The Gentle Infantryman

by Bill Boyd and W.Y. Boyd

Book Overview

The ground war on the mainland of Europe began on D-Day, June 6, 1944. After the initial ferocity of the Normandy invasion came the summer's grim deadlilnes in the hedgerows. The subsequent Allied... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031232099X
• ISBN13: 9780312320997
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

I could not put this book down

This story was so gripping you felt like you were with William Pope (the main character) every step of the way. It provides the reader with great insight into World War II, as well as into the personal journies of the soldiers. I have not been so captivated by a book in a very long time.

Gentle Infantryman no fiction

This is the best book about the WW2 combat soldier I've ever read. The information is historically accurate and exacting in detail, told with a true storyteller's memory and eye for a good yarn. The fact that the author experienced WW2 in Europe gives you the feeling that he is writing his own life story. The story is neither sentimental nor maudlin, nor is it gritty; it is realistic. Easy to read, it makes you proud to be an American and will leave you with immense respect for the "Greatest Generation." A must for every WW2 historian.

WWII novel for everyone

The Gentle Infantryman details the journey of one young replacement soldier across the carnage of the Western Front during the later stages of WWII. It depicts one young man's struggle to overcome his limitations as he faces death, weather and fear during the winter of 1944-1945. This book gives an eminently readable and personal face to history recently documented by Stephen Ambrose in Citizen Soldiers. Boyd not only details the coming of age of one young soldier, but he also touches on themes such as the courage, comradeship and the universality of man that have been explored by authors such as Crane and Remarque. As a history major I would recommend this book to anyone who desires to read more about an period of history from a perspective that is not often voiced. This should be required reading in order to help those who were not there understand the sacrifices put forth by another generation fifty years ago.

I Felt I Was There

This is the most realistic and unforgetable book I have ever read on the Second World War. The characters, situations and the reactions of those men in combat were uncannily real. I felt I was there and should receive combat pay. The book, itself is superbly written and should receive the Nobel Prize for Literature!

Pick this book up for an enjoyable, moving story.

The Gentle Infantryman was a thouroghly captivating book. It was probably the first book I couldn't stop reading. Dramatic, exciting, seemingly true to the reality of war (the author was an infantryman in WWII), I recomend it to all who enjoy books of this nature. (I came upon it by chance at the library while doing research for school)