IT WAS LIKE THIS: Two Stories of the Great War

This is in the tradition of his autobiographical Toward the Flame, with the record of the war in the characters and incidents pertaining to others than himself. Not fiction, except in so far as names, places and a few recognizable historical facts are altered slightly to prevent recognition and consequent embarrassment. Otherwise, the stories are true records, and in the telling, Hervey Allen conveys his sense of what war was, and -- to some extent -- what war always will be. His introduction (or postscript) gives his reasons for presenting this record to today's youth, to whom the thought of war and battle may still have something of glamor. Anecdote, recollection, the war story, -- through these alone can war be dimly conceived by those who have not experienced it. The stories themselves are good reading, good drama, good characterizations. They both relate themselves to the early days of America's participation, at Chateau-Thierry, and the background is drawn from his own experience.