He began to write his first book legion of the damned while he was interned. Jul, 2006 sven hassel is good but he does get a bit repetitive at times. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the sven hassel collection. Legion was the first book and supposedly the most autobiographical. He served throughout the second world war on all fronts except north africa. Monte cassino is a classic sven hassel novel, a noholdsbarred account of frontline combat. Although he is arguably one of the most sold danish authors, at most second to hans christian andersen, danish public libraries, as of 2012, did not stock his books. This is a book of horrors, and should be left alone by those prone to nightmares.
The sven hassel collection by sven hassel books on. Author sven hassel fought as a soldier in russia, italy and france. Sven hassel, whose factbased tales of second world warfare have sold millions, has created another horrific war novel, this time set on the deadly russian front. During the events in this novel we are introduced to sven and his friends and fellow convicted soldiers in the 27th penal panzerbatallion. Audible provides the highest quality audio and narration. Ss general is the definitive stalingrad novel, a gripping portrait of wars brutal realities. Born in 1917 in fredensborg, denmark, sven hassel joined the merchant navy at the age of 14. The sven hassel collection by sven hassel books hachette.
The commissar had the biggest secret of the russian war. The definitive ebook collection of sven hassel s iconic, violent war novels. Sven hassel s iconic novel about the battle for monte cassino. His workingclass family consisted of seven children of which sven was the first. I read this book as a teen, and just finished rereading it. He joined the danish merchant marine when he was 20, and a year later moved to germany. Normally, this humble little blog gets 3040 visits a day no, not all from me, i dont count those. Authorship was still not in the cards and certainly not a reliable means of income. If this book is over 5 years old, then please expect the pages to be yellowing or to have age spots. Sven hassel books list of books by author sven hassel. Sven hassel s most popular book is legion of the damned. Sven hassel 19 april 1917 barcelona 21 september 2012 was a danishborn writer who wrote novels set during world war ii. The only other sven hassel book i have found was a beat up copy of r. The sweep of his narrative from highlevel down to the mudbetweenthefingernails of trench warfare can be thrilling in its fast pace.
Sep 21, 2012 sven hassel 19 april 1917 21 september 2012 in barcelona was the pen name of the danishborn borge willy redsted pedersen who wrote novels set during world war ii. Sven hassel was born in 1917 in nyhuse, frederiksborg county in denmark. For sven hassels legion of the damned, it was more interesting researching the author than reading the book. Written in the first person, ssgeneral is based on the adventures of a group of german penal battalion soldiers in the battle of stalingrad. But the toms, dicks and harrys must first bang their fists on the table and let it be known who holds the power and how that power is to be used. Sven hassel is a major brand in fiction with global book sales since first publication of legion of the damned in 1953 of 53 million copies, of which 15 million are in the english language. I first read this 30 years ago and have read all his books. Nov 10, 2008 from the movie the misfit brigade which is based on the book wheels of terror written by sven hassel. Great savings free delivery collection on many items. In fact this proposition along with the elements of antiwar sentiment in the books is the reason that sven hassel s books or at least this first book have raised the reputation of his writing by some to the point where he is considered to be one of the great antiwar authors of his time.
Sven hassels iconic war novel about the russian front. The sven hassel collection by sven hassel from the fight for survival against the ferocious red army and the icy, shellravaged wastes of the vicious russian winter, to the bloodiest battles on the eastern front, sven hassel s gripping novels are based on his own experiences in the german army. Having survived the horrors of the eastern front, the 27th penal regiment are posted to italy. Some allege that hassels first novel was ghostwritten and when it became a success. He was released in 1949, and was planning to join the french foreign legion when he met dorthe jensen. Two books i would highly recommend in this genre would be the forgotten soldier by guy sajer and the unknown soldier by vaino linna.
The familys less than appealing financial situation drove sven to join a merchant navy when he was only 14. Sven hassel s iconic war novel about the russian front. Sven hassel was born sven pedersen in fredensborg, denmark on april 19, 1917. Sven hassel based his unflinching narrative on his experiences in the german army. He adopted his mothers maiden name, hassel, when he began writing. An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all of europe new york timeslegion of the damned is an incredible picture of totalitarianism, of stupefying injustice. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. While there is some controversy with respect to hassel s wwii stories this book reads to me as an unapologetic confessional of a young man caught up in the horrors of an impossible situation. Ssgeneralen is a novel by the danish writer sven hassel. The bloody road to death by hassel, sven paperback book the cheap fast free post 5 out of 5 stars 9 product ratings 9 product ratings the bloody road to death by hassel, sven paperback book. Drafted into the german armyeven though he was not a german citizenhe served in a tank unit in 1939 during the german invasion of poland. This is the first in a series of wwii books about a danish soldier serving in the german. The first tells the sory of the author who as a sixteen year old in 1941 joined the german army and ended up in the elite gross deucthslandsp division.
