Product Description

Humorous, sarcastic, sober, pessimistic, fatalistic, defiant or defeatist, slang is an important part of every soldier's vocabulary. Much of the slang of World War II was handed down from World War I and earlier conflicts. These words were so ingrained into the soldier's vocabulary that their use was continued by a new generation of soldiers and by the end of the war some terms had even passed into standard everyday usage.

This book is a detailed survey of the slang of WWII as used and evolved by US, German and Commonwealth fighting men and women. It lists hundreds of these distictive and evocative words with their definitions and origins, but and also includes contemporary cartoons and images, transporting the reader back through the decades into the world of the WWII warrior.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #326624 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-11
• Released on: 2007-09-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 296 pages

Review
"Reading this book brings to life the rich culture of the men and women of the armed forces of WWII. The level of detail in Rottman's collection of terms is astounding and the size of the volume speaks to its completelness. Writers of historical fiction or reference books will find this book invaluable. Hobbyists and modelers will also find the book useful as many of these phrases and terms can add to the character and detail of nearly any WWII model. Most of all, anyone with an interest in WWII will enjoy this colorful book."-Steven Weakly, Historical Miniature Magazine (2008)

"Reading this book brings to life the rich culture of the men and women of the armed forces of WWII. The level of detail in Rottman's collection of terms is astounding and the size of the volume speaks to its completeness. Writers of historical fiction or reference books will find this book invaluable. Hobbyists and modelers will also find this book useful as many of these phrases and terms can add to the character and detail of nearly any WWII model. Most of all, anyone with an interest in WWII will enjoy this colorful place." -Matthew Hope, HM (Jan/Feb/Mar 2008)

"Even though World War II ended 62 years ago, it is still with us in books and films. This small and important guide is one more testament to that... Academic libraries, as well as a variety of special readers, will want to add this useful and reasonably priced volume." -Charles R. Andrews, American Reference Books Annual (March 2008)

"I purchased FUBAR and stayed awake reading until sleep could no longer be avoided, great book." -Greg Sunyak (January 2008)

"Soldier slang of World War II is colorful and could range from insults to witty sayings: any collection strong in World War II history thus needs Fubar: Soldier Slang of World War I, a dictionary defining World War II slang from all armed forces sides. From conscripted 'koala' Australian soldiers to identifying a 'Chinese attack', this is loaded with phrases and insights." -California Bookwatch (December 2007)

"The overwhelming implication of FUBAR is that this remarkable reference book, a unique witness to the language of war, represents a class of men passing away with inexorable force. Dove or hawk, it makes no difference: If one truly want to understand this important aspect of the fighting men one supports or condemns, it would be infinitely myopic to ignore their words, how they said them, and why." -David Cotner, VC Reporter (October 4, 2007)

"This is a highly informative book packed with fascinating insights into the military language used in WWII, but also for those with an interest in the development of the English (and German) language." -Timothy Baghurst, The Traveler (September 2007)

"...this is more of a reference or easy browsing book than one where you sit down and start reading. You'll find many of the words to be pretty funny and some even a bit shocking... It is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through and it is one that I know you will find just as much fun to read. Most highly recommended." -Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (September 2007)

About the Author
Gordon L. Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969-70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments until retiring after 26 years. He was a special operations forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 years and is now a freelance writer, living in Texas. The author lives in Cypress, TX.

Customer Reviews

Great Job: Interesting, Fun and Informative
I own several different dictionaries of military slang, and this is far and away the best. Rottman did his homework. In addition to library research, he worked with online discussion groups including WW II vets to understand the precise meaning (or meanings) of expressions. He also has a way with words himself -- it's not easy to get ideas across in brief dictionary entries, but Rottman does it. The entries are always informative, often full of personality, and sometimes funny -- never pedantic. It's also obvious that helping to recreate and preserve the culture of WW II soldiers is something Rottman really cares about.

Before I peeked at his Amazon listing, I was pretty sure that this wasn't Rottman's first book on the war. The depth of his knowledge really shines through. I had more than a few "Wow, I didn't know that!" moments while reading. For example: "Zombies." These were Canadian soldiers who declined to volunteer for overseas deployment. Apparently if you didn't volunteer, Canada would not send you. Didn't know that.

Reading this book is like eating a really well-prepared meal -- it's full of little surprises and pleasures. Highly recommended. If you have a serious interest in WW II, this should be in your collection.

A precise view
Now I've seen military slang dictionaries before, but this one is different in several ways. It covers World War II army and marine slang, not just of the United States, but the British Commonwealth with a heavy dose of often humorous or rather cheeky Australian slang, and, something seldom attempted, Landserspeak, the slang of the German soldier. As a bonus there is something else one seldom sees, Japanese and Russian soldier's slang. There is something else about this book though. It does not just give a cut and dried definition of the word, but often its origins, the nuances of its meaning, and examples of its use if it's not apparent. This work provides a window into the mind of the World War II soldier. One sees a commonality among them regardless of the uniform they wore and the ideology they fought for. There is a certain dark humor in the face of adversity that helped carry them through their trails. One can see the cynicism dripped off their words. Regardless of the army, they all had slang words to describe the food they ate, abbreviated terms or nicknames for their weapons and equipment, often unflattering terms for their leaders, rather cavalier words with a double meaning in regards to the opposite sex and its pursuit, items of uniform, the holes and other places they called home, the regard they had for rear service troops, and the trails of their daily lives. Just flipping through the pages and reading entries at random are a joy in and of itself.

I really enjoyed this book
My grandfather served in WorldWar II, but he would never talk about it. After seeing this book in an advertisement, I decided to pick it up because I've always been curious about what it was like to be in that terrible war. I really liked reading through FUBAR because it gave me a quick snapshot into what my grandfather and so many other went through.