Paul Fussell

Author profile

born

in Pasadena, CA, The United States

March 22, 1922

died

May 23, 2012

gender

male

genre

Literature & Fiction, History, Biographies & Memoirs

About this author

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Paul Fussell was an American cultural and literary historian, author and university professor. His writings covered a variety of topics, from scholarly works on eighteenth-century English literature to commentary on America’s class system. He was an U.S. Army Infantry officer in the European theater during World War II (45th Infantry Division) and was awarded both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He is best known for his writings about World War I and II.

He began his teaching career at Connecticut College (1951–55) before moving to Rutgers University in 1955 and finally the University of Pennsylvania in 1983. He also taught at the University of Heidelberg (1957–58) and King’s College London (1990–92). As a teacher, he traveled widely w...more

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Paul Fussell's Books

Average rating: 4.24 · 9,943 ratings · 939 reviews · 28 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Great War and Modern Memory 4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 1,656 ratings — published 1975 — 15 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Class: A Guide Through the American Status System 3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 1,005 ratings — published 1983 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War 4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 277 ratings — published 1989 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Poetic Meter and Poetic Form 3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 283 ratings — published 1965 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Boys' Crusade: The American Infantry in Northwestern Europe, 1944-45 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 184 ratings — published 2003 — 11 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bad, or the Dumbing of America 3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 avg rating — 175 ratings — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Doing Battle: The Making of a Skeptic 3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 117 ratings — published 1996 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thank God for the Atom Bomb & Other Essays 3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 1988 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Abroad: British Literary Traveling Between the Wars 3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 73 ratings — published 1979 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Uniforms: Why We Are What We Wear 3.2 of 5 stars 3.20 avg rating — 84 ratings — published 2002 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Paul Fussell…

Quotes by Paul Fussell

“i find nothing more depressing than optimism.”
― Paul Fussell

tags: depression, humor, optimism, oxymoron

49 people liked it

“Americans are the only people in the world known to me whose status anxiety prompts them to advertise their college and university affiliations in the rear window of their automobiles.”
― Paul Fussell, Class: A Guide Through the American Status System

15 people liked it

“Every war is ironic because every war is worse than expected. Every war constitutes an irony of situation because its means are so melodramatically disproportionate to its presumed ends.”
― Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory

tags: truth

12 people liked it

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Paul Fussell

Author profile

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Quotes by Paul Fussell

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Paul Fussell's Books