This is an English translation of Hašek's unfinished comic novel set during the First World War. Švejk, a genial dog dealer from Prague, is swept into the Austro-Hungarian army, where his unfailing eagerness to obey and his rambling stories bring confusion to officers, priests and officials alike. The book is a broad, humane satire on war, authority and bureaucracy, and one of the most widely read Czech novels in the world.