by David Mamet
First published 2020
A 19th-century Secret Service naval officer sits in prison, writing his memoirs. His career has taken him from active duty to captivity to novelist, each transformation reshaping how he sees his service and sacrifice. In another time and place, a soldier confronts questions of faith while fighting in the American Indian wars, using religion as a lens to understand the violence around him. Decades later, two former military men hatch a plan to steal an aircraft just one month before the Israeli War of Independence begins. Each man carries the weight of past battles as they prepare for this dangerous mission. Mamet presents these three stories as windows into how conflict changes people. The naval officer seeks understanding through writing. The Indian wars veteran grapples with belief. The ex-soldiers risk everything for a cause larger than themselves. War becomes the crucible where each character confronts fundamental questions about duty, meaning, and what they owe to others and themselves.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, unreliable-narrator
Setting: America, Israel
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
304 pages · Hardcover · Bombardier Books
Content warnings: violence, war