From Here to Eternity [Paperback]

It describes with crude language the life in the Army in times of peace. In this case is the USA's Army just before Pearl Harbor, but the examples shown are universal and may apply to any Army in any country. At this level the class structure of Officers, Noncoms and Privates is shown with penetrating sight. The power relations, the subtle struggle amongst them, loyalties, abuses, solidarity, weakness. All these traits are depicted vividly thru the different characters that come across this epic novel.

At another level is the story of a young man. A Soldier. He is the epitome of soldiership. He knows what is due to the Service and what is due to himself. He sticks to these principles without regard of the cost. Robert Lee Prewitt is a natural fighter; he has enjoyed boxing until an accident on the ring changed him. He will box no more. Destiny puts him in a Company, where the commanding officer is trying to form a crack team in order to win the championship and enhance his career.
Prewitt is subject to increasing pressure to join the team. He won't bend. He will pay the price. He will remain Free in his hearth until the end.

But this is not all. Romance has its place too. Although unconventionally. Prewitt is in love with a prostitute. Sgt. Warden with his boss' wife. Still love is pure and real and touching.
Jones' opus requires the reader to get involved with