Once There Was a War

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Timepiece, but not much else - Rated
I found this book interesting, but certainly not a great work of literature, and quite limited in scope - not that I think even Steinbeck would have thought it was more than reportage of a moment in time of particular events. It is not about war. It is about men and the way they act in the armed forces behind the lines. Steinbeck was obviously not a combatant, and whilst that had its limitations with respect to emotional stress and physical danger, that make other accounts of the war more gripping and tearing - these reports are valid in their own terms and well worth reading for this alone. However, it is not great and if you want to understand the horror of war, then look elsewhere.

"I went in the costume of a war correspondent ..." - Rated
So Steinbeck notes in his introduction to this collection of "period pieces", dating from 1943, when many Americans were still young to the war.
Steinbeck's works of fiction mark him out as one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century, and yet it is his objectivity and simple honesty in reporting on even the plainest of wartime situations that shines through here.
From the tension surrounding a bombing mission, to the endemic "goldbricking" and theft, through the preparation for and invasion of Italy, Steinbeck's matter-of-fact style marks this out as the work of more than just an ordinary war correspondent.
For anyone who enjoys reading Steinbeck, even if not too interested in wartime memories, this is a gem of a book.