And No Birds Sang

I bought this book almost in a state of doubt. I had seen the name Farley Mowat and automatically assumed it was a good piece of writing as is most if not all of his other pieces of work. He is perhaps one if not the best Canadian writer ever to pick up a pen and paper. And after reading this book, i quickly realized why.

I had been searching for a book that could possibly inform and educate me on a Canadian's standpoint of the second world war. I quickly realized that I had picked out a good book. It puts you in the mind of a young man reaching adulthood and as had every other young man at the time, had his mind set in joining his fellow Canadians and Allies in the battle. This mindframe had been to be fairly excited and actually happy to go to the frontlines. As it had obviously not been programmed to the unfortunate reality of the war itself. Farley Mowat tells a great and wonderful story of his life before and during the timeline of the Canadian military's part in the war itself. Whether it was the obvious anxiety of waiting to be shipped overseas to the frontlines, or the brutal and graphic reality of the battle itself, Mowat unveils a true and dramtically emotional story of World War II.

Myself I was seaching for a book such as this one. It retold the historically correct graphic and terrifying nature of war, more specifically that of the Second World War. I know that one such as myself will never know and hopefully never experience the reality of war but, I can honestly say that I have infinite gratitude and thanks for those who fought for our freedom. All in all, a WONDERFUL book and I highly recommend it to any Farley Mowat fans or anyone who likes great historical literature. I just cannot seem to express how great of a book this really was. Hope you like it too!

Undeniably the best war memoir written by a Canadian who served in the Second World War. The book chronicles Mowat's experiences in 1943 as a participant in the invasion of Sicily and Italy, and in classic Mowat style captures both the stark reality and lighter side of his experiences. Mowat also wrote a history of his unit--one of the first books he published, and which was later revised (and is somewhat difficult to find at the moment)--entitled The Regiment.

This book was a great surprise for me. I picked it up at a local library because I saw the name Mowat and thought, "Funny, Isn't he a Canadian naturalist? What's he doing in the History section?" What followed was a fascinating voyage of war,adventure,hilarity and,ultimately,tragedy and pain. Walking into the experience of WWII with a completely innocent demeanor, anxious to get into a fight, this brilliant writer has many funny and almost fatal false starts. When the fighting gets serious, the glib descriptions of his units treacherous challenges are positively riveting. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. If you like your war personal, exciting and honest, get this book to a comfortable chair and be prepared to not move for a night and a day. A brilliant book by a Canadian national treasure.

This is a much overlooked classic now days. Mr. Mowat has given us a vivid first hand account of his expierences during WWII and this book ranks at the top of such works. Not only do we get a first hand view of the actual fighting (found in many/most accounts), but we also see the other side of the war. The horrible loneliness and boredom. Mr. Mowat is an acute observer of human nature, something he uses with a cutting edge in this book. For this amature historian of this period, and those just passingly interested, this is a good read and I highly recommend it.

In late 1943, the western allies attack the so-called "soft-underbelly of Europe" and worked their way up from Sicily through the boot of Italy. Horrendous battles ensued with names writ large in history, Salerno, Cassino, Anzio are a few that are evoked.

On the extreme right hand side of the Allied Line, at a coastal village called Ortona, a personal contest of wills was under way between the German Parachute Regiment of battle-hardened soldiers who has seen tours of duty on the Russian Front, against Canadians from dispirate backgrounds with little combat experience.

In the month-long battle that followed nearly 2000 Canadian soldiers were killed to capture a small village. Farley Mowat was a young officer in one of the Canadian regiments, the Hastings Prince Edward Regiment "Hastie-Pees." After a landing at Sicily and fighting their way up this far in Italy what to come at Ortona made all that came before pale in comparison.

Mowat, a writer known for his wit shows that even during the dark, wet, winter months he was able to find things that give him joy in the charnel house of Ortona. He describes the pressure on an officer just before and attack goes in, the corssing of the Moro River, and, in one of the most amazing tales of battlefield desperation, describes his charge against a German tank with fixed bayonets.

As the battle drew on streets in the town changed sides frequently with the focus of the battle being a particular house in a particular street. Ortona earned the name of "little Stalingrad" for those who faught there and Mowat describes the drama day by day as the battle winds on and the Germans are forced out leaving the legacy of 1600 Canadian corpses buried in the British Commonwealth Moro River Cemetary.

It is a changing experience for Mowat and one wonders how he retained his wit and verve to produce the wonderful naturalist novels that he later became famous for.

This is lyrical poetic auto-biography of an intelligent, well-educated young man coming to terms with the horrors of war. As such Mowat is very much like Robert Graves in "Goodbye to all That" --- smart enough to be troubled by the nature of war yet too young to come to terms with all that it entails. Perhaps that is why Mowat waited over 40 years before he wrote the book in the first place.