The Thin Red Line

'Moves so intensely and inexorably that it almost seems like the war it is describing' The New York Times Book Review 'Is it really worth it to die, to be dead, just to prove to everybody that you're not a coward?' On Guadalcanal in the south Pacific, the soldiers of C Company are about to enter the war. The men know they face their baptism of fire. But none know if they will be one of 'the lucky ones' to make it safely off the island. From Captain Stein, who feels like a father to his troops, and 'Mad' Sergeant Welsh, condemning all nations while swigging gin from his canteen, to Private Bell, who just wants to get home to his wife, they will discover the line that divides sanity from madness, and life from death. A scathing critique of heroism, The Thin Red Line is among the greatest masterpieces of war writing. 'The men are real, the words are real, death is real, imminent and immediate' Los Angeles Times

'Moves so intensely and inexorably that it almost seems like the war it is describing' The New York Times Book Review 'Is it really worth it to die, to be dead, just to prove to everybody that you're not a coward?' On Guadalcanal in the south Pacific, the soldiers of C Company are about to enter the war. The men know they face their baptism of fire. But none know if they will be one of 'the lucky ones' to make it safely off the island. From Captain Stein, who feels like a father to his troops, and 'Mad' Sergeant Welsh, condemning all nations while swigging gin from his canteen, to Private Bell, who just wants to get home to his wife, they will discover the line that divides sanity from madness, and life from death. A scathing critique of heroism, The Thin Red Line is among the greatest masterpieces of war writing. 'The men are real, the words are real, death is real, imminent and immediate' Los Angeles Times

They are the men of C-for-Charlie company--"Mad" 1st Sgt. Eddie Welsh, Pvt. 1st Class Don Doll, Pvt. John Bell, Capt. James Stein, Cpl. Fife, and dozens more just like them--infantrymen who are about to land, grim and white-faced, on an atoll in the Pacific called Guadalcanal. This is their story, a shatteringly realistic walk into hell and back. In the days ahead, some will earn medals, others will do anything they can dream up to get evacuated before they land in a muddy grave. But they will all discover the thin red line that divides the sane from the mad--and the living from the dead--in this unforgettable portrait that captures for all time the total experience of men at war. Foreword by Francine Prose "Brutal, direct, and powerful . . . The men are real, the words are real, death is real, imminent and immediate."-- Los Angeles Times "A rare and splendid accomplishment . . . strong and ambitious, spacious, and as honest as any novel ever written."-- Newsweek " A] major novel of combat in World War II . . . reminiscent of Stephen Crane in The Red Badge of Courage ."-- The Christian Science Monitor " The Thin Red Line moves so intensely and inexorably that it almost seems like the war it is describing."-- The New York Times Book Review

They are the men of C-for-Charlie company--"Mad" 1st Sgt. Eddie Welsh, Pvt. 1st Class Don Doll, Pvt. John Bell, Capt. James Stein, Cpl. Fife, and dozens more just like them--infantrymen who are about to land, grim and white-faced, on an atoll in the Pacific called Guadalcanal. This is their story, a shatteringly realistic walk into hell and back. In the days ahead, some will earn medals, others will do anything they can dream up to get evacuated before they land in a muddy grave. But they will all discover the thin red line that divides the sane from the mad--and the living from the dead--in this unforgettable portrait that captures for all time the total experience of men at war. Foreword by Francine Prose "Brutal, direct, and powerful . . . The men are real, the words are real, death is real, imminent and immediate."-- Los Angeles Times "A rare and splendid accomplishment . . . strong and ambitious, spacious, and as honest as any novel ever written."-- Newsweek " A] major novel of combat in World War II . . . reminiscent of Stephen Crane in The Red Badge of Courage ."-- The Christian Science Monitor " The Thin Red Line moves so intensely and inexorably that it almost seems like the war it is describing."-- The New York Times Book Review