The Centurions

How many times has the story recounted in this classic novel about war been writ in the history of mankind? Ask our soldiers to find a way to save the nation and they do, only to be blamed for their actions in the end. The thing about violence is that it destroys the actor and the acted-upon. There......more

According to Wikipedia The Centurions was one of the most popular novels in France in the 1960s, and its author "partly responsible for a revival of novel reading in France where, at the time … 38% of adults had never read a book." I'd never heard of it, until prompted by Thomas Powers' 2013 essay o......more

A complex and cerebral book. It can be viewed as a thinly disguised polemic on counterinsurgency, an anti-communist screed, or the wine of sour grapes by an Imperialist bitterly lamenting the loss of his possessions. And there’s sex. Lots and lots of sex. In fact, it seems that part of Larteguy’s ange......more

A profound, mind-blowing, thinking-man's war novel on the savagery and impossible circumstances of modern warfare The Centurions traces the epic struggle of a band of French paratroopers from the 1954 French debacle at Dien Bien Phu through their internment as POWs of the Vietminh, then their repatri......more

I do not recommend books very often. Having read all my life I am difficult to please. As an author, I am also a harsh critic, however this book demands that it is recommended to readers. The writing, its style, the content and psychological explanations of character are excellent. This description of......more