by James Jones
First published 1969
Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt arrives at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii in 1941. A skilled boxer and talented bugler, Prewitt makes a decision that will torment him. He refuses to join the company boxing team. His commanding officers respond with systematic harassment designed to break his will or destroy him entirely. Meanwhile, First Sergeant Milton Anthony Warden excels at military life but jeopardizes everything by conducting an affair with his commanding officer's wife. Both men share an unbreakable connection to Army life that defines their existence. Prewitt endures escalating punishment while Warden navigates the dangerous territory of his forbidden relationship. The Hawaiian base becomes a pressure cooker of violence, loyalty, and passion as these soldiers confront the codes that govern their world. Jones captures the brutal reality of military life where honor and savagery intertwine, showing how men bound to the Army must face the possibility that their devotion may ultimately kill them.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-romance
Setting: Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Period: 1941
Mass Market Paperback · Signet
Content warnings: violence