Re: _In Stahlgewittern_ - Origin of Booktitle

["Umberto Rossi" <urossi@programatic.it>]

> 2. Another reason might be that the word "Stahlsturm" is a
> composite of two one-syllable-words both beginning with "st"
> (therefore building an alliteration). For me as a German the word
> "Stahlsturm" has a rather static, monolithic sound. "Stahlgewitter"
> has a quite more dynamic melody and is therefore more fitting to
> the subject of the book.

I was afraid to say that, but now that a native German speaker
supports my stance, I'll tell you that the *sound* of Stahlgewittern is
just wonderful. Having read a lot of WWI literature before beginning
the original German version of J.'s memoir (I ignored everything
about the Edda reference and the first title at that time), I
remember I was struck by the title, its meaning, the sound of it, and
thought:  "this is the Great War itself".  Lukacs' appreciation of
the memoir later proved I was right. 

Umberto Rossi

"L'unica vera rivoluzione che si 
deve fare in Italia e' che chi e' pagato 
per fare un lavoro lo faccia."