio Steinbeck 15 años después de la primera publicación de las crónicas. Las reflexiones sobre la guerra, la censura y el “espíritu” que envolvía a los periodistas que acompañaban al ejército son realmente muy esclarecedoras y lúcidas.
A pesar de la censura militar, los relatos resultan sorprendentes por su frescura, por centrarse en las personas y no en las operaciones y por relatar episodios de la vida cotidiana de los soldados, la picaresca y el “ocio” de los soldados.
El tono humanista y social de Steinbeck siempre estuvo presente en su obra y más en una ocasión tan terrible como una guerra donde normalmente son los pobres y los más desfavorecidos los que constituyen la carne de cañón.

⭐2.5

"Yes, we wrote only a part of the war, but at the time we believed, fervently believed, that it was the best thing to do. And perhaps that is why, when the war was over, novels and stories by ex-soldiers, like The Naked and the Dead, proved so shocking to a public which had been carefully protected from contact with the crazy hysterical mess."

John Steinbeck was part of WWII and one of his main jobs was to write government propaganda to help fund the war efforts. In his book, he shares all of what war was, not just what they wish you to see. The good, the bad, the smiles, and the fear.

This book is broken up into fragments of memories for the soldiers. There is no cohesive story, per say. However, you understand the true feelings of the real people involved in this time. The soldiers and the people who were just trying to survive.

It is very well done. Personally not for me. I am not too fond of short stories like this but I understand why he wrote it like this. Even if it isn't a tale for me, I do admire plenty of the pieces in this. There is quite a few that stuck out to me like; The Worried Bartender, The Cottage That Wasn't There, and Theater Party. Personally these were the most impactful for me to read about.

Steinbeck has a wonderful writing style, even in such a gloomy tale - he makes you read on until the past page.

Read for Game of Tomes

This is a compendium of Steinbeck's dispatches for publication in American newspapers, originally published in 1958. As one might expect, it is not the standard war journalism which was churned out by nationally-known war correspondents. Instead, the focus is on the everyday grind, fears and superstitions among the rank-and-file as well as citizens caught up in the battle (even though he could not give specifics of places or individuals). Hence it took many years before the public knew that Douglas Fairbanks Jr., a lieutenant at the time, pulled off one of his greatest acting jobs. Armed only with a white towel as a "flag of truce" on an Island off the coast of Italy, he convinced 85 German troops that an unseen force of 600 Americans would bombard their position if they did not surrender. As it turned out, there were only forty-five Americans on the island.

Wow! Steinbeck is amazing. This is a compilation of his work as a war correspondent during WWII. But, in contrast to what most correspondents were reporting, Steinbeck conveyed the emotions and life-changing experiences of the people who lived the war, soldiers and civilians alike. His words draw you in and take you to the front lines as seen through those he met while in London, Africa and Italy. It is Steinbeck's ability to capture the essence of war through his brilliant style of writing that is what impressed me the most. His compilation adds the human side of a most brutal period of times, not just for the soldiers, but for the citizens in both the Allied and Axis countries. War is not glamorous and Steinbeck's choice not to simply recount the sensationalistic aspects of the war is what sets him apart from other war correspondents. A definite read for Steinbeck fans as well as WWII followers.

I found Steinbeck's introduction to this book to be very moving, filled with melancholy, nostalgia, and some regret for those who were lost in the war. However, the book itself is a little disappointing. I'm left with the sense that he was holding back. Each piece seems to be quickly written, maybe 'jotted down' would be a better description. This is most likely the result of having to write under newspaper deadline but it could also be the point of view he used, he never refers to himself in any of these essays. He does point out that he did this since he wanted to include conversation, but since he did not remember the exact details of specific conversations, he wrote each piece as if it had been told to him, rather than as if he were a witness to the events. The result being that I found myself wondering which details were true and which were embellished for dramatic effect. I wish he had written a more lengthy introduction with further details on what had to be left out due to Army censorship, or even self censorship.

