And No Birds Sang (1979)

by Farley Mowat

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Turned away from the Royal Canadian Air Force for his apparent youth and frailty, Farley Mowat joined the infantry in 1940. The young second lieutenant soon earned the trust of the soldiers under his command, and was known to bend army rules to secure a stout drink, or find warm - if non-regulation - clothing. But when Mowat and his regiment engaged with elite German forces in the mountains of Sicily, the optimism of their early days as soldiers was replaced by despair. With a naturalist's eyes and ears, Mowat takes in the full dark depths of war - and his moving account of military service, and the friends he left behind, is also a plea for peace. It is one of the most searing and unforgettable World War II memoirs from any Canadian.… (more)

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A Canadian infantry officer's memoir of his time in Sicily and Italy during World War II, published in 1975. As the combat becomes more and more difficult, and as the narrator's mental state deteriorates, the prose becomes more and more fantastic. The ending is abrupt.
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This is my first use of the Hoopla app. It worked fairly well, but be careful if you leave your place without a bookmark, you will not return easily. (

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markm2315 | Jul 1, 2023 |

What a wonderful writer Farley Mowat was! This book which is about Mowat's experiences in the infantry during World War II made me feel like I was in the midst of the fighting. Mowat doesn't pull any punches about the horrors of war or about the effects on the people who are involved in the war. There are lighter moments such as the description of him and his pal on the eve of landing in Italy going around the mess with a fake mine detector. However, as he progresses through his experiences in the fighting the tone becomes anything but funny. It's a miracle that Farley survived the war as so many of his companions did not but thank goodness he did and went on to write this classic and many others. (

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gypsysmom | Aug 9, 2017 |

there's a similarity to the war memoirs of Farley Mowatt and those of Spike Milligan, and both relate to the writers having a nervous breakdown during the waning stages of WWII. Mowatt responded by intensifying his dedication to his ecological researches, and Milligan by flaunting his madness as a comedian. The world is richer for both men's existence.
This particular book is a one volume record of Mowatt's time with the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment of the Canadian Army that was a major component of the first Canadian Infantry division which served mostly in Italy. It is very useful to Canadian historians of the war. (

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DinadansFriend | May 8, 2014 |

Mowat was a frank writer. No nonsense and gruff was his writing style that impressed me most. His love of the environment was paramount in his books and through them many of them, many readers learned to care about the environment. Owls in the Family is one of the first books I remembered that engaged my love of literature. And Never Cry Wolf is – and always will be – a staple in Canadian literature. But it wasn’t until later on that I learned of Mowat’s war experiences. I recalled one or two war documentaries on cable television where he stated that war was the ultimate in human folly. And when I read about his experiences when I picked up a copy of And No Birds Sang I could see why.
http://wp.me/p46Ewj-x6 (

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steven.buechler | May 7, 2014 |

Farley Mowat's memoir of his combat experiences in World War II begins innocently, with the story of his attempts to enlist and gradually details the folly and cost of war as he experienced them. His conclusion: there is no such thing as a "good" or worthwhile war. (

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nmele | Apr 6, 2013 |

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Reader's Digest Condensed Books: And No Birds Sang • The Cradle Will Fall • The Covenant • A Piano for Mrs. Cimino by Reader's Digest

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And No Birds Sang

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And No Birds Sang

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For Claire and Helen,
and for all those others
who endured the aftermath.

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On the second day of September, 1939, I was painting the porch of our clapboard house in the rural Ontario town of Richmond Hill when my father pulled into the driveway at the helm of his red convertible. He looked as if he might have had a drink or two -- high-colored and exhilarated.

"Farley, my lad, there's bloody big news! The war is on!...

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Turned away from the Royal Canadian Air Force for his apparent youth and frailty, Farley Mowat joined the infantry in 1940. The young second lieutenant soon earned the trust of the soldiers under his command, and was known to bend army rules to secure a stout drink, or find warm - if non-regulation - clothing. But when Mowat and his regiment engaged with elite German forces in the mountains of Sicily, the optimism of their early days as soldiers was replaced by despair. With a naturalist's eyes and ears, Mowat takes in the full dark depths of war - and his moving account of military service, and the friends he left behind, is also a plea for peace. It is one of the most searing and unforgettable World War II memoirs from any Canadian.

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