My Brother, Hail and Farewell!

By Edward J. Zebrowski

Nearly 50 years in the writing. Acclaimed at its inception in 1948 by Robert Frost, then poet-in-residence at Dartmouth College. Rape, murder, intrigue and deception among the young men on the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0964009609
• ISBN13: 9780964009608
• Release Date: March 1994
• Publisher: Woodstock Books
• Length: 4 Pages
• Weight: 2.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Raw and rivoting tale of war from an individual point of view.

Edward Zebrowski's "My Brother, Hail and Farewell" is a raw and raucous view of war in NW Europe during the last few months of the Second World War. Zebrowski, a native of Thompsonville, Connecticut, joined the US Army in September of 1944 and after basic training took radio training at Fort Benning before joining the I & R (Intelligence and Reconnaissance) Platoon of the 5th Infantry Regiment, 71st Division. Unlike many 'war memoirs' Zebrowski's is quite unique in its honesty and frankness, showing a war not from the top or simply from a point of history, but rather from the individual foot soldiers' standpoint. Zebrowski's prose is laden with colorful language that is rich in humanity of war without being simply a nuts and bolts story of combat. In fact, little of "My Brother, Hail and Farewell" is dedicated to combat proper, and where text is dedicated in this fashion it is often disturbing and bloody, visceral and soul retching. Instead Zebrowski focuses on personal stories of interactions with fellow grunts and their immediate leaders (such as the dim witted Sgt Colombresi and conversely respected Sgt Brawley), exploits of young men exploring their sexuality, fears and own mortality. This is a memoir of a much different tenor than most. At 187 pages it is a quick and enticing read, one that is quite difficult to put down. One passage of Zebbrowski's comments on war (pp. 88-89) is a particularly striking: "So here we are [along the west side of the Danube outside the city of Regensburg] after four months of basic infantry training, eight weeks in my case, that consisted mostly, for me anyway, of cleaning a variety of s***houses and the sump drains in mess hall kitchens, with the final realization that our lives aren't worth a [...]; fighting to make the world safe for a bunch of underserving [...] back home. Why? I'll tell you why: because the politicians failed in doing their job. So in the end, who pays the price? Old GI Joe, of course. We're the ones who get sacrificed. Wouldn't it be easier to kill all the politicians instead and start all over again?" [passage edited by reviewer, original contains the language of the GI!] This reviewer initially picked up this book from a used book dealer after reading a review of it by the late Lt. Col. (ret) Keith Bonn, in which Bonn paid much praise to Zebrowski's book. Knowing Bonn's tastes and high expectations for historical prose from interactions with him as a friend and mentor, this reviewer felt that "My Brother, Hail and Farewell" was worth tracking down. I was certainly not disappointed - thanks Kit! All in all 5 stars!