Toward the Flame: A Memoir of World War I - A Memoir of World War I
Hervey Allen
University of Nebraska Press (2003)
In Collection
#2628
0*
Poet
Paperback 0803259476
English

Credits
Illustrator Lyle Justis
Product Details
LoC Classification D570.9.A53 2003
Dewey 940.4/1273/092
Edition Bison Books ed. 1. Nebraska paperback printing
Nationality American
Cover Price $17.95
No. of Pages 282
Height x Width 8.0 x 5.4  inch
User Defined
Conflict WW1
Notes
Originally published: New York : Farrar & Rinehart, 1926.


Considered by many to be the finest American combat memoir of the First World War, Hervey Allen’s Toward the Flame vividly chronicles the experiences of the Twenty-eighth Division in the summer of 1918. Made up primarily of Pennsylvania National Guardsmen, the Twenty-eighth Division saw extensive action on the Western Front. The story begins with Lieutenant Allen and his men marching inland from the French coast and ends with their participation in the disastrous battle for the village of Fismette. Allen was a talented observer, and the men with whom he served emerge as well-rounded characters against the horrific backdrop of the war.
 
As a historical document, Toward the Flame is significant for its highly detailed account of the controversial military action at Fismette. At the same time, it easily stands as a work of literature. Clear-eyed and unsentimental, Allen employs the novelist’s powers of description to create a harrowing portrait of coalition war at its worst.