To the Last Man

I am a huge fan of historical novels and history in general, yet despite being an avid reader for over 35 years, do not recall ever reading a novel dealing with the First World War. Why is this?

I've read many novels centering on the Revolutionary War, dozens dealing with the Civil War (one of the best, Killer Angels, written by Jeff Shaara's father, Michael), likewise World War II and Vietnam. Maybe a couple on Korea, but never World War I, which is a shame, because as this novel so clearly demonstrates, it is an event rich with material.

Written in a style identical to that frequently used by his father (selecting several combatents and following the events through their eyes), Shaara successfully takes us from the trenches, to the show more skies and finally to Pershing's AEF headquarters, with all the political intrigue surrounding it.

I must admit to being almost embarressed by my lack of knowledge of this key era in American history. My only familiarity with The Red Baron (Baron von Richtofen) having been provided by Snoopy's narrative as he pilots his Sopwith Camel. This novel has left me wanting to learn more about the conflict and the personalities involved. show less

For those unfamiliar with Jeff Shaara's work, this is a history of World War 1 from the point of view of 4 men. Raoul Lufberry, Manfred von Richthoften, Black Jack Pershing and Roscoe Temple. Shaara does not detail much about units or battles or timelines, instead he follows each individual through their daily lives as they move through the war. Unlike some of his books, 2 of his subjects don't survive the war and their story ends suddenly. If you aren't looking for a lot of numbers, information on weapons or precise battle detail, this is a great book. He presented enough information, with enough detail, and enough about the daily events of each person that the horror of this war comes through. If you have already closely studied any show more of the subjects, this book may not be for you as you may not agree with his interpretations. For everyone else, this is a great story of the war in France and Belgium. show less

I have just completed Jeff Shaara’s To the Last Man, a story of World War I. As with many of Shaara’s books, the story is a weaving of historical fact into a novel format by expressing the thoughts and feelings of the characters followed. Four people are followed in this book, General John Pershing, Raoul Lufbery, Roscoe Temple and Baron Manfred von Richthoven. Many others, familiar to me and others new, are come in and out through the book.

The opening is a superficial view of the economic, political and social climate in Europe when the time war began. From that point on chapters, or several chapters at a time, are devoted to a one person’s experience. At first the war is a gentlemanly pursuit, but gradually the violence show more escalates. The Americans come in late, but are the last impetus to bring a close to the killing. World War I is the first war where massive munitions, airplanes and gas are used. The mechanization of war far outstrips the ability of any man to survive – luck of the draw seems to rule whether you live another day or die now. The killing, maiming and destruction are described in enough detail to give some understanding of what these men endured. The book gradually builds, through the experiences of the characters, to climatic explosions, death and crushing, life-long damage to the souls of the men who survive.

I do not know if the characters are all real. I do not know if the thoughts and feelings depicted here are exactly what these people felt. I do believe the responses Shaara paints are real and did happen to some of the participants in the upheaval. The end summary of each man, true or not, draws a picture of people haunted by what they experienced. Most of them died young. Most of them suffered their whole life from what they did and saw.

This book is one of the first I have read drawing the picture of the hell on earth these people endured and how it changed them, not all for the better, for all their lives. I was haunted by the end where the living thought the lucky ones were the ones left behind – maybe they were.

I have read several of Jeff Shaara’s books and learned from and enjoyed them all, so I may be biased in my review. Being a veteran and working with veterans though gives me a picture of what these people live with.

I give this book five stars. show less

This Author is well known for writing historical novels, and they have continued in that vein when writing this book which centres on the often forgotten war that was supposed to be ‘the war to end all wars’.

Essentially this novel is two books in one, which can then be divided into three parts. The first 1/3 of the book focuses almost exclusively on the air war taking place at that time, with the main protagonist for this section being the notorious Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen and the French born American ace, Raoul Lufberry. Both these characters are brought vividly to life allowing the reader to build on what knowledge they may already have of these larger than life fighter aces. Through the Authors words we are given a show more look at what may have been the driving forces behind them being as successful as they were, and also at the same time brought to the realisation that, in the end they were just human like everyone else involved in this conflict.

The middle 1/3 of the book, the reader is introduced to Gen. Pershing and a young marine private named Roscoe Templer, which begins the second book where the first leaves off with the deaths of Richthofen and Lufberry. Through the eyes of the Private, the reader sees the horrors of trench warfare from a ‘boots on the ground’ perspective; this resulted in me wondering why this truly hadn’t been a catalyst to end war.

The final 1/3 of the book focuses exclusively on the exploits and perils of the ground war. Here the Author really comes into his own, showing his outstanding research skills and ability to translate history into a form many readers would find more palatable than actually doing the research themselves. Through the Authors words the reader is transported to the water filled hovels that the ground troops called home; they can smell the death and decay that permeates the air and everything around these soldiers. The reader is able to feel the sheer terror that they must have experienced when waiting for the whistle to blow that would signal them going over the top to an almost certain death. But this descriptive skill is not just limited to those on the ground, the Author extends this to the flying aces in their flimsy fabric coated aeroplanes and the knowledge they also carried with them on a daily basis that this time might just be their last in the air.

Throughout this book, whether you are reading about the regular Soldiers and Pilots, or the Officers back in the rear you will be affected by this war in a way that may come a little way to the feelings of those who experienced it both at home and in France.
Whether you are a novice or a World War I aficionado, I would highly recommend this book, and if you have never read anything by this Author this is a great place to start.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/02/25/review-to-the-last-man-a-novel-of-the-firs...





