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The military cult classic with resonance to the wars in Iraq and Vietnam—now back in print
When The Centurions was first published in 1960, readers were riveted by the thrilling account of soldiers fighting for survival in hostile environments. They were equally transfixed by the chilling moral question the novel posed: how to fight when the “age of heroics is over.” As relevant today as it was half a century ago, The Centurions is a gripping military adventure, an extended symposium on waging war in a new global order, and an essential investigation of the ethics of counterinsurgency. Featuring a foreword by renowned military expert Robert D. Kaplan, this important wartime novel will again spark debate about controversial tactics in hot spots around the world.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
When The Centurions was first published in 1960, readers were riveted by the thrilling account of soldiers fighting for survival in hostile environments. They were equally transfixed by the chilling moral question the novel posed: how to fight when the “age of heroics is over.” As relevant today as it was half a century ago, The Centurions is a gripping military adventure, an extended symposium on waging war in a new global order, and an essential investigation of the ethics of counterinsurgency. Featuring a foreword by renowned military expert Robert D. Kaplan, this important wartime novel will again spark debate about controversial tactics in hot spots around the world.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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About the Author:
JEAN LARTÉGUY (1920-2011) is the penname of Jean Pierre Lucien Osty, who served as a soldier in Korea and North Africa before becoming a distinguished journalist and novelist.
ALEXANDER (XAN) WALLACE FIELDING (1918-1991) served as a Special Operations Executive in the British Army in Crete, France, and the Far East. The author of several books, he also translated French works including Pierre Boulle's The Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes.
ROBERT D. KAPLAN is the author of many acclaimed books on the military, foreign affairs, and travel, including Balkan Ghosts, The Revenge of Geography, and Imperial Grunts.
Review:
ALEXANDER (XAN) WALLACE FIELDING (1918-1991) served as a Special Operations Executive in the British Army in Crete, France, and the Far East. The author of several books, he also translated French works including Pierre Boulle's The Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes.
ROBERT D. KAPLAN is the author of many acclaimed books on the military, foreign affairs, and travel, including Balkan Ghosts, The Revenge of Geography, and Imperial Grunts.
“I first studied Lartéguy’s stunning reflection of modern war in 1974 at West Point. My notes served as a cautionary primer for the challenges I’d later see emerge time and again. The lands, languages, uniforms, and personalities were different—but the themes and emotions were constant.”
—General Stanley McChrystal (U.S. Army, Retired)
"The depth of the principals and the author’s sure sense of their complex torment bring the soldiers’ world vibrantly to life...The Centurions rewards fast, consumptive reading as well as deeper engagement, offering provocative insights into military leadership and the generational consequences of empty policy...its garrulous band of orators are a dynamic panel exploring questions that remain fresh and pressing.”
—James Hornfischer, The Wall Street Journal
“It's impossible to fully comprehend the emotional impact of combat without having lived it. But reading The Centurions is a pretty good substitute.”
–Sophia Raday, Slate
“It is a fascinating study done in terms of the group that had suffered together. Each one emerges as sharply defined. It is a bitter indictment of a system. It has its moments of horror, depravity, violence. It has too its moments of perverted humor, of sensitivity, of poignancy. It might be defined as a French The Naked and the Dead written with finesse and sensitivity and taste that the Mailer book lacked, but revealing in many ways a similar pattern as the soldier attempts to fit back into civilian life.”
–Kirkus
“[A] superbly written story . . . The rich variety of Lartéguy’s talents as a story-teller shines through the entire performance.”
–Boston Globe
“A book that should be read by all whose knowledge of war is only theoretical.”
–Chicago Tribune
—General Stanley McChrystal (U.S. Army, Retired)
"The depth of the principals and the author’s sure sense of their complex torment bring the soldiers’ world vibrantly to life...The Centurions rewards fast, consumptive reading as well as deeper engagement, offering provocative insights into military leadership and the generational consequences of empty policy...its garrulous band of orators are a dynamic panel exploring questions that remain fresh and pressing.”