Legion of the damned was the first of 14 novels written by. Sven hassel, who has died aged 95, wrote 14 massively popular novels about life in the wartime german army. He was a pow, so he certainly saw the horrors of war first hand. Typical hollywoodesque fair of nazis as one dimensional utterly despicable monsters. Hassels books are not seen as a reliable source by historians, i find it very difficult to believe that a member of a penal unit who left school at age 14 becomes a lieutenant becoming an officer in the german military has always required abitur. Sven hassel was a pen name that borge willy pedersen used to write novels set in the second world war. Buy ss general sven hassel war classics by sven hassel from amazons fiction books store. Buy a cheap copy of the commissar book by sven hassel. His first novel, the legion of the damned, was published in 1953.
Nov 14, 2012 sven hassel was a remarkable but controversial author who wrote successful novels set on the eastern front in the second world war. I first read blitzfreeze in 1978, as a young grade 10 schoolboy, and together with all of my friends eagerly read each of his novels as they became available. Hitler has ordered that every position must be held to the last, and every lost position recaptured by counterattack. The style that sven hassel wrote this book is unique and graphic. For sven hassel s legion of the damned, it was more interesting researching the author than reading the book. Dec 23, 2010 legion of the damned ebook written by sven hassel. The complete series has to this day been published in more than 50 countries, translated into 25 languages. Sven hassel was the pen name of the danishborn borge willy redsted pedersen 19 april 1917 21 september 2012 who wrote novels set during world war ii.
Used to buy one on the market 2nd hand on a saturday then return it the next week and buy another. Oct 02, 2012 sven hassel, left, started work on his first and bestknown book, legion of the damned, while he was held as a prisoner of war sven hassel, who has died aged 95, wrote 14 massively popular novels. Legion of the damned by sven hassel, paperback barnes. He published his first book, legion of the damned, in 1953.
Never before had violence been described in such hideously graphic detail. Sven hassel was a world war ii novelist, who completed a series of fourteen books, that tell the battles of a penal regiment on the eastern front. Other times, hell make a really big deal out of it and let you get to know the unlucky soldier partisan civilian first. The book covers a chronological period of a number of years, starting with the protagonists arrest and time in german concentration camps, and ending with his being an officer and company commander on the russian front. Synopsis legion of the damned was the first of 14 novels written by sven hassel, a danish volunteer who served in the german army throughout world war ii. Sven hassel, peter rabbit, mad padre and the mystery of the page view spike for a few days now, ive been puzzled by a spike in the number of visits to mad padre. By the time the dane died in 2012 at the age of 95, he was one of the most popular and most prolific authors to come out of denmark. Sven hassel s descriptions of the atrocities committed by both sides are the most horrible indictments of war i have ever read. Textbooks will typically have an amount of underlining andor highlighting, as well as notes. Download audiobooks matching keywords sven hassel to your device. The sven hassel collection by sven hassel nook book.
Hassel served with the 2nd panzer division stationed at eisenach and in. Sven hassels descriptions of the atrocities committed by both sides are the most horrible indictments of war i have ever read. He did his compulsory years military service in the danish forces in 1936 and then, facing unemployment, joined the german army. Haaest also alleges that hassels first novel was ghostwritten and that, when it became a success, he employed his wife to write the rest of his books. The sven hassel collection by sven hassel nook book ebook. Buy legion of the damned sven hassel war classics reissue by hassel, sven isbn. He describes the slaughter, the gore, the brutal conditions of war through the eyes of a group of german infantry soldiers fighting the russians. This is obergefreiter korporal porta and steges firs. In the face of overwhelming allied firepower, sven hassel and his comrades are ordered to hold the fortress at all costs. Soldier who won the iron cross and wrote bestsellers.
Mar 17, 2020 i first read the legion of the damned as a teenager, along with a number of others in the series. Sven hassel 19 april 1917 21 september 2012 in barcelona 1 2 was the pen name of the danishborn borge willy redsted pedersen 3 4 5 who wrote novels set during world war ii. Review of legion of the damned by sven hassel 1953. Danish writer sven hassel was born in fredericksborg, denmark, in 1917.
