Panther soup
Subtitle: a European journey in war and peace
By: John Gimlette
Publisher: Hutchinson
Published: 2008
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 401
ISBN-13: 9780091921385; 9780091796730
Subjects: Travel; World War, 1939-1945; Description and travel
Description: "By the end of World War II much of Western Europe was in chaos. The future of our world had been contested here, in the hinterlands of France and across the German plains. But what's become of the battlefields now? Or the people that lived on them? And is there any trace of the 2.7 million Americans who smashed their way into the Reich (or the 12 million who followed)? With questions like these, the award-winning travel writer, John Gimlette, sets off on an astonishing journey into the past." "Beginning in Marseille and ending in the Austrian Tyrol, these are travels through some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, and through cities that have risen from cinders. Along the way, Gimlette explores old camps and drinking dens, delves into the murky sub-culture of the war, and visits towns still reeling from the trauma. There's a rich cast of survivors too: veterans, prisoners, a heroine of the resistance, a few charlatans, Rommel's son, an Austrian chatelaine and of course the children of the Blitz. Panther Soup is the story of these encounters, a tale as bleak and absurd as war itself." "But this is also an uplifting tale of recovery, friendship and regeneration. Foremost amongst the survivors is an American called Putnam Flint. Sixty years earlier, Flint had fought with the tank destroyers (or 'Panthers') and had ridden along with the great wheeled city that rolled through Europe. It had been an undertaking of unimaginable scale and complexity, and for most of his life, Flint has lived with the memories of the tank-mangled sludge (the 'Panther Soup' of the title). Now, for the first time, he'll return, and, as he and Gimlette retrace the old campaign trail, a very different Europe is revealed to them both."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 383-388) and index.
Table of contents: title: pt. 1.; title: Une Entree Americaine -- -- pt. 2.; title: La Soupe Marseillaise -- -- pt. 3.; title: Picnics on the Rhone -- -- pt. 4.; title: Alsatian Crackers -- -- pt. 5.; title: La Sauce Parisienne -- -- pt. 6.; title: Mash Lorraine -- -- pt. 7.; title: Sauerkraut und Blitzen -- -- pt. 8.; title: Bavarian Waffles -- -- pt. 9.; title: Sweet Tyrol -- -- pt. 10.; title: Schlachtteller, or Death on a Plate -- -- pt. 11.; title: Finishing with Chicken.