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. show less

I appreciated this book as a complement to the historical reading I've been doing. I must admit to not having much interest in military histories and tend to avoid them. So this book was a good way for me to learn some of the military history of WWI. The most moving passage, for me, came on p. 603: "The cheering behind him became a faint echo now, and he thought, How can this be true? How can this just ... end? He felt the taut spring in his mind slowly loosening, the hate and the horror and the images of so much death starting to move inside him. He looked to the side, saw some of the Marines dropping to their knees, and Temple felt it now, the utter exhaustion, was kneeling as well, the rifle falling from his hands, so many show more nightmares, so much sadness, the numbness starting to wear away. In the soft silence, he lowered his head, and began to cry. " show less

Jeff Shaara comes through again with this soul searching novel about the seemingly senseless carnage that was the First World War. The war begins in 1914 and most of the book is devoted to the war prior to America’s entrance, as it should be.
Imaginative descriptions of both ground and aerial combat fill the pages. The Baron von Richthofen comes to life with his 80 kills but Shaara also introduces to the reader a French born American by the name of Raoul Lufbury who was a master of the skies as well. Most of his kills fell behind enemy lines and could not be confirmed so estimates vary wildly, but his total estimates range from 35 to as high as sixty. And a small group of other American volunteer pilots, whose exploits between 1914 to show more 1917 helped keep the war before American eyes, served in the French Air Force and were known as the Layfette Escadrille.
Eventually American President Woodrow Wilson succumbs to pressures and asks Congress to declare war in 1917, arriving in sufficient force to begin significant fighting by 1918.
General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing is placed in charge of all American forces sent to Europe with instructions that our Doughboys were to be kept together as a fighting unit and to resist all pressure from both the British and the French to simply use them as casualty replacements in the endless slaughter of the Western Front trenches. And these fresh troops, proved to be the difference turning the war from a near Allied defeat into an Allied victory.
Although classified as historical fiction, his writings are based on solid historical research and the reader can learn much about the war, the personalities, the motives, the causes and results, by reading his works. As one reviewer has already noted (Joseph E. Persico), “Jeff Shaara [makes] literature read like history and history read like literature.” I could not agree more. show less

This is a story of the US’s role in World War I. It has two major threads which weave into three sections.

The first thread is about the politics of the war, the second part is about the role of the men fighting the war.

These threads are intertwined through the three sections. These sections represent phases of the US involvement: commitment and preparation, moving troops, and action. There is also a short post-war segment.

The author commented that he included a lot of personal stories and journals in his research, these people were included in the stories, there is a brief introduction to a few of them at the beginning and a short post-war history of many is included at the end of the book.
Dates are scattered throughout the book that show more helps tie events to a point in history. The book also includes a number of battle maps, I presume they are authentic and they helped me identify places of the actions, but otherwise didn’t really add any value to the story.

The book opens with an introduction of the war through the eyes of some soldiers including von Richtofen. Airplanes are first seen as a military tool, first for reconnaissance, then as combat tools. We are shown the formation of the first squadrons. Some Americans are drawn to the war as a good fight and the chance to fly. We are introduced to a number of the flying aces, such as Raoul Lufbery, and the formation of L’Èscradrille de Lafayette, a squadron of American flyers fighting under the French flag. This part of the book mostly follows the stories of Manfred von Richtofen and Raoul Lufbery.

In the second part America commits itself to the war but has no war capabilities. John Pershing is assigned based on his record in the Spanish-American War. He doesn’t receive any support and has to use his efforts and contacts to make things happen. He goes to France and ends up, to his own chagrin, being a bit of a politician as the learns of the different expectations of France and England on the type of support the Americans will provide. He has to fight their insistences that the US soldiers will fight under their flags.

This part still follows the air war as their equipment continues to improve along with their tactics. We see the death of both Richofen and Lufbery.

In the last part of the book we are shown the horrors of war. This is mostly about the experience of a foot soldier, Private Roscoe Temple. He feels the discontent of a soldier as he finds himself marching one way, then back without any information as to why, although as a reader we are privy to knowledge and discussions of Pershing. We encounter his life in the trenches, his discomfort from lack of food, water and clean clothes. Then as he sees his friends and comrades die.
Pursuing a German retreat we are shown a range of feelings and see him grow from a recruit to a veteran soldier.

There is a short post-war portion of the book that talks about the postwar politics as the allied powers discuss among themselves what kind of conditions that Germany should suffer. Pershing was omitted from the final ceremony because he and FDR wanted to offer Germany more consideration while France and England demanded an unconditional surrender.
Overall the book was enjoyable. I felt that some of the sections could have been shorter. It seemed that the French leaders fawned over Pershing a bit much, it didn’t seem natural nor reasonable for an official.

Then too much of the story was of the form of telling the reader rather than showing them. Much of it was first person seeing the thoughts of the current character. The story would have been better, if not longer, if a lot of this had been in a more interactive story form.

There was no mention of the 369th Infantry Regiment, knows as the Harlem Hellfighters who were assigned to the French army due to prejudice in the US Army. This is mostly significant since Pershing felt bad about it and commented that he would never do it again. I believe is it the only unit in our history that was assigned to fight for a foreign flag. It feels like it should have been part of this story. show less