A memoir of astonishing power, savagery, and ashen lyricism, "Storm of Steel" illuminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war, seen through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier. Young, tough, patriotic, but also disturbingly self-aware, JA1/4nger exulted in the Great War, which he saw not just as a great national conflict butamore importantlyaas a unique personal struggle. Leading raiding parties, defending trenches against murderous British incursions, simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart, JA1/4nger kept testing himself, braced for the death that will mark his failure. Published shortly after the waras end, "Storm of Steel" was a worldwide bestseller and can now be rediscovered through Michael Hofmannas brilliant new translation.