I was actually in elementary school when I found this book on one of the shelves of the school library. I ended up taking it out several times and reading it. Later on the librarian gave this "old book" because they were adding more books to the library and it would have joined their discards, and I was the only person to take this book out of the library in all the years I was in school.

I am not certain if this fueled an interest in joining the military or ended up deciding me against joining the military. Both I expect. It is a complicated book in the implications of reading it. I have to argue that it probably has no business being on an elementary school libraries shelf;but I am certainly glad it was there.

War is horrible. The book is full of references to things like, bloated corpses floating up out of artillery churned mud, sudden death of friends, narrow escapes from death, killing enemy soldiers, disease and rot.

It is also very clear on getting the job done. Dig the trenches and defend them to keep the enemy from pouring through. Hurt the enemy until you can smash through their trenches and throw them back.

If the Germans had a forward machine gun nest that was killing your friends almost every day - sneak out far enough that you can shoot a rifle grenade into their dugout.

Where one succeeds, others can and will follow.
A balance shifts on small successes that negate opposing advantages.
It became very clear to me that the balance of history absolutely depends very much on one person, in the right place, with enough will, to do what needs to be done.

That is a horrible truth. It is a truth worth learning.

The real enemy is clearly the war itself.
The need to form tribes and contest for control of the future is dangerous, ugly, and a form of cultural psychopathy.
World War One was a major impetus of pacifistic movement development.
War does not make sense, but at the same time necessary trust for peace seems most reliable when enforced with firepower and a will to endure.

This book is a good look at the waste and trauma of war. It is an argument for peace.
It is a good look at the cost of peace, and an honor to those who have paid that price.

This is one of a series of great memoirs of the First World War published by the CEF veterans press. This particular book was written by a member of the Canadian Black Watch and recounts his story from 1916 to the the last day at Mons. As always, veterans tales are stories of loss, including the death of his buddy on the last day of the war. ( )