Sardinian Brigade (Lost Treasures)

Some of the fiercest fighting of World War I took place in the Alps between the Italian army and the forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Half a million Italians died or were wounded, yet this is the only autobiographical novel of note to emerge. Written with classic simplicity, it tells of the daily life of soldiers at the front: of many noble characters, like the narrator, the last officer surviving from the beginning of war; of some mad ones, like General Leone who marched along the trenches all night, shouting "Stay awake! Your General does not sleep!" and the endless taking and losing of trenches, the deaths of comrades and the snatched days of love. Written in 1939, this is a forgotten masterpiece from a forgotten front.