Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Up Front, Everyman's view of war
My Father bought Up Front when it was released and I read the cartoons numerous times. Later, I read the text. This book does more to capture the human experience of war than any other of its time. It prefigures and anticipates the recent oral history books such as, "The Good War", "D-Day" and most recently, "Citizen Soldier". The last two, by the way, are well worth the read. Through Willy and Joe, Maulden protrayed the absurdity and the eternal human spirit in the everyday events that make up so much of the experience of war. The cartoons alone make this a book which even the most casual student of WWII should read. His text captures the experience on the ground, the mud and cold, the rain and heat, the boredem and fear and the workman like approach to war that made up the GI's life. Get it. Read it.
Rating: - The best ever...
This book is, without a doubt, the greatest book on the World War II infantryman ever written. Why? Because it was written by and infantryman, for infantrymen. Sgt. Bill Mauldin claims on the first page that his business is drawing, not writing, and that his text is only there to back up the cartoons. However, the text is some of the most endearing, personal, and excellent works on WWII ever. Mauldin brings the war down from the lofty views of Generals and reporters to the personal level, to the point of giving you a basic narration of the average day in the life of an infantryman. The cartoons, naturally, are the main power behind the book, and they are, even to this day, still hilarious. Hilarious, but at the same time showing you the gripes and hardships of the average GI during the war. If you want to experience World War II from the GI's perspective, read this book!
Rating: - The timeless infantry
I first read this book 20 years ago, as a senior in high school. My uncle, a Korean war-era Ranger, gave it to me. My Dad, a Vietnam infantryman, liked it too. Sadly, I lost that old, faded copy somewhere along the years.Imagine my joy to find a reprint! The book means much more now that I can understand it. I've got 13 years in the Army myself, in Infantry and Special Forces. I'm a Major now, and I pay close attention to what Mauldin writes about officers. I want to be the kind of officer that he respects: always putting the welfare of my men first, respecting my men, and leading from the front. His narrative and comments are a constant reminder to me of the responsibility I hold for my soldiers. If you are from the World War II era, you already know about Willie and Joe, and there's nothing new I can tell you. If you are an old soldier and you somehow have missed this book, then you are in for a treat. If you are a young soldier, or a prospective soldier, or the family of a soldier, then you NEED to read this book. For anyone else, it's a great window into a world that, thanks to some brave men 50 years ago, you will hopefully never have to see.
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