Read this in my late teens, back in the counterculture days—the days of Vietnam. Draft age, at the time and was already convinced I didn't want to go to war. This book made the horrors of war abundantly clear. There's no glory in war for the soldier, regardless of the cause, God and Country, duty, honor, patriotism, whatever. Only deep regret at having taken the lives of others, or at losing yours. The book haunts me still—a true classic. This is a must-read for anyone in any country who is considering joining the military.