The young lions - Irwin Shaw

The Jew from Brooklyn wanted nothing more than to go home to his wife.

The Hollywood director regretted the patriotic gesture that would lead him into the hell of war.

The German officer decided to harden his heart till the killing was over.

All are drawn inevitably to each other as the fighting reaches its climax. All three must face what it really means to give one's life for one's country, and to take lives in return. Only one will survive.

Irwin Shaw was born in new York in 1913 and began his literary career writing short stories, and plays for the stage and radio. During World War Two he served in North Africa, the Middle East and all over Europe, and it was after the war that he achieved widespread acclaim with his first novel, THE YOUNG LIONS. Irwin Shaw wrote more than a dozen novels, all of which became worldwide bestsellers. A number of his books have also found success as feature films and TV serials, and they have been translated in to twenty languages. Irwin Shaw died in 1984.

It is almost as if De Maggio had cast aside his center fielder's glove one afternoon, turned up that night at Madison Square Garden, and knocked out Joe Louis in the first round. Irwin Shaw's novel is that impressive.
New York Herald Tribune Weekly Book Review

'He writes about social evils that shock and distress him profoundly, with a passionate anger that cannot help but deeply involve the reader.'
Observer

'Reading THE YOUNG LIONS is a true emotional experience - and one that is likely to leave the reader with a deeper understanding of the present world. Perhaps . . . no novel can be asked to accomplish more than that.'
New York Times

'Shaw writes with passion and tremendous punch, and drives the action forward with unfailing inventiveness.'
Atlantic Monthly