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Synopsis

A memoir of astonishing power, savagery and ashen lyricism, Storm of Steel depicts Ernst Jünger’s experience of combat in the German front line – leading raiding parties, defending trenches against murderous British incursions, and simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart. One of the greatest books to emerge from the catastrophe of the First World War, it illuminates like no other book not only the horrors but also the fascination of a war that made men keep fighting on for four long years.

A new translation by Michael Hofmann

Reviews

Customer Review: 22 July 2009

Reviewer: Niko Nikolaev

'This book is very profound. It shows the reader how a soldier feels when ordered to fight, and even though reluctant, follows through to the very end. Although the writing style may be teadious and sometimes outright boring, this is a soldier''s account of how things happened, not one of Fitzgerald love stories, so do not expect many detailed descriptions of feelings. Ernst Junger is a legend, and even if reading this book may sometimes actually feel like chewing on a steel helmet, hang on until the last chapter, which finally unveil''s Junger''s''individuality rather than the collective descriptions of a unit''s spirit. This book truly made me respect all of the fallen soldiers of the great war, independent of which side they fought on. '

Critic Review:

‘Sublime … Precise, economical, taut, interspersed with earthy humour and reflections, often uncanny, that linger in the memory’ 
Daniel Johnson, Daily Telegraph

‘A fascinating counterpart to Graves and Sassoon … Ernst Jünger is unarguably an original’ 
Tibor Fischer, Sunday Telegraph

‘Extraordinary … a unique insight into the compelling nature of organized, industrialized violence. Michael Hofmann’s superlative translation retains all the coruscating vitality of the original’ 
Niall Ferguson

‘Outstanding … a blueprint for surviving, at least in a spiritual sense, the madness of war in a mechanized age … Hofmann’s interpretation is superb’ 
Paul Watkins, The Times

‘A lyrical evocation of machine-age battle’ 
Max Egremont, Literary Review

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