The thunder of the guns could be heard in rome, 170 miles away. Jun 11, 2014 in fact this proposition along with the elements of antiwar sentiment in the books is the reason that sven hassels books or at least this first book have raised the reputation of his writing by some to the point where he is considered to be one of the great antiwar authors of his time. From the fight for survival against the ferocious red army and the icy, shellravaged wastes of the vicious russian winter, to the bloodiest battles on the eastern front, sven hassel s gripping novels are based on his own experiences in the german army. Explore books by sven hassel with our selection at. Sven hassel was a world war ii novelist, who completed a series of fourteen books, that tell the. Starting in 1953 he published 14 novels, written in the first person, which were translated into 25 languages and published in 50 countries. Starting in 1953 he published 14 novels, written in the first. Avoids history of wimer and post weimar europe, role of longheld traditional antisemitism, versailles devastation and famines of europe and most notably, the influx of militant communism especially rosa luxembourg sdp member and kurt eisner of the bavarian soviet republic a deliberate stab into the. Sven hassel was a huge seller in the uk in corgi paperback editions in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite having released his first novel, hassel continued his employment at copenhagen free port as a coordinator to support his family. The novels are based on his own experiences in the german army. Sven hassels unflinching narrative is based on his own experiences in the german army.
Alan silitoe stationed on the russian front and now equipped with armoured vehicles, sven hassel and his comrades. However i followed a link from portas kitchen where hassel claims that his main characters were actually based upon real people. He began writing his first novel, legion of the damned in a prisoner of. The complete series has to this day been published in. Feb 11, 2014 sven hassel 19 april 1917 barcelona 21 september 2012 was a danishborn writer who wrote novels set during world war ii. It was first published in 1960 and has been translated in many languages. He was released in 1949 and was planning to join the french foreign legion when he met his future wife. First of all, i have only read one or two of hassels books, while highly entertaining i will not go into a debate on whether fictional history is a good thing or not.
Sven hassel was a pseudonym, and the sven character, narrator of the books, an alter ego of the dane sven pederson. It was said that stalingrad had been burning since august, ever since the first german bombs were dropped. Gestapo by sven hassel and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Dec 23, 2010 sven hassel s ultimate tank warfare novel. Sven hassel, left, started work on his first and bestknown book, legion of the damned, while he was held as a prisoner of war sven hassel, who. He served throughout world war ii on all fronts except north africa. His books including legion of the damned, monte cassino and liquidate paris have. I remember it quite differently to the present reading, perhaps coloured by the other books. The story is about death, destruction and struggle. Hassel served in the danish merchant navy till 1937, when he moved to germany to join the army. The story focuses on a doomed platoon of german soldiers on the western front in 1944, with sven hassel as one of them. He joined the danish merchant navy at age 14 and served a mandatory stretch in the danish military before joining the german army in 1937.
See all books authored by sven hassel, including the legion of the damned, and reign of hell, and more on. The legion of the damned is the first book written by sven hassel about his life as a penal soldier in the german naziarmy during wwii. First started to read them as a year old way back in 1979. Hassel s character describes the horrors of war and the horror that he became as a member of the legion of the damned. Sven hassel official site official sven hassel site. Legion of the damned is undouubtably the best book i have ever read. While a prisoner, he started work on his first and bestknown book, legion of the damned, which was published in danish in 1953 and in english. Thanks to sven hassel for his books, and to his family for keeping his legacy alive. Books by sven hassel author of legion of the damned. He ended the second world war in a prisoner of war camp, where he wrote his first. Gestapo by sven hassel and a great selection of related books, art and.
I mean if your like me and wont buy books online for fear of reciving a credit card bill that resembles the national debt in size and magnatude. Wheels of terror is a book about a guy named sven hassel. He had started work on his first and bestknown book, legion of the damned, while still a prisoner. He began to write his first book, legion of the damned while he was interned. This is the first in a series of wwii books about a danish soldier serving in the german army, purporting to be autobiographical. Like heinz g konsalik and willi heinrich, pederson lived through the war, but unlike those two the exact nature of his involvement in the conflict has been the subject of debate.
Sven hassel was a remarkable but controversial author who wrote successful novels set on the eastern front in the second world war. Fordomtes legion is the first in a series of fourteen world war ii novels written by sven hassel. Dec 17, 2018 sven hassel battle scenes often feel like that. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Convicted of deserting the german army, sven hassel was sent to a. The sven hassel collection ebook written by sven hassel. Sven hassel is good but he does get a bit repetitive at times. Buy sven hassel books and get the best deals at the lowest prices on ebay.
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