Sven Hassel's press cuttings: Reviews and Critics

The New York Times:

…An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all Europe.

Newsday:

…In essence this is an expose of the absurdity of war, and a moving plea for peace.
As such, it takes its rank with far milder books, such as "All Quiet on the Western Front".

The Washington Post:

The Legion of the Damned is an incredible picture of totalitarianism, of war, of stupefying injustice, and one can only look in awe at the objectivity with which Hassel writes. He is graphic, at times brilliantly so, but never brutal or bitter. He is, too, a first rate storyteller. Unquestionably the book is a testament to indestructibility of man.

Boston Sunday Herald:

The publishers say that this is "a documentary novel which has captured the attention of all of Europe". We say that it may capture the attention of the world, because it is a strong and moving exhortation against that "filthy business" called war.

The Jackson Sun:

As with all great war books-and this is one of the great ones -The Legion of the Damned is written by a man who served in the combat ranks from the bottom looking up….It's truly an experience not soon forgotten.

Purburghs Press:

The Legion of the Damned is a taut engrossing story, strongly reminiscent of All Quiet on the Western Front.

Columbus Dispatch:

Searing account of War's Blackest Horror -This is not a story of war, but of people.

Hull Daily:

The strength and skill of Mr. Hassel's pen is uncanny. His reward is of one of the most impressive war books ever written…No one has written a more damning tract against wars and those who wage them. In the process, the world has gained a writer with the deft touch of the master penman. More please, Mr. Hassel.

Christian Herald:

It [The Legion of the Damned] has the lasting proportions of greatness.

Chattanooga Free Press:

One of the better war books to be published, The Legion of the Damned is worthy of attention and merits considerable praise.

Mitchell Daily Republic:

Hassel presents his best scenes with the restraint and emotional control of Hemingway.

The News and Courier, Charleston:

Hassel presents a vivid picture of the horrors of war to warn people everywhere never to let another group of gangsters win control and plunge the world into a new holocaust.

Florida Times Union:

Sven Hassel rates among the truly great war book writers.

Herald Tribune:

In this his first novel, as one assumes it is, the craftsman is apparent. His next book, it he chooses to go on writing, is something to look for…This is the story of the men who neither plan nor cause wars, but must fight them. The story is narrated in a simple and appealing literary style, somewhat similar to that of Ernest Hemingway.

Pacific Stars and Stripes:

As a book Legion of the Damned reads well and rapidly. As an experience it is terrifying.

Chicago Sunday Tribune:

It is a book which should be required reading not only in English, but in German and Russian an Chinese and in the language of any country with an Army. No ordinary novel of war, this has the special quality of being an accurate account not only of armies fighting but of the opposed loyalties of individuals fighting within themselves while remaining loyal -not to a dreadful system - but to the known and treasured friends…But basically the story shudders from page to page while the devoted friends live precariously from year to year, until only the one survivor is left to write this book. And a gripping book it is.

Bookseller's Almanac:

The second bestseller is a book somewhat like "Never So Few" and at the same time very different, Legion of the Damned by Sven Hassel. It is pretty overpowering, but it is a book that deserves widespread publicity and very good sales.

Northport Journal:

The Legion of the Damned is the war story for this year or any other year. The explosive forces of war itself have been set down in dramatic form and cause and effect is shown in as far as the fighting man is concerned more clearly in this fiery, shocking brutal novel than in anything else printed in the last thirty years. This book is a rare reading experience and, when there is reference to World War II fiction, time will prove it to be classic.

The New York Times: