A superlative new translation of one of the greatest works to emerge from the catastrophe of the First World War
A memoir of astonishing power, savagery, and ashen lyricism, Storm of Steel illuminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war, seen through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier. Young, tough, patriotic, but also disturbingly self-aware, Jünger exulted in the Great War, which he saw not just as a great national conflict but—more importantly—as a unique personal struggle. Leading raiding parties, defending trenches against murderous British incursions, simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart, Jünger kept testing himself, braced for the death that will mark his failure.
Published shortly after the war’s end, Storm of Steel was a worldwide bestseller and can now be rediscovered through Michael Hofmann’s brilliant new translation.
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First time in Penguin Classics
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Acclaimed new translation based on a new authoritative text
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Widely viewed as the best account ever written of fighting in World War I
Storm of Steel
Introduction
Bibliography
Storm of Steel
In the Chalk Trenches of Champagne
From Bazancourt to Hattonchâtel
Les Eparges
Douchy and Monchy
Daily Life in the Trenches
The Beginning of the Battle of the Somme
Guillemont
The Woods of St-Pierre-Vaast
Retreat From the Somme
In the Village of Fresnoy
Against Indian Opposition
Langemarck
Regniéville
Flanders Again
The Double Battle of Cambrai
At the Cojeul River
The Great Battle
British Gains
My Last Assault
We Fight Our Way Through
"Extraordinary... Michael Hofmann’s superlative translation retains all the coruscating vitality of the original." —Niall Ferguson, author of Colossus
"Storm of Steel is what so many books claim to be but are not: a classic account of war." —Evening Standard
