The Thin Red Line
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4.1 • 71 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
With “shattering prose,” the New York Times–bestselling author of From Here to Eternity captures the intense combat in the battle of Guadalcanal (San Francisco Chronicle).
In August of 1942 the first American marines charged Guadalcanal, igniting a six-month battle for two thousand square miles of jungle and sand. In that gruesome stretch sixty thousand Americans made the jump from boat to beach, and one in nine did not return. James Jones fought in that battle, and The Thin Red Line is his haunting portrait of men and war. The soldiers of C-for-Charlie Company are not cast from the heroic mold. The unit’s captain is too intelligent and sensitive for the job, his first sergeant is half mad, and the enlisted men begin the campaign gripped by cowardice. Jones’s moving portrayal of the Pacific combat experience stands among the great literature of World War II. This ebook features an illustrated biography of James Jones including rare photos from the author’s estate.
Customer Reviews
The Thin Red Line
The Thin Red Line is the best novel to come out of World War II. Passages from this novel came back to me when I first went into the Army. There is a quote from someone that states roughly that “art is a lie that helps us to perceive the truth”. Well, the Thin Red Line is art.
By the way, the publisher’s note not withstanding, the actual unit depicted in the Thin Red Line was the 25th Infantry Division, US Army. As much as I admire the Marines, particularly my Father’s friend Charlie Arndt who was awarded a Silver Star as a Marine Raider on Guadalcanal, not everyone who fought on Guadalcanal, or the Pacific for that matter, was a Marine.