'We were eighteen and had begun to love the world and love being in it; but we had to shoot at it. The first shell to land went straight for our hearts. We've been cut off from real action, from getting on, from progress. We don't believe in those things anymore; we believe in the war' To mark the centenary of the First World War, Vintage is launching a unique collection of war fiction. April 2014 will see the publication of twelve works by the greatest writers of the last century, each tackling this most powerful and universal of subjects.

Remarque's evocation of the horrors of modern warfare has lost none of its force The Times Remarque is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank New York Times Book Review Brian Murdoch's new English translation shows that Remarque's evocation of the horrors of modern warfare has lost none of its force The Times There are some books that should be read by every generation... Remarque's story of German trench soldiers of the 1914-18 war gains even more authority in the context of the loss of life in wars that still rage Chris Searle The book conquers without persuading, it shakes you without exaggerating, a perfect work of art and at the same time truth that cannot by doubted Stefan Sweig

Erich Maria Remarque was born in 1899. He fought and was injured in the trenches in the First World War when he was eighteen years old. He was exiled and his works were burnt by the Nazis. He lived in America and Switzerland and married and divorced his first wife twice before marrying the celebrated Hollywood actress Paulette Goddard. He published several novels after All Quiet on the Western Front, the most famous of which is The Road Back. He died in 1970.