The Young Lions - A Novel

Irwin Shaw

Summary

One of the great World War II novels, this New York Times–bestselling “masterpiece” captures the experiences of three very different soldiers (The Boston Globe). Standing alongside Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead and James Jones’s From Here to Eternity, The Young Lions is one of the most powerful American novels to tackle the Second World War. Ambitious in its scope and robust in its prose, Irwin Shaw’s work is also deeply humanistic, presenting the reality of war as seen through the eyes of ordinary soldiers on both sides. The story follows the individual dramas—and ultimately intertwined destinies—of Christian Diestl, a Nazi sergeant; Noah Ackerman, a Jewish American infantryman; and Michael Whitacre, an idealistic urbanite from the New York theatrical world. Diestl first appears as a dashing ski instructor in Austria, mouthing his loyalty to Nazi ideals. As the war progresses, Diestl’s character continues to erode as he descends into savagery. Ackerman must endure domestic anti-Semitism and beatings in boot camp before proving himself in the European theater. Eventually, as part of the liberating army, he comes face-to-face with the unimaginable horrors of the death camps. Whitacre, trading cocktail parties for Molotov cocktails, confronts the barbarism of war, and in fighting simply to survive, finds his own capacity for heroism. Shaw’s sweeping narrative is at once vivid, exciting, and brutally realistic as well as poignant in its portrayal of the moral devastation and institutional insanity of war. Penned by a master storyteller at the height of his craft, The Young Lions stands the test of time as a classic novel of war and the human experience. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Irwin Shaw including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.

Available since: 02/26/2013.

Print length: 603 pages.

Other books that might interest you

Goose Fair

D H Lawrence

'Goose Fair' was written by D H Lawrence in 1910. Lawrence sets his story against the backdrop of the industrial troubles caused by the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. A young woman is torn between her need for a lover and her contempt for what she perceives to be his dishonesty in the burning down of a mill. Is all love a compromise between the ideal and the reality of life?

Show book

Brothers Karamazov The - Audiobook

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Classic...

The Brothers Karamazov is Fyodor Dostoevsky's final and most profound novel, a sweeping philosophical and psychological exploration of faith, doubt, free will, and morality. Set in 19th-century Russia, the story revolves around the lives of the three Karamazov brothers—Alyosha, the spiritual and kind-hearted novice; Ivan, the intellectual and tormented skeptic; and Dmitri, the passionate and impulsive soldier. Their deeply conflicted relationships with their debauched and manipulative father, Fyodor Pavlovich, lead to a tragic series of events culminating in his mysterious murder.Through the lens of this family drama, Dostoevsky examines the human soul, the struggle between reason and belief, and the consequences of spiritual and moral choices. Rich in philosophical dialogue and emotional depth, The Brothers Karamazov stands as one of the greatest novels ever written, offering timeless insights into the complexities of human nature and the eternal questions of existence.

Show book

Les Misérables: Volume 1:...

Victor Hugo

Victor-Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 - 22 May 1885) was a French poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote abundantly in an exceptional variety of genres: lyrics, satires, epics, philosophical poems, epigrams, novels, history, critical essays, political speeches, funeral orations, diaries, and letters public and private, as well as dramas in verse and prose.
BOOK 4: TO CONFIDE IS SOMETIMES TO DELIVER INTO A PERSON'S POWER: There was, at Montfermeil, near Paris, during the first quarter of this century, a sort of cook-shop which no longer exists. This cook-shop was kept by some people named Thénardier, husband and wife. It was situated in Boulanger Lane.

Show book

Flappers and Philosophers

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Flappers and Philosophers is the first collection of eight short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1920. All of the stories had been published earlier, independently, in either Saturday Evening Post, or Scribner's Magazine.
Included in this collection:
1. The Offshore Pirate
2. The Ice Palace
3. Head and Shoulders
4. The Cut-Glass Bowl
5. Bernice Bobs Her Hair
6. Benediction
7. Dalyrimple Goes Wrong
8. The Four Fists

Show book

A Desertion

Stephen Crane

"A Desertion" is a short story published in 1900 about a young woman who is suspected by others in the neighborhood of indiscretion that might trouble her father.

Show book

History of Herodotus The - Book...

Herodotus, George Rawlinson

One of the masterpieces of classical literature, the "Histories" describes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of the Persian empire. But while this epic struggle forms the core of his work, Herodotus' natural curiosity frequently gives rise to colorful digressions - a description of the natural wonders of Egypt; an account of European lake-dwellers; and far-fetched accounts of dog-headed men and gold-digging ants. With its kaleidoscopic blend of fact and legend, the "Histories" offers a compelling Greek view of the world of the fifth century BC.
BOOK 8: URANIA: The Greeks engaged in the sea-service were the following. The Athenians
furnished a hundred and twenty-seven vessels to the fleet, which were manned in part by the Plataeans, who, though unskilled in such matters, were led by their active and daring spirit to undertake this duty.

Show book