Once There Was a War (1958)

In 1943, John Steinbeck was a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, and the dispatches that he filed from overseas captured the backstory to the war. He did not publish these stories in book form until 1958, and then he did not edit them:

"The pieces in this volume were written under pressure and in tension. My first impulse on rereading them was to correct, to change, to smooth out ragged sentences and remove repetitions, but their very raggedness is, it seems to me, a parcel of their immediacy. They are as real as the wicked witch and the good fairy, as true and tested and edited as any other myth. There once was a war, long ago--once upon a time."

These stories date from June 20,1943 through December 13,1943 and take place in England, Africa, and Italy; in fact, the book is divided into sections based on location, but the stories are in chronological order. The picture they present of WWII are the small forgotten moments that occur when troops are being transported or bomber crews are waiting for their next mission. Among the many ordinary service men and women, we meet Big Train Mulligan, the Army private who worked hard at not getting promoted, an alcoholic goat known as Wing Commander William Goat, DSO, who was buried with full military honors, and Bugs, a private first class who has acquired a souvenir that is not easy to transport - a mirror that is 6'2" by 4' and weighs about 75 pounds. Page by page, Steinbeck paints a picture of what the war was like when no one was looking.

On an imaginary line the children stand and watch the cargo come out. They are not permitted to go beyond their line for fear they might be hurt. There are at least a hundred of them, a little shabby, as everyone in England is after four years of war. And not too clean, for they have been playing on ground that is largely coal dust. How they cluster about an American soldier who has come off the ship! They want gum. Much as the British may deplore the gum-chewing habit, their children find it delightful. There are semi-professional gum beggars among the children. "Penny, mister?" has given way to "Goom, mister?" When you have gum you have something permanent, something you can use day after day and even trade when you are tired of it. Candy is ephemeral. One moment you have candy, and the next moment you haven't. But gum is real property. The grubby little hands are held up to the soldier and the chorus swells. "Goom, mister?" ( )

Il est le commandant d'escadre :William Bélier, DSO. [...] I1 n'est pas de réception, de revue complète sans lui. A certaine réunion, laissé seul quelques instants, il a, dit-on, dévoré deux cents sandwiches, trois gâteaux, la partition pour piano et flûte de Pomp and Circumstance, bu un demi-bol de punch, puis il s'est mêlé aux danseuses, rôtant doucement, et suivant du regard certaine femme de lieutenant - qu'on ne nommera pas ici - d'un regard concupiscent. Correspondant de guerre pour le New York Herald Tribune en 1943, John Steinbeck s'est mêlé aux troupes de G.I's sur les bases d'Angleterre, partageant les peurs, les larmes et les rires des soldats. Il les a suivis sur les fronts d'Afrique du Nord, a débarqué sur leurs pas en Sicile et en Italie. Ces dépêches mémorables, exhumées des archives américaines en 1958, témoignent à la fois de son talent de journaliste et d'écrivain. Biographie de l'auteur Né à Salinas, en Californie, en 1902, John Steinbeck est mort à New York en 1968. Considéré comme l'un des plus grands romanciers américains du vingtième siècle, il a reçu le prix Pulitzer en 1940 pour Les Raisins de la colère et s'est vu décerner le prix Nobel de littérature en 1962.

Steinbeck, as it turns out, was a fine war correspondent, in addition to being one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century. This collection of his dispatches is incredibly insightful. ( )

another good book from Steinbeck.....as with my recent reading of "The Moon is Down," this collection of vignettes treats the horror of war from a unique perspective.....hardly any blood and guts......just a study of the humanity of the American soldiers sent into duty and their efforts to remain human and sane in the face of all the unpleasantness....a memorable exercise that merely intensifies my strong support and appreciation for all those who have served and who currently serve our country.......kudos to Steinbeck. ( )

a work of non-fiction describing some of the people that Steinbeck met during his war reporting with the US during WWII. ( )