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Jean Lartéguy (1920–2011)

Author of The Centurions

75 Works 685 Members 11 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

Image credit: Jean Larteguy le 20 janvier 1990

Series

Works by Jean Lartéguy

The Centurions (1960) 233 copies
The Praetorians (1961) 93 copies
Les mercenaires (1960) 31 copies
Les tambours de bronze (1965) 27 copies
Les guerilleros (1967) 23 copies
Sauveterre (1966) 21 copies
The Walls of Israel (1968) 19 copies
Enquête sur un crucifié (1973) 18 copies
Les Chimères noires (1963) 18 copies
Le mal jaune (1962) 17 copies
MARCO POLO ESPION DE VENISE (1983) 13 copies
Les rois mendiants (1975) 7 copies
Mourir pour Jérusalem (1995) 7 copies
L'adieu a saigon (1976) 7 copies
L'or de Baal (1978) 6 copies
Le Commandant du Nord (1982) 5 copies
No Peace on Earth (1971) 4 copies
Le baron céleste (1981) 4 copies
Las quimeras negras (1974) 4 copies
Le cheval de feu (1980) 4 copies
Abdi enfant sauvage (2010) 3 copies
Visado para el Irán (1962) 2 copies
Los bufones (1977) 2 copies
Liban 8 jours pour mourir (1984) 2 copies
Freedom Fighters (1972) 1 copy
Sahara An I. (1958) 1 copy
Tierra de asilo (1975) 1 copy
Tahiti (1997) 1 copy
Reyes mendigos (1979) 1 copy
SAUVETERRE 1 copy

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Reviews

This book was read by me in in a month when, apparently, i was smothered in literary gore. However Larteguy's story following a French Paratroop company, as it fights at Dien Ben Phu, is captured, and endures captivity in Vietnam is quite gripping. After this baptism into the fading world of colonialism, we further march off to quell unrest in Algeria, and finally face the difficult adventure at Suez in 1956. The book, compared to the tales of the Pacific WWII I had been reading, was an interesting reset.… (more)
 
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DinadansFriend | 3 other reviews | May 22, 2023 |
Overall, not as engaging as The Centurions. Part I was particularly a slog, while Part II captured some of the spirit of The Centurions, it was relatively short.
 
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encephalical | Apr 24, 2023 |
Excellent anti-war novel that continues to be read and studied by professional warfighters. There isn't much combat, it's not really a war novel but a novel about war; at least a third takes place in France on home-leave. It's about the various aspects a soldier deals with in the modern era post-WWII. The hazy loyalties, contradictions. In hindsight all the lessons of Vietnam are here, not to mention Iraq and Afghanistan. It's very French and some of the character-types are hard to grasp 60-years on but the essence is there, some things are universal.… (more)
1 vote
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Stbalbach | 3 other reviews | May 11, 2018 |
I would be reluctant to recommend this book because it is certainly outdated, published in 1967 but set during the 1950's, and written by an anti-communist author, so the novel is borne from the perspective of a French journalist during the time when France greedily and stubbornly refused to grant Indochina independence. What is interesting are the parts that mention American sabotage of their efforts to stem insurgency. I found this to be a valuable insight, as explained below.

Most people don't realize that the US, particularly the Office of Strategic Services (OSS - precursor to the CIA) considered Ho Chi Minh a hero, since his forces single-handedly drove the Japanese out of Vietnam and Laos. It was only when France insisted to the US and Britain that these territories be returned under their rule after World War II, that nationalism gave rise to communism in SE Asia.

In short, this novel would only be of interest to those interested in the history of Laos, known today as the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and are hungry for a slice of that time period (I myself read this along with hundreds of other books when researching my own novel [b:The Plain of Jars|17434365|The Plain of Jars|N. Lombardi Jr.|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1368524965s/17434365.jpg|24291419]
… (more)
 
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BBcummings | 1 other review | Dec 23, 2014 |

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Works
75
Members
685
Popularity
#36,934
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
11
ISBNs
81
Languages
4
Favorited
1

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