Pay in installments of $5.31 with
,
and
Shipping Estimate
USA
- USA
- CAN
- USA
- CAN
Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 27 - Aug 1
For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15
Description
Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World WarWinner of both the National Book Award for Arts and Letters and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism, Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory was one of the most original and gripping volumes ever written about the First World War. Frank Kermode, in The New York Times Book Review, hailed it as "an important contribution to our understanding of how we came to make World War I part of our minds," and Lionel Trilling called it
Winner of both the National Book Award for Arts and Letters and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism, Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory was one of the most original and gripping volumes ever written about the First World War. Frank Kermode, in The New York Times Book Review, hailed it as "an important contribution to our understanding of how we came to make World War I part of our minds," and Lionel Trilling called it simply "one of the most deeply moving books I have read in a long time." In its panaramic scope and poetic intensity, it illuminated a war that changed a generation and revolutionized the way we see the world. Now, in Wartime, Fussell turns to the Second World War, the conflict he himself fought in, to weave a narrative that is both more intensely personal and more wide-ranging. Whereas his former book focused primarily on literary figures, on the image of the Great War in literature, here Fussell examines the immediate impact of the war on common soldiers and civilians. He describes the psychological and emotional atmosphere of World War II. He analyzes the euphemisms people needed to deal with unacceptable reality (the early belief, for instance, that the war could be won by "precision bombing," that is, by long distance); he describes the abnormally intense frustration of desire and some of the means by which desire was satisfied; and, most important, he emphasizes the damage the war did to intellect, discrimination, honesty, individuality, complexity, ambiguity and wit. Of course, no Fussell book would be complete without some serious discussion of the literature of the time. He examines, for instance, how the great privations of wartime (when oranges would be raffled off as valued prizes) resulted in roccoco prose styles that dwelt longingly on lavish dinners, and how the "high-mindedness" of the era and the almost pathological need to "accentuate the positive" led to the downfall of the acerbic H.L. Mencken and the ascent of E.B. White. He also offers astute commentary on Edmund Wilson's argument with Archibald MacLeish, Cyril Connolly's Horizon magazine, the war poetry of Randall Jarrell and Louis Simpson, and many other aspects of the wartime literary world. Fussell conveys the essence of that wartime as no other writer before him. For the past fifty years, the Allied War has been sanitized and romanticized almost beyond recognition by "the sentimental, the loony patriotic, the ignorant, and the bloodthirsty." Americans, he says, have never understood what the Second World War was really like. In this stunning volume, he offers such an understanding.Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 10/25/1990
ISBN: 9780195065770
Pages: 352
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.63h x 5.31w x 0.86d
Shipping Notes
- Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
- Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
- Delivery to the USA:
- Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
- If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
- We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
- Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
- To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
- Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
4.6 ★★★★★
Based on 8 reviews
Sort
Product Reviews
★★★★★ 4
Practical and Simple Read
Format: Perfect Paperback
I enjoy all of Gavin’s content. While it isn’t groundbreaking, this book is an easy read and great for anyone looking for practical and applicable ways to navigate tensions surrounding tough subjects in today’s social, political, and ecumenical climate. Gavin’s tone is kind and serves like a guide as you read. It can be read in a couple of sittings but still very insightful.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Incredibly Relevant and Balanced
Format: Perfect Paperback
Gavin is probably the person I’d look to first to learn how to handle disagreement and conflict in a loving, Christ-honoring way. This book doesn’t disappoint!
It’s well written and concise. It only took me a couple of hours to get through it.
If you’re a Bible-believing Christian, there’s probably nothing in this book that will surprise you, and that’s all the more reason to read it. I’ve found that the simplest truths that are so often taken for granted are the ones that have the greatest impact when we really take the time to consider them.
This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to interact with others on the internet!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Read it
Format: Perfect Paperback
Much needed in our world today.
Read and reflect and apply to your own relationships.
Warm and courageous counsel.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Great advice!
Format: Perfect Paperback
This has been very helpful for navigating tough arguments especially with loved ones. Helps take the focus off yourself and see the opposite point of view.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Succinct and Spot on
Format: Perfect Paperback
This is a fantastic little book and much needed. A youth discussion group met and we used this book as the basis for the topic of disagreeing to the glory of God. I heard multiple ways students had applied it in their contexts at home and school. Gavin should be glad to know it has made a difference.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2025