The Adventures of Private Faust is a classic book which makes me laugh every time I pick it up. Hans Hellmut Kirst is a German WWII veteran, giving the book a perspective not normally availible today. The setting for this book is a North African British POW camp, holding German prisoners after the end of the war. But that doesn't mean the book is a dry read; far from it. Every page brings another laugh, from the ingenious escape attempts of (German) Private Faust, to Command Sergeant Major's (German) Scottish pipe band.

If you liked Catch-22, you'll love this book.

In my opinion Hans Hulmut Kirst is the most talented historical novelists of this century. I litererly cannot put down his books once I get started reading, I have always enjoyed going back and reading the same books again.

Hans H. Kirst is a Vetran of WWII, he saw and writes from the German perspective, and tell his story, keeping the reader spellbound, and the reader on the edge of their seat, all the while giving valuable historical information.

Perhaps Private Faust is really Hans himself, Hans writes about Faust in other novels, progressing him thrugh the military ranks.

This or any other book by Hans Helmut Kirst is well worth the time, money, and effort to aquire and read. Thank You!

The Revolt of Gunner Asch takes place a short time prior to World War II and puts its focus on the life of an everyday German soldier dealing with the intricacies and oxymorons of life in the Wehrmacht. Young Gunner Asch maintains his balance as he sees the changing political climate of his country, and the frustrations brought about by the Army life by use of quick wit, and a truly sardonic sense of humor. When there is a problem in the battery with a young recruit being first crushed and then molded into an Army automaton by the system, Gunner Asch declares his revolt against the system itself. His main weapon will be to follow the regulations precisely as they are written, and not as they are applied. The result is total chaos for the entire battery. Asch, who was considered a good if not ideal soldier quickly becomes the pain in everyone's backside and makes life very interesting for all involved. Adding to the enjoyment is Asch entering in a romantic endeavor. The supporting characters are truly memorable.

The book is a very entertaining read, that is marked by Asch's own quick humor, irony, and social conciousness. On one level it looks at the way that all military systems try to dehumanize young men (and women) to make them soldiers who respond by conditioning and training. The characters are very believeable, well developped and appropriately likeable or despicable. Any veteran of military service will easily be able to place certain people of their own experience into this novel.

I often found myself laughing out loud while readin this book, shaking my head in frustration, and thoroughly enjoying myself. I heartily reccomend this book.

J.D.

I read all the books about Gunner Asch when i was a kid .They are very funny and also if you have served in the military you will see that nothing has changed since the second world war.A great read if you can get them

This is, as I recall, the first of a trilogy of Gunner Asch books, the others being The Revolt of Gunner Asch and The Return of Gunner Asch. All are eminently enjoyable, and it is a shame they are no longer in print so that more readers could enjoy them.

All of them recount the adventures of a non-com in the German army during World War II. They are especially humorous to anyone who has ever served in the service, for the foibles of the military organization must be universal. Whether or not the reader has been in the military, these books are a guaranteed enjoyable read.

The Second World War has produced many different kinds of novels, but the detective novel has not often been the case. In NIGHT OF THE GENERALS, Hans Hellmut Kirst tells of a German general who uses his position to kill women as if he were a Teutonic Jack the Ripper. The problem with writing a murder mystery using the deaths of millions as a backdrop is that the reader is forced to face an unsettling question: what is the value of one human life taken in murder when millions more are taken during battle?
General Tanz is the Nazi general who likes to slice up [hookers]. After he commits a few murders, one police officer, Major Grau, begins to suspect him, but lacks the proof needed to accuse a general. When Grau does get the proof, Tanz has him arrested and executed. All this detective work takes place before and after the plot on Hitler's life in 1944. Tanz survives the war only to continue his killing in the Soviet bloc countries. Another policeman, a friend of Grau's, picks up the chase, and brings with him a witness to Tanz's murders. Faced with the publicity of being accused a serial killer, the general commits suicide.
This book is the classic cat-and-mouse novel, with the suspect revealed from the very first chapter. The power of the book lies in whether the general or the police will triumph. However, it is unavoidable to consider how one life figures into the bigger scheme of things while a world war is raging. Concepts such as truth, justice, personal responsibility, and accountability form the philosophical underpinning. By the time, the reader gets to the end, he can see that the death of one woman still counts for something even while mass craziness is being perpetrated on millions of others.

AN EXCELLENT CRIME THILLER WHICH FOR A LONG TIME REFUSES TO LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS.A FIRST RATE MOVIE OF THE SAME NAME WAS MADE A FEW DECADES BACK.THE BOOK GRIPS YOU FROM THE BEGINING AND THE READER ASKS FOR MORE OF THE SAME.THE WRITER HAS EXCELLENT UNDERSTANDING OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION SPECIALLY WHEN IT HAS TO PASS THROUGU THE TURBULANCE AND STRESS & STRAINS OF WAR.

Hans Kirst's officers and officer candidates are chillingly ordinary guys at an officers' training school near the end of World War II. The training officers go through the motions of readying potential officers as fodder for the war effort. The training officers are quite a mix: some have enormous but fragile egos, wife and girlfriend problems, or are in denial about their distate for women but admiration for young men, flout the rules of command, or show great compassion. The young cadets are jokers, followers, outsiders; some are for the Fuehrer, others are wholly indifferent, and others actually dislike Hitler. The constant jockeying for position has its fatal attractions; when a training officer is killed during an exercise, another young officer, Lieutenant Kraft, is given the thankless task of determining whether it was an accident or murder. His path of discovery and the decisions he makes expose the silence and complicity of even the "good" German officers in the horrific policies of the Fuehrer.

A very clever look in the moral and ethical void of the Third Reich while following the stained tragic figure of Lt Kraft. Kraft is given the task of finding the truth behind an accidental explosion at the officer school which claims the life of an experienced officer. A delicious tale of intrigue and suspense follow until, like a runaway train, the book comes to its inevitable, tear wrenching conclusion.

Set during World War II in Poland and in Paris. Three very different men, all Wermacht generals, are under suspicion for the murder of a Polish prostitute.

Kirst is a witty and insightful writer. This book is not his best but is still worth reading.

Two honorable men stand between Hitler and final control of the German Army. They must be destroyed. Two old-line generals have unwittingly become the targets of Hitler and his evil genius, Goring. Affairs of the Generals unfolds the terrifying story of insidious intrigue and treachery. Blackmail, scandal, and a strange love affair set in motion a ruthless plot that no one can stop. - from the cover.

The other review is, I believe, of a different book, Night of the Generals - a great book on its own.