Editions

Once There Was a War

  • Imprint: Penguin Classics

  • ISBN: 9780141186320

  • Length: 256  Pages

  • Dimensions: 198mm x 15mm x 129mm

  • Weight: 200g

  • RRP: £14.99

Once There Was a War

'Do you know it, do you remember it, the drives, the attitudes, the terrors and, yes, the joys?' Thus Steinbeck introduces his collection of poignant and hard-hitting dispatches for the New York Herald Tribune when the Second World War was at its height. He begins in England, recounting the courage of the bomber crews, the tragic air-raids and the strangeness of the British, before being sent to Africa and joining a special operations unit off the coast of Italy. Eating, drinking talking and fighting alongside the soldiers, Steinbeck's empathy for the common man is always in evidence in these pieces, and he never fails to evoke the human side of an inhuman war.

'If you have forgotten what the war was like, Steinbeck will refresh your memory. Age can never dull this kind of writing.'
Chicago Tribune

  • Imprint: Penguin Classics

  • ISBN: 9780141186320

  • Length: 256  Pages

  • Dimensions: 198mm x 15mm x 129mm

  • Weight: 200g

  • RRP: £14.99

More in this Series

View all View all
View all View all

About the Author

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck (1902-68) is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the twentieth century. During the 1930s, his works included The Red Pony, Pastures of Heaven, Tortilla Flat, In Dubious Battle, and Of Mice and Men. The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939, earned him a Pulitzer Prize. In 1962, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

John Steinbeck

Read more

/content/dam/prh/articles/adults/2021/april/main-Nomadland-1800x1200.jpg

Features

Nomadland: a reading list for the Oscar-winning film

Chloé Zhao made history when she became the first woman of Asian descent to win an Oscar for Best Director. Here are some books that offer insight into her Best Picture-winning film.
/content/dam/prh/articles/adults/2020/november/american-novels-main-image-1800x1200 copy.jpg

Recommendations

The Greatest American Novels you should read

The 'GAN' is a concept near impossible to define, and even harder to write. But that's not to say some brave writers haven't tried to 'paint the American soul'.
/content/dam/prh/articles/archive/the-grapes-of-wrath-extract-snippet-788x250.jpg

Extracts

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The classic 1939 novel takes place during the Dust Bowl drought, which forced thousands of Americans to flee the prairies and travel to California. Here, Steinbeck depicts the fear felt by the western states in the face of the migration

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience. For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience.

For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. See More.

Analytics

Analytics cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. See More.

Preferences & Features

Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. See More.

Targeting / Advertising

Targeting cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and your interests. They perform functions like preventing the same content from reappearing, ensuring ads are displayed and, in some cases, selecting content based on your interests. See More.