Hasek's most important work was centered around the deeply funny story of a hapless Czech soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army -- dismissed for incompetence only to be pressed into service by the Russians in World War I (where he is captured by his own troops). A mischief-maker, bohemian and drunk, Hasek demonstrated his wit in this classic novel of the Czech character and preposterous nature of war.

Discover "perhaps the funniest novel ever written" (The Guardian ), now beautifully reissued

"The classic comic novel of the First World War." --The New Yorker - "A literary masterpiece." --New York Review of Books - "One of the greatest works of 20th century literature." --Boston Globe