HANOVER BROWSING
The Browsing Column this month deais for the most part with war books. Some time ago I asked Professor Wayne Stevens of the Department of History, who shares my enthusiasm for books on the late war, to recommend a few of the most representative to the alumni. Part of this month's review contains his recommendations.
I wish to take the opportunity here of saying a few words about Thomas Boyd who died suddenly on January 27, author of Through the Wheat, one of the very best of American books on what Lawrence Stallings circumspectly called The FirstWorld War.
Thomas Boyd was my friend and I will not attempt to be dispassionate in my estimate of him.
Mr. Boyd was born in July, 1898. At the age of nineteen with youthful ideals, partlyinherent and natural to him, but whipped up by lying propaganda, he enlisted in the Marines, fought in several major engagements, was gassed, and won the croix deguerre for gallantry in action. In 1923 he published Through the Wheat (Scrib a fresh and reliable account of how the war affected him. At this time I seized upon it as the American book of the war, worthy to be ranked with Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage in its war psychology, its restraint, and in its general truth, and the ten or eleven years that have followed have not altered my original opinion.
I doubt if in his other books, Points ofHonor, Samuel Drimimond, or The DarkCloud, he fulfilled his early promise. His recent book In Time of Peace I have not read at the time of writing this. It will be reviewed later.
Ten years passed. Years of depression; years that later may well become known in history as the years of the Great Betrayal of those who died in the war. For Thomas Boyd they were years of maturing and reflecting on the war, its consequences, and the civilization and society which produced it. He emerged a sincere and belligerent communist, who in 1934, made local history by being the Communistic candidate for governor of that rock-ribbed, and granite-brained state of Vermont. Communism for Thomas Boyd was a flaming banner that he waved as a challenge, a single handed one if necessary, to the injustices of a capitalistic civilization that had produced wars for profit, fears, insecurity, instability, and poverty for the great masses of people. He was much in sympathy with John Strachey, author of TheComing Struggle For Power, but he differed with him in being more emotional about his new political faith. True it was that he studied Karl Marx, and read Lenin, but his communism was never intellectualized. It was for him a barricade to stand upon, and fight from; a barricade beyond which stood entrenched the munitions makers, the reactionary industrialists, the bankers and their defaulting banks, Wall Street, etc., or in other words 'dat ole debbil capitalism' as imagined by the staff of the New Masses. Although Mr. Boyd wrote several better than average biographies (Light Horse Harry Lee, SimonGirty, Mad Anthony Wayne, and the unpublished John Fitch), in his politics he lacked, it seemed to me, a genuine historical sense, and this deficiency in his thought gave him a certainty, an optimism concerning communism as a panacea which, to my mind, was utterly at variance with the facts of human nature, with tradition, with the past, and with history. Tom Boyd was a man of action. I have never known a more gallant person. His honesty, his integrity, his intensity, and sincerity, were unique. There was a flare about Tom which captivated all who knew him. He was a familiar figure in Hanover as he lived in South Woodstock. Many students and faculty mourn his early passing. To me a brilliant and pure light has suddenly been extinguished. Why, is beyond my simple comprehension.
Prof. Wayne Steven's remarks follow:
Nothing could be more futile than to attempt to compile a list of "best books" relating to any phase of the World War and no such effort has been made in the notes which follow. One who has followed the literature of the war at all closely cannot fail to have been impressed by the sustained public interest in the narratives of those who participated in the struggle, an interest which is almost as great as it was sixteen years ago, when the conflict ended. In attempting to evaluate these personal accounts, however, it is extremely difficult to distinguish clearly between the simple, straightforward narrative, embodying the facts of the writer's experience, and the growing class of books which may have a basis of fact, indeed, but which have been embellished to the point where they tend to become fiction rather than history. The authentic narrative tends to shade almost imperceptibly into fiction. It is true that some of the most vivid, and in one sense the most accurate, contemporary accounts have appeared in books which are avowedly fiction. Excellent examples of this type of war literature are to be found in Arnold Zweig's The Case of Serroad *■ p* geant Grischa and in R. H. Mottram's well known Spanish Farm Trilogy. The books which have been selected for comment here, however, are for the most part straightforward memoirs, based upon the writers' own recollections, or upon letters and diaries. In selecting the following very brief list, readability and the vividness and apparent accuracy of the respective nar- ratives have been kept in mind. An at- tempt has also been made to choose books which represent a variety of points of view. Certain of these books have received rela- tively little publicity and may be unfa- miliar to many persons.
