Paths of Glory

By Humphrey Cobb, James H. Meredith and David L. Simon

The anti-war masterpiece that became an iconic motion picture-now with a foreword by the creator of the acclaimed HBO(tm) series The Wire

Familiar to many as the Stanley Kubrick film starring Kirk Douglas, Paths of Glory explores the perilous complications involved in what nations demand of their soldiers in wartime. Humphrey Cobb's protagonists are Frenchmen during the First World War whose nightmare in the trenches takes a new and terrible turn when they are ordered to assault a German position deemed all but invulnerable. When the attack fails, an inquiry into allegations of cowardice indicts a small handful of lower-ranked scapegoats whose trial exposes the farce of ordering ordinary men to risk their lives in an impossible cause. A chilling portrait of injustice, this novel offers insight into the tragedies of war in any age.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Jun 29, 2010
• ISBN: 9781101565001

Humphrey Cobb

Humphrey Cobb (September 5, 1899 – April 25, 1944) was an Italian-born, Canadian-American screenwriter and novelist. He is known for writing the novel Paths of Glory (1935),which was made into an acclaimed 1957 film Paths of Glory by Stanley Kubrick. Cobb was also the lead screenwriter on the 1937 film San Quentin, starring Humphrey Bogart. (Wikipedia)

Reviews for Paths of Glory

[encephalical · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The matter-of-fact delivery makes it. I haven't been this angry from reading a novel maybe ever.

[brummbar_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the greatest novels of World War I, with Eric Marie Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, this was also the basis of perhaps Kubrick's greatest film.

[lriley_43 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Set during World War I--3 french soldiers are condemned to death so as to punish a regiment for failure to capture its objective--an opposing piece of trench line. They are chosen one each from 3 different companies--one of the men is a decorated veteran who is picked to cover up his platoon commander's cowardice. It is very well written and I believe was Cobb's only book. It was later made into a movie directed by Stanley Kubrick with Kirk Douglas as the main star.