The Young Lions Author:Irwin Shaw Ambitious in its scope and robust in its prose, Irwin Shaw's work is also deeply humanistic, presenting the reality of war as seen through the eyes of ordinary soldiers on both sides. The story follows the individual dramas -- and ultimately intertwined destinies -- of Christian Diestl, a Nazi sergeant; Noah Ackerman, a Jewish American infan... more »tryman; and Michael Whitacre, an idealistic urbanite from the New York theatrical world.
Diestl first appears as a dashing ski instructor in Austria, mouthing his loyalty to Nazi ideals. As the war progresses, Diestl's character continues to erode as he descends into savagery. Ackerman must endure domestic anti-Semitism and beatings in boot camp before proving himself in the European theater. Eventually, as part of the liberating army, he comes face-to-face with the unimaginable horrors of the death camps. Whitacre, trading cocktail parties for Molotov cocktails, confronts the barbarism of war, and in fighting simply to survive, finds his own capacity for heroism.« less