[.ca] Generals Die In Bed: A Story from the Trenches (ISBN 1550377310)

A classic Canadian war novel - but not meant for teens:
The horrors of the First World War are relived in Harrison's controversial anti-war classic, "Generals die in bed" which questions the notion of war as a noble and glorious endeavour. The story is of six Canadian men and their experience as being shock troops against Germans. Though the unnamed protagonist does kill several Germans over the course of the book, from the onset, he and his squad learn who their "real enemies are - the lice, some of \otheir\c officers, and Death." (Chapter "Out on rest") The protagonist witnesses several events which undermine the nobility of war and progressively desensitizes him to violence. During one of his leaves from the front, he is repulsed by the humorous and light-hearted portrayal of the war in London by middle class folk, non-combatant military personnel and even religious figures. He witnesses the looting of a village and the ensuing chaos. Finally, he and his squad are lied to in order to increase their aggressiveness in what seems like the final assault. Occasionally lacking some detail, the almost "point-form" writing style does require an active reader and an active imagination. Still though, Harrison's poignant novel transcends the realities of the First World War and undermines the military as an institution in general. Surprisingly, this book is considered a teen novel, but should probably not be, what with the presence of casual brothels, looting and other gruesome details...

A few points...:
I read this book years ago, and it is a very good book; however, in recently obtaining a copy to sell through Amazon Markatplace, I noticed several things about this book: 1) This is NOT a "children's book" 2) There is a photo of a dead German soldier, his helmet removed and apparently covered with flies; the caption states that the picture was taken after a "Canadian Charge". The use of the word "charge" is questionable, kind of misrepresents the nature of combat in 1916, when the photo was allegedly taken. 3) Another photo proports to be of Canadians "attacking under smoke" in 1916. Lack of helmets suggests much earlier in the war and/or a training exercise.