A Fatalist at War, Rudolf Binding. (Translated from the German). Boston and New York, 1929. It is stated in the preface that these sketches "have not been altered from the form in which they were originally written during the War." The extracts from letters which comprise most of the volume certainly give the impression of authenticity and it is fortunate that there has been no attempt at censorship or editorial embellishment, for we have here one of the frankest and most absorbing accounts emanating from the German side which has been presented to English readers. The story is that of a German officer who served both on the eastern front and in France during the period from October, 1914, to November, 1918. The author was an unusually intelligent observer and his detailed descriptions of scenes at the front are supplemented by his own somewhat philosophical reflections concerning the war and its ways. The book is remarkable for its absence of any bitterness toward the enemy and for its frankness with respect to the doings of the Germans themselves. Had some of his statements emanated from allied sources, they would doubtless have been denounced as hostile propaganda. But on the whole, one who reads at all widely in the literature of the war is impressed by the fact that its phenomena were much the same, no matter from which side the scene was viewed.
Shrieks and Crashes, being Memories ofCanada's Corps, Wilfred B. Kerr. Toronto, 1929.
Despite its somewhat unfortunate title, this volume is a remarkably vivid and truthful account of the experiences of an enlisted man in the Canadian Field Artillery. Though the account was written more than a decade after the events described, the author has refreshed his memory by reference to his letters and to the diary which he kept at the front. There have probably been few more realistic accounts of the fighting in northern France and Flanders, with its accompaniment of rain, mud, and shell fire. Particularly worth while is the chapter entitled "Life at the Front in 1917." The daily routine of the soldier is described along with his food, clothing, and other aspects of life in the gun pits. The reader will learn more about the role of light artillery in modern warfare than he would ever get from a technical treatise on the subject. It is to be hoped that the author will fulfill his promise to continue the narrative through the campaign of 1918. The volume which he has already written constitutes a valuable historical document.
At G. H. Q, Brigadier General John Char teris. London, 1931.
The staff officer, or "brass hat," as he was nicknamed by the British, is usually the target for much caustic comment in the war memoirs of those who actually fought in the trenches. It is fitting, therefore, that in this volume a "brass hat" should be allowed to speak for himself. General Charteris served on Field Marshal Haig's staff as chief of the British intelligence service. We have here a remarkably intimate view of life at general headquarters and interesting revelations concerning the problems and anxieties of the high command. The reader will be fascinated by the description of the methods used in collecting information of the enemy and drawing conclusions as to his intentions. The personality of Haig, of whom General Charteris was a most loyal admirer, appears throughout the book. This account presents a unique picture of modern warfare as viewed from the vantage point of the high command. The sufferings of the man in the trenches to a certain extent find a counterpart in the tension which accompanies responsibility.
All's Fair: the Story of the British SecretService Behind the German Lines, Captain Henry Landau. New York, 1934.
The reminiscences of the average spy are likely to be highly exasperating. There seems to be a certain tendency toward exhibitionism on the part of the spy who airs his achievements in print and his narrative is usually embellished by his constructive imagination. Captain Landau's story is an exception to the general rule, and should be avoided by anyone looking for cheap sensation. It appears to be a truthful, straightforward account of the British espionage system which centered in Holland during the war. One is impressed by the methodically planned organization and teamwork which were the basis of successful espionage. It is a story of patient watchers in Belgium, counting troop trains, and noting the names of German units; of the transmission of this information across the closely guarded Dutch frontier; and of the collation of the data thus acquired and the drawing of the most amazing inferences therefrom. The Mata Hari type of spy is conspicuously absent from the pages of this book.
As I Saw It, Alden Brooks. New York, 1930.
