Description: For sale is a first edition of "The Betrayed" by Michael Horbach. This first edition hardcover book was published by Coward-McCann in 1959. Jagged and jangled, episodic and jumbled with flashbacks and fragments, The Betrayed vividly describes the end of war, in this case, World War II on the Eastern Front. The victorious Russians are advancing along a thousand mile front. Small groups of German soldiers fight an un-ending series of rearguard skirmishes, always losing, always retreating, sometimes staying ahead of the Soviets, sometimes not, as attrition thins their ranks and moment by moment decisions of others decide their fate as men are wounded or killed, often at random. Civilians too seek to flee East Prussia but many fail, suffering the same vicissitudes of fate. There is utter relentlessness as the war grinds on to its destructive finish irrespective of individual wishes or efforts. Ironically, the title refers not to the victims of Nazi aggression or racial imperatives and destruction, but to those Germans who were led into a war they did not win. Included are those who supported Hitler or didn't, those who knew of the horrors of the concentration camps and persecutions of the Jews and others or didn't, those who wanted a strong but not conquering Germany or who wanted conquest to restore the balance of power lost after World War II, or wanted neither. Now they are all trapped in the all-encompassing embrace of war. There is anger here, a deep, diffusive anger, which permeates virtually every scene in the book. Focusing on the short combat life of Cadet Walter Richards from March 25 until March 30, 1945 to provide surface cohesion, Horbach depicts battle scenes that are chillingly realistic, the suffering writ large, the nostalgic flashbacks of happier times that are both poignantly raw and wistfully romantic as if only these memories can keep the soldiers sane and functioning. The novel also drips with substantial irony as when the German general says to his aide, "You're to bitter Hagen... I understand your feeling, but you oughten to be so bitter." "No," said Hagen, "I'm not really bitter. I'd just like to have my arm back again." Please review the photos for condition and thank you for looking.
Price: 29.99 USD
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
End Time: 2024-10-28T19:20:16.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
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Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Binding: Hardcover
Place of Publication: New York, NY
Signed: No
Publisher: Coward-McCann
Subject: Literature & Fiction
Original/Facsimile: Original
Year Printed: 1959
Language: English
Illustrator: Arthur Hawkins
Special Attributes: 1st Edition, Collector's Edition, Dust Jacket
Author: Michael Horbach
Region: Europe
Personalized: No
Topic: Literature, Modern
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Unit Quantity: 1
