All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque · first published 1956
33% recommend63% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short, gripping WWI novel told from a German soldier's view; conveys the suffering, creeping apathy toward death and randomness of survival. Often read in school and remembered as an emotional anti-war read.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. It might not actually be my first choice, but this one of the few on my short list that no one else has mentioned. I read it in my mid teens (not too long after we stopped playing…
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (1929) War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges (2002)
on “Ask HN: Books to understand the Arab Israeli situation” ↗The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoevsky All Quiet on the Western Front - Remarque
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗…Secret Show --- Clive Barker Jurassic Park --- Michael Crichton The Mothman Prophecies --- John A. Keel (1) The Wind in the Willows --- Kenneth Grahame Ender's Game --- Orson Scott Card All Quiet on the Western Front --- Erich Maria Remarque The Drought --- J. G. Ballard The Dead Father's Club --- Matt Harris Children of Men --- P. D. James The Islanders --- Pascal Garnier Silence of the Lambs ---…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗…Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb Tora! Tora! Tora! Most but not all the James Bond flicks Very few of the sequels to anything Books Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance All Quiet On The Western Front The Hobbit (but not Lord of the Rings) 2001: A Space Oddyssey (quite different from the movie) (most but not all of Kurt Vonnegut's novels) Amateur Telescope Making Foundation Trilogy…
on “Netflix algorithm tells you when your best employee is about to leave you” ↗East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath are on my upcoming list of titles to read. A few others I've read since high school that I ought to have then are Red Badge of Courage, All Quiet On The Western Front, and Of Mice and Men.
on “Ask HN: Best books you've read in 2015” ↗"All Quiet on the Western Front" - the only book from cca 40 we were forced to read during high school classes that really consumed me - the horrors described, the progressive apathy to death all around and almost total randomness of…
on “Anatomy of a World War I Artillery Barrage” ↗…Old". The whole point of it was to give an emotional and immersive experience of one of the worst wars humanity has seen to modern audiences. There can be other goals than absolute historial accuracy. All Quiet on the Western Front is one of my favorite books and not because it's the most exhaustive and accurate history of WW I.
on “YouTubers are upscaling the past to 4K, but historians want them to stop” ↗…Yevgeny Zamyatin - The Book Of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi - The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric - Bosnian Chronicle by Ivo Andric - Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun - Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger - All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque - The Divine Comedy by Dante --- This list totals out at 311.14EUR and has 23 books. [0] - https://www.bookdepository.com/ [1] - https://www.betterworldbooks.com/
on “Ask HN: You've got $300 to fill an empty library. What do you choose?” ↗All Quiet on the Western Front It's a quick read, and can be finished in a single sitting if one has the mind to. It had been on my list for a long time, and lived up to its expectations. The narrator's description of death as, "the…
on “Ask HN: What books have you read recently?” ↗Was forced to read All Quiet on the Western Front a while back in my high school english class. All Quiet really shows the suffering of war.
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗I couldn't disagree more. And it was the one thing that surprised me every time we cracked open a new book. "All Quiet on the Western Front" sounded terrible to a 14 year old me, but after starting it, I couldn't put it down. Same with Lord of the Flies. Fahrenheit 451. The Giver. I loved Animal Farm. And the Great Gatsby (though I get people…
on “NY school phone ban has made lunch loud again” ↗I agree with all of these except the emotional impact of war where though slower a novel or memoir might work best. Think "All Quiet on the Western Front." At the same time we do want images of the war and time for grounding.
on “Always Bet on Text” ↗I've been meaning to get into classics more and, lately, I have. Otherwise my usual reads are historical fiction and fantasy. I just finished 'All Quiet on the Western Front' - reading with https://www.reddit.com/r/ClassicBookClub/. Really great book, though a bit heavy content - ww1 from a german soldier's pov, gets you to feel the mindnumbing senselessness and horror -…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗…treason also make corruption and bad policy in general go rampant. I think that is the strongest factor. I don't know how people can have such a romantic view. Like read some fictional books on the matter. All quiet on the Western front or Catch 22. Back cutting and corruption goes rampant and the worst kind of people profiteer while losers are slaughtered.
on “How Quickly Can the DoD Rebuild and Recast the Munitions Industrial Base?” ↗