There are plenty of flashes of insight into the day to day, and behind the lines life of the WWII soldier.
I'd recommend it, but would also recommened A.J. Liebling's essays for the New Yorker as well.

These are beautiful. Steinbeck's war dispatches focus not on what happened when but on the soldiers themselves- the well-connected motor pool driver and the private with the lucky pig. His stories are immediate and captivating.

This was surprisingly better than I thought it will be. Def better than Of Mice and Men. Soz.

The value in this book comes from gaining insight into Steinbeck's experiences as a war journalist. Anyone looking for a history lesson or additional details on WWII will be greatly disappointed. Every other nonfiction book I've read on similar topics will be more useful for such readers. Instead, Steinbeck writes about the mundane and the whimsical and offers a very vanilla perspective on the events he covered. For fans of the author, however, this is a fascinating look at how starkly different his mindset was compared to others who were involved in major wars, such as Hemingway, Vonnegut, and so on.

This book was my prize for our recent family Christmas quiz

В началото ми се стори наистина кореспондентски стилът – сух, телеграфен, но бързо започнах да усещам чувствителното писателско око/ухо на Стайнбек.

Хем ми беше непоносимо да чета за войната, хем ми бяха интересни детайлите, на които е обърнал ��нимание – по-скоро не самите бойни действия, а подготовката за тях – примерно нощта преди бомбардировка в спалното помещение на войниците (направо като в роман е описано). Като разказва за името на самолета, видях образно екипажа. Сякаш за първи път си представих войната реално именно с тази запечатана картина (хората в миговете преди излитането на самолетите за решаваща бойна задача, а не просто тренировка или филм) – за първи път видях тези хиляди момчета, дошли от другия край на света и бих разбрала всеки от тях, ако е искал да се върне обратно на секундата... Съществува ли наистина състояние, в което всичко това изглежда приемливо (ясно, че е неизбежно) – дошъл си примерно от делтата на Мисисипи, планините на Монтана, слънцето на Калифорния или булевардите н�� Ню Йорк – и изведнъж – в касапницата на Европа...

Още един елемент - не са нещо ново, но пак ме впечатлиха прощалните писма, които всички оставят при багажа си преди военна мисия...

И тук контрастът между мир и война подсилва противоестествения характер на войната – беше описан Hyde Park по време на въздушно нападение, а си спомних зеления спокоен парк преди 2 години.

Други картини, които се запечатват завинаги: след бомбардировка на Лондон – със седмици висящ чифт дамски чорапи върху единственото останало нещо от една разрушена къща – камината...; стара жена, която насред шума от бомбите продължава да продава “стоката” си и напевно повтаря: „Лавандула, лавандула...”

Получих повече, отколкото очаквах от тези малко на брой страници.

Beautiful book of Steinbeck's war reportage for the New York Herald Tribune. Only thing that broke the flow a tiny bit was the occasional censorship of some of his works which reminded me of my punk fanzine at school "Coffee Break" where the school got us to black out the swear words and the whole publication was a mass of blacked out text.

Of course it will get 5 stars, it's John Steinbeck. During World War 2, Steinbeck was a war correspondent and these are some of his daily postings from Europe and Africa. He doesn't cover the fluid battle lines or the casualty numbers or participate in the jingoism of the times. He brings forth the essence of the soldiers and the citizens as they grind through those very trying times (even though this book wasn't published until 14 years after the fact). He interjects humor where it's needed and pathos where it's appropriate. His narratives of the locales he covers is wonderful, as only Steinbeck can do. Surprising he never wrote a novel to cover some of these emotional times but perhaps the feelings were to near and fresh to open up the rawness of the catastrophe of war. This little tome contains some of his finest writing, as does his journal of the Sea of Cortez, another of his non-fictions efforts, and is well worth the reading. One of my favorite writers of all time (isn't he everybody's) and a piece of literature that everyone can enjoy. A great read.