The Thin Red Line - James Jones

Such is the ultimate significance of war in The Thin Red Line (1962), James Jones's fictional account of the battle between American and Japanese troops on the island of Guadalcanal. The narrative shifts effortlessly among multiple viewpoints within C-for-Charlie Company, from commanding officer Capt. James Stein, his psychotic first sergeant Eddie Welsh, and the young privates they send into battle. The descriptions of combat conditions--and the mental states it induces--are unflinchingly realistic, including the dialog (in which a certain word Norman Mailer rendered as "fug" 15 years earlier in The Naked and the Dead appears properly spelled on numerous occasions). This is more than a classic of combat fiction; it is one of the most significant explorations of male identity in American literature, establishing Jones as a novelist of the caliber of Herman Melville and Stephen Crane.

Amazon.com Audiobook Review
An old Midwestern saying goes, "There's only a thin red line between the sane and the mad." War seems to stretch that line almost to the breaking point. James Jones's classic World War II novel recounts with brutal honesty the stories of the men of C-for-Charlie Company as they struggle to hold on to their honor, their sanity, and their lives on Guadalcanal. Actor Joe Mantegna turns in an able performance, his voice expressing a roller coaster of emotions (though his Welsh accent may require some patience). Whether or not you agree with Jones that war is the "most heroic of all human endeavors," this recording will move you. (Running time: 6 hours, 4 cassettes) --C.B. Delaney

Book Description
The World War II classic by the bestselling author of From Here to Eternity and Whistle, now a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox.

They are the men of C-for-Charlie Company--"Mad" 1st/Sgt. Eddie Welsh, S/Sgt. Don Doll, Pvt. John Bell, Capt. James Stein, Cpl. Fife, and dozens more just like them--infantrymen in "this man's army" 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.  

Download Description
Delta is proud to re-release "The Thin Red Line", soon to be a major motion picture. A classic war novel from the author of From Here to Eternity, it is the story of the men of C-for-Charlie company before, during, and after the Allied effort at Guadalcanal. Capturing for all time the total experience of men at war, it is a shatteringly realistic walk into hell and back.

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James Jones