First published 1949
Lieutenant Robert Hearn watches his men prepare for another assault on the Japanese-held island. The reconnaissance platoon faces brutal combat in the dense jungle, where survival depends as much on navigating the tensions between officers and enlisted men as it does on outmaneuvering the enemy. Sergeant Croft drives his squad forward with ruthless determination, while the soldiers under his command struggle with fear, exhaustion, and the growing weight of what they have witnessed. As the campaign drags on, each man confronts not only the immediate threat of death but also the deeper questions of what they are willing to do to stay alive and what kind of men the war is making them become. The novel captures the raw experience of combat and the complex bonds that form between soldiers when everything familiar has been stripped away.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, military-fiction, action
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-allies, found-family
Setting: Japan
Period: World War II
540 pages · Hardcover · Andre Deutsch
Content warnings: graphic-violence, war