It is strange that this book has received so little notice, for in some respects it is one of the most remarkable which the reviewer has seen. Brooks was a young American who because of defective eyesight failed to secure a commission in the United States army. He thereupon promptly secured a commission in the French army and served throughout 1918 in a heavy artillery regiment. His outfit roamed up and down the front in France throwing in its support at critical moments where it was most needed. One is impressed by the professional and highly efficient methods of the French, with their background of three years of war experience. There is a certain refreshing good nature characteristic of the author's style and an entire absence of the cynicism and "disillusionment" so common in many war books. There are very few personal narratives which give one a more real picture of what went on at the front in France in 1918 than this one. The book is delightful reading and is one which should not be missed.
Toward the Flame, Hervey Allen. New York, 1926.
A second edition of this book has recently appeared, probably launched upon the wave of enthusiasm which attended the publication of Anthony Adverse, but certainly the volume is worthy of the distinction of a reprinting. Hervey Allen was an infantry officer in the A. E.F. and he tells of the American advance from the Marne to the Vesle in July and August, 1918. It is a simple running narrative, characterized by no attempt at studied literary effect, and presents a remarkable close up view of the war as it appeared to a newcomer in the theater of war. In the early pages, one gets an impression of the almost pathetic inexperience of the Americans, as compared with the efficiency of the French veterans and one sees the former almost literally groping their way to the front. These men learn, their lesson in the school of bitter experience and at last, in the terrible fighting at the little village of Fismette, on the Vesle, though they are ordered to do the impossible and fail, yet they fight to the end. The tragic climax with which the narrative ends made a profound impression upon at least one reader.
Heaven High-Hell Deep, 1917-1918, Norman Archibald. New York, 1935.
The selection of this volume as a book-of-the-month has assured it of ample pub- licity. It belongs in an entirely different category from the narratives previously mentioned, which is one reason for its being included in this list. Here we have the story of an American aviator who was trained in France, fought a few weeks at the front, was brought down behind the enemy lines, and confined in a German prison camp. Though it is apparent that the book' has a substantial basis of fact in the author's actual experiences, yet one cannot help feeling that it also contains a good deal of imaginative writing. The main outline of the narrative and the general atmosphere are probably authentic enough, but the many details, involving conversations, fighting maneuvers, etc., can scarcely be accurate in the strictest historical sense. A little reflection leads one to place this volume in the twilight zone between fact and fiction. Probably this is just what the author intended it to be There is rather more of the psychology of the "Hun-hunter" than is customary in most war narratives written at this late date. Yet it is an extremely good story and if one wishes to know how the war appeared to an aviator, he is advised to read this book.
To Mr. Steven's recommendations I should like to add a few of my own without much comment. Edward Thompson's These Men Thy Friends, about the Mesopotamian front, is memorable. So, too, one of the very best of English war books! Edmund Blunden's Undertones of War' H. M. Tomlinson's Waiting For Daylight; C. E. Montague's Disenchantment, one of Mr. Hopkins' favorites I recall; as well as Siegfried Sassoon's Memoirs of an InfantryOfficer, must be included. Read, too, the poems of Wilfred Owen; Herbert Read's In Retreat; Sir William Orpen's An Onloker in France, George Duhamel's Civilization, recommended to me by Mr. Tomlinson; Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth; C. R. Benstead's little known Retreat; Mary Borden's The Forbidden Zone; George Blake's The Path ofGlory; Grabenhorst's Zero Hour; von Unruh's Way of Sacrifice; and Richard Aldington's Death of a Hero. One could add many more but these are among the best. I shall not bring up the war again in these columns but I do not believe that it should ever be forgotten. These books will recall to you its horror as well as its finer side.
To end on a happier note this column wishes to congratulate Attorney Frank Horan on his recent marriage to Miss Elizabeth Rogers. Hanover was recently enlivened by their presence. Long into the night we discussed books and authors, cabbages and kings.
Wilbur Ferry '32 recommends AndQuiet Flows the Don, Thomas Beer's TheFair Rewards, and Henry Fielding's JosephA ndrews.
