Set in the throes of The Great War's terrifying trenches, All Quiet on the Western Front casts the reader in the shoes of the Patriotic soldier Paul Baeumer. His naive allusions of war's nobility and sense of adventure are demolished in the face of indifferent industrial warfare. Though unfolding more than a century ago, Erich Maria Remarque crafts a timeless exploration of the impact of war on the human spirit and the ugly truth of survival. Acclaimed in its own time, the story obliges itself to be read by each new generation, lest we forget its lessons and find ourselves in our own "War to End All Wars."