The Young Lions

“THE TOWN SHONE IN the snowy twilight like a Christmas window, with the electric railway’s lights tiny and festive at the foot of the white slope, among the muffled winter hills of the Tyrol. People smiled at each other broadly, skiers and natives alike, in their brilliant clothes, as they passed each other on the snow-draped streets, and there were wreaths on the windows and doors of the white and brown houses because this was the eve of the new and hopeful year of 1938.”

As the novel opens Christian Diestl, an Austrian ski instructor, speaks with a young American woman and warns her that war is coming. The storyline follows him as he fights in France, Northern Africa, Italy, and Germany. Noah Ackerman, a young Jewish American, is show more living in California. He is feeling lonely and disconnected when he meets and falls in love with Hope Plowman. He enters the Army and faces anti-Semitism in his own ranks. He is deployed to England before being sent into battle. Michael Whiteacre is a writer and film producer living the “good life” in New York. He is determined to enter the Army as a private but is soon disillusioned, so he pulls strings to get assigned to non-combat duty.

Published in 1948, this book is historical fiction at its finest. It is written in realistic fashion. Shaw was a writer before joining the US Army during World War II, and the story is based on his first-hand experiences. It is a beautifully crafted novel. It is told in chronological order alternating among the three protagonists. The characters are deeply defined, and the reader senses that their stories will eventually converge.

The narrative focuses on the personal lives and military experiences of the soldiers. It does not attempt to address the military strategies or leadership decisions. It is a sweeping epic of a literary work that examines the moral quandaries presented by war. I found it easy to get immersed in the characters’ lives. At 700 pages of dense writing, it requires a significant time commitment, but I found it well worth the effort. show less

I think that if I had read this book as a young adult, I would have given it 5* and it would have filled me with outrage and anger. Now it made me sad and filled with despair so I can't say that I loved it.

As a young person, novels like this were key to opening my eyes to some of the horror of war and the unjustness of prejudice. Now as an older adult, I know these things (though thankfully not from personal experience) and also no longer have the energy or hope that society can be made better. Well, I do hope that society can become better - more equitable, more compassionate - but my hope is dimmer now especially that it will happen in my lifetime. So the book just made me unhappy about all the things Noah had to go through while show more finding his ordeals all too plausible. show less

Published originally in 1948, this book has the distinction of creating several of the standard plot devices in what became a major genre of fiction for the following two decades. A gathering of friends prior to the outbreak of the major conflict and following the fates of those gathered. Not all survive, and, of course some become better people, and some become fugitives. It is well written though not exceptional by later standards.

The Young Lions is a story of three young men: Christian Diestl, an Austrian ski teacher, who joins the Nazi party; Michael Whitacre, a divorced and immoral Hollywood producer; and Noah Ackerman, an American Jew. The only thing they share in common is that they unexpectedly find themselves facing the life altering experience of serving their countries during World War II. The characters experience loyalty and commitment, weakness and strength, anger and confusion, cowardice and bravery, humility, animosity, fear, and love, all vividly expressed by Shaw in a story that testifies to the inhumanity of war.

The Young Lions was written in 1948 and is very reminiscent of The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer and From Here to Eternity by show more James Jones. Shaw's knowledge of human nature, coupled with his insights into military life provide a rich portrayal of life during WWII. Presenting different perspectives from individuals on both sides of the conflict makes it easy for the reader to engage with the main characters, whether you liked them or not. It also provided a valuable view into the war from their perspectives.

The book starts out very slow and it took me quite awhile to finally get into it. Once I did though, I thought it was an outstanding novel that doesn't describe the glory of war as much as the tragedy. It was both engrossing and emotional When I finished the novel I also took the opportunity to watch the 1958 movie starring Marlon Brando, Dean Martin and Montgomery Clift. Having read the novel, I can't imagine anyone else playing those roles. show less

The Young Lions is a story of three young men: a show-business playboy from New York, a Jewish American drifter, and a German Ski Instructor who proudly joins the Nazi Party. The only thing they share in common is that they unexpectedly find themselves facing the life altering experience of serving their countries during World War II.

This book brings to life the harsh reality of war: from basic training to various critical battles in Africa and France including week-end leaves, hospital recoveries, and interludes of AWOL, to the final battle in Geman territory and liberation of the concentration camps. Through the eyes of the three young men the reader experiences the cultural climate inside the armed forces and out in the war torn show more countries; from death and injuries in the stinking muddy trenches during battles, poker games in the barracks, and sentimental letters written to loved ones at home, to champagne parties and beautiful women in plush apartments in Paris.

The characters experience a full range of emotions and feelings: loyalty and commitment, weakness and strength, anger and confusion, cowardice and bravery, humility, animosity, fear, and love, all vividly expressed by Shaw in this captivating story that testifies to the tragedy of war. show less

465. The Young Lions, by Irwin Shaw (read 7 June 1954) This 1948 novel is an ambitious thing, seemingly designed to be "the" novel of World War II--like War and Peace was of the Napoleonic invasion of Russia, or All Quiet on the Western Front was of World War One. It tells the story of three men. Christian Diestl. an Austrian ski teacher, who fights one skirmish in France, cuckolds his lieutenant's nympho wife, fights in Africa. Michael Whitacre, producer, divorced, without morals, who goes into the Army in 1942; and Noah Ackerman, Jew, married to Hope, are American. Noah has ten fights and deserts from the Army, but returns to his company. The value of the book is the graphic picture painted of things like a N.Y. cocktail party in show more 1938, feelings at the time of Paris' fall, feelings in an Army camp in Florida, etc. It is well-written, and hence interest is sustained though action consists in reportorial accounts. Diestl's LT. Hardenburg, is a fanatic war Nazi, and his expounding of the Nazi war line is memorable. How he handles the wiping out of a British convoy unit in Africa and how he gets out of El Alamein are accounts to shudder at and remember. The book revives for me a period I now realize I know not well--the war period. it is a time during which I always followed the news, etc. Yet I have no perspective on it, it is not pulled together. A book like this is good but it doesn't do the kind of job that could be done if it would concentrate on painting news and attitudes, instead of using them as backdrop for the accounts. I read the account of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1954 Back in 1944 I had heard hints of the invasion as June 5, 1944, was ending. The next morning at 6 AM I got up and turned on the radio--just a few words were enough to tell it was finally D-Day. I turned it off and went out to do chores, not saying a word to my father or siblings. I turned on the 7:30 AM news and all heard. Reading about the event ten years later I first learned we almost lost that day, that much went wrong. I never knew this--they never told us about the fouled-up messes. It seemed easy back on the farm in Iowa. The novel is superficially interesting, but a backward look makes it seem contrived and like "writing.' I finished the book after June 6, 1954, but made no comment in my diary when I finished it. show less

Good historical novel of 3 people, two Americans (one a Jew), and a German during WW II. Pretty good film too.