To the Last Man, Jeff Shaara
To the Last Man, Jeff Shaara
6 Rating(s)
List: $13.95 | Sale: $9.77
Club: $6.97

To the Last Man
A Novel of the First World War

Author: Jeff Shaara

Narrator: Philip Bosco

Abridged: 6 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/26/2004


Synopsis

Jeff Shaara has enthralled readers with his New York Times bestselling novels set during the Civil War and the American Revolution. Now the acclaimed author turns to World War I, bringing to life the sweeping, emotional story of the war that devastated a generation and established America as a world power.

Spring 1916: the horror of a stalemate on Europe’s western front. France and Great Britain are on one side of the barbed wire, a fierce German army is on the other. Shaara opens the window onto the otherworldly tableau of trench warfare as seen through the eyes of a typical British soldier who experiences the bizarre and the horrible–a “Tommy” whose innocent youth is cast into the hell of a terrifying war.

In the skies, meanwhile, technology has provided a devastating new tool, the aeroplane, and with it a different kind of hero emerges–the flying ace. Soaring high above the chaos on the ground, these solitary knights duel in the splendor and terror of the skies, their courage and steel tested with every flight.

As the conflict stretches into its third year, a neutral America is goaded into war, its reluctant president, Woodrow Wilson, finally accepting the repeated challenges to his stance of nonalignment. Yet the Americans are woefully unprepared and ill equipped to enter a war that has become worldwide in scope. The responsibility is placed on the shoulders of General John “Blackjack” Pershing, and by mid-1917 the first wave of the American Expeditionary Force arrives in Europe. Encouraged by the bold spirit and strength of the untested Americans, the world waits to see if the tide of war can finally be turned.

From Blackjack Pershing to the Marine in the trenches, from the Red Baron to the American pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, To the Last Man is written with the moving vividness and accuracy that characterizes all of Shaara’s work. This spellbinding new novel carries readers–the way only Shaara can–to the heart of one of the greatest conflicts in human history, and puts them face-to-face with the characters who made a lasting impact on the world.

About The Author

Jeff Shaara is the New York Times bestselling author of A Chain of Thunder, A Blaze of Glory, The Final Storm, No Less Than Victory, The Steel Wave, The Rising Tide, To the Last Man, The Glorious Cause, Rise to Rebellion, and Gone for Soldiers, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure—two novels that complete the Civil War trilogy that began with his father’s Pulitzer Prize–winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born into a family of Italian immigrants in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and graduated from Florida State University. He lives again in Tallahassee.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Zee on April 23, 2008

The disclaimer should read "sucker for historical fiction." I found this book to be packed with historical detail, but not historically overwhelming. This is a book about the men who fought the "war to end all wars" -- from both sides of the trenches. Have you always wanted to know about the Red Bar......more

Goodreads review by Alexw on December 26, 2016

Gripping account of the horrors of World War 1. From Black Jack Pershing who was the US Commander to a doughboy in the trenches and 2 airplane fighter pilots, the story wove facts of actual people in the war with brilliant dialogue. Was sad to finish the book. One of the top 5 books in 2016 for me-hi......more

Goodreads review by Mike (the Paladin) on June 30, 2021

You will note I include this book on both my history and historical fiction shelves. That's because the events portrayed in the book are accurate. However, the people are depicted with thoughts and dialogues that are (of course) fictional. Thus the book is actually fiction. But as noted the events r......more

Goodreads review by Philip on October 07, 2021

16 JUNE 2020...AND AS OF TODAY, DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES FROM COVID-19 HAVE OFFICIALLY SURPASSED THE TOTAL NUMBER OF U.S. MILITARY-RELATED FATALITIES IN WORLD WAR I, (FROM BOTH COMBAT AND DISEASE). PLEASE CONTINUE TO DO YOUR PART IN FIGHTING THIS LATEST GLOBAL CONFLICT - WEAR A MASK, MAINTAIN DI......more

Goodreads review by Brian on February 01, 2016

One of the things I most appreciate about Jeff Shaara is the organization and alternating point of view that he uses in all of his novels. It allows the reader different perspectives, and allows the author to cover more ground with the ability to "location hop" with ease. When one is writing about w......more


Quotes

Praise for To the Last Man

“A gripping account of World War I–from tactics to strategy. The reader feels the horror of the trenches in France and is drawn into the maneuvering of political and military leaders on both sides of the battle. Jeff Shaara shows the dominance of the U.S. military in the context of coalition warfare–as relevant today as it was in 1918.”
–GENERAL TOMMY R. FRANKS

“A sweeping, searching look at World War I. Jeff Shaara’s novel rings with authenticity, from the feelings of frontline soldiers to the challenges of high-level command.”
–GENERAL WESLEY CLARK

“Jeff Shaara has again demonstrated that rarest of writing gifts, making literature read like history and history read like literature. He has now shone that talent on another era as he brings World War I to pulsating life.”
–JOSEPH E. PERSICO, author of Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour

“The best novel about the Great War since Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, which it greatly surpasses in depth, scope, and intensity. . . . This account of how the war was really fought will be a real eye opener for anyone interested in historical fiction or modern history.”
–JOHN MOSIER, author of The Myth of the Great War

“A riveting masterpiece revolving around the ghastly conflict that still profoundly defines the world we live in. With To the Last Man, Shaara cements his reputation as a war writer of Tolstoyan or Homeric dimensions.”
–STEVE FORBES

“Jeff Shaara’s To the Last Man lets you live WWI in the air, in the mud, and in the councils of government in a way that makes you understand how the participants experienced it. Von Richtofen, Lufbery, Ludendorff, and Pershing come alive.”
–MAJOR GENERAL JOHN S. GRINALDS, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.),
President, The Citadel