Legion of the Damned (Sven Hassel War Classics)

New
Mass Market Paperback
2003
$7.20

Sven Hassel's iconic war novel about the Russian Front.
'An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all of Europe' - New York Times
'Legion of the Damned is an incredible picture of totalitarianism, of stupefying injustice... He is graphic, at times brilliantly so, but never brutal or bitter. He is, too, a first rate storyteller' - Washington Post
Convicted of deserting the German army, Sven Hassel is sent to a penal regiment on the Russian Front. He and his comrades are regarded as expendable, cannon fodder in the battle against the implacable Red Army. Outnumbered and outgunned, they fight their way across the frozen steppe...
This iconic anti-war novel is a testament to the atrocities suffered by the lone soldier in the fight for survival.
Sven Hassel's unflinching narrative is based on his own experiences in the German Army. He began writing his first novel, Legion of the Damned in a prisoner of war camp at the end of World War Two.

Synopsis

Sven Hassel's iconic war novel about the Russian Front.

'An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all of Europe' - New York Times

'Legion of the Damned is an incredible picture of totalitarianism, of stupefying injustice... He is graphic, at times brilliantly so, but never brutal or bitter. He is, too, a first rate storyteller' - Washington Post

Convicted of deserting the German army, Sven Hassel is sent to a penal regiment on the Russian Front. He and his comrades are regarded as expendable, cannon fodder in the battle against the implacable Red Army. Outnumbered and outgunned, they fight their way across the frozen steppe...

This iconic anti-war novel is a testament to the atrocities suffered by the lone soldier in the fight for survival.

Sven Hassel's unflinching narrative is based on his own experiences in the German Army. He began writing his first novel, Legion of the Damned in a prisoner of war camp at the end of World War Two.

$7.20

Save:$2.95 (29%)

Quantity

Temporarily out of stock

More Information

Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 256
Edition: New e.
Publisher: W&N
Published: 14 Aug 2003
ISBN 10: 0304366315
ISBN 13: 9780304366316
Book Overview: Sven Hassel's iconic war novel about the Russian Front.

Media Reviews

The story shudders from page to page while the devoted friends live precariously from year to year, until only the one survivor is left to write this book. And a gripping book it is.--Chicago Sunday Tribune
...An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all of Europe.--New York Times
In essence this is an expose of the absurdity of war, and a moving plea for peace. As such, it takes its rank with far milder books, such as All Quiet on the Western Front.--NEWSDAY
Hassel's books of war are the most powerful I have ever read.--Alan Silitoe

Author Bio

Born in 1917 in Fredensborg, Denmark, Sven Hassel joined the merchant navy at the age of 14. He did his compulsory year's military service in the Danish forces in 1936 and then, facing unemployment, joined the German army. He served throughout World War II on all fronts except North Africa. When the war ended in 1945 he was transferred between Russian, American and French prison camps, and upon returning to Denmark, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for treason. He began writing Legion of the Damned during his time as a prisoner of war. His fourteen World War II books, which draw on his own encounters and experiences as a soldier, have sold over 53 million copies worldwide and have been published in more than 50 countries. He peacefully passed away in Barcelona in 2012, where he had resided since 1964.