—James Hornfischer, The Wall Street Journal
“It's impossible to fully comprehend the emotional impact of combat without having lived it. But reading The Centurions is a pretty good substitute.”
–Sophia Raday, Slate
“It is a fascinating study done in terms of the group that had suffered together. Each one emerges as sharply defined. It is a bitter indictment of a system. It has its moments of horror, depravity, violence. It has too its moments of perverted humor, of sensitivity, of poignancy. It might be defined as a French The Naked and the Dead written with finesse and sensitivity and taste that the Mailer book lacked, but revealing in many ways a similar pattern as the soldier attempts to fit back into civilian life.”
–Kirkus
“[A] superbly written story . . . The rich variety of Lartéguy’s talents as a story-teller shines through the entire performance.”
–Boston Globe
“A book that should be read by all whose knowledge of war is only theoretical.”
–Chicago Tribune
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- PublisherPenguin Classics
- Publication date2015
- ISBN 10 0143107445
- ISBN 13 9780143107446
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages544
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "I'd like France to have two armies- one for display, with lovely guns, tanks, little soldiers, fanfares, and the real one, composed entirely of young enthusiasts in camouflage battledress, who would not be put on display but from whom impossible efforts would be demanded and to whom all sorts of tricks would be taught."Ticking time bombs around the city are set to explode, and only a captive rebel knows their locations. Does saving lives justify torture? Or is such cruelty always unpardonable? Over the course of the 20th century, conventional modern warfare--that precise theatrical art cultivated by Napoleon--was supplanted by irregular fighting, guerrilla tactics, and counterinsurgency. No fictional account better depicts this historical shift and the ethical dilemmas that entailed than Jean Larteguy's searing military classic, The Centurions.While imprisoned in the notorious Camp One in Vietnam for over a year, Lt. Col. Pierre Raspeguy studies his captors, the Viet Minh, and begins to understand how they employ ideology and dogma to create a politically motivated, efficient fighting force. Raspeguy eventually gains his release, but in France he finds himself a part of the new reality of soldiering- a loyal fraternity of warriors alienated from an unsympathetic public at home. Unable to sit idly while conflicts abroad rage, Raspeguy joins a paratrooper unit in Algeria, where he again faces an enemy with complete freedom to conduct war without rules. Yet rather than turning to the conventional tactics so shockingly unsuccessful in Vietnam, he builds off what he has learned from his enemies--tactics suited to the chaos of guerilla war but out of step with the ideals of a just war. When life and empire are in danger, how far is too far?An extended symposium on waging war in a new global order, an essential investigation of the ethics of counterinsurgency, and an intensely thrilling account of soldiers faced with chilling moral decisions on how to survive in hostile environments, The Centurions poses crucial questions about how we fight when "the age of heroics is over."The military cult classic with resonance to the wars in Iraq and Vietnam-now back in printWhenThe Centurionswas first published in 1960, readers were riveted by the thrilling account of soldiers fighting for survival in hostile environments. They were equally transfixed by the chilling moral question the novel posed- how to fight when the "age of heroics is over." As relevant today as it was half a century ago,The Centurionsis a gripping military adventure, an extended symposium on waging war in a new global order, and an essential investigation of the ethics of counterinsurgency. Featuring a foreword by renowned military expert Robert D. Kaplan, this important wartime novel will again spark debate about controversial tactics in hot spots around the world.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. Offering a military adventure, an extended symposium on waging war in a new global order, and an essential investigation of the ethics of counterinsurgency, this wartime novel is about controversial tactics in hot spots around the world. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780143107446
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Book Description Condition: New. Offering a military adventure, an extended symposium on waging war in a new global order, and an essential investigation of the ethics of counterinsurgency, this wartime novel is about controversial tactics in hot spots around the world. Translator(s): Fielding, Xan. Num Pages: 544 pages. BIC Classification: FC; FJMV. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 133 x 198 x 33. Weight in Grams: 382. 2015. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # 9780143107446
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