Patriotism, seeking adventure or revenge, pressure to join the army, escaping boredom or dead end job, having been raised in time when war was glorified, innocent view of soldier life these are just some reasons why teenage boys lied about their age to join the war. That boys aged fourteen and seventeen were accepted its shame. My favourite chapter 14 Aftermath speaks about problems what these who joined underage and survived had to struggle with when the war was over. Some pictures in the book are worth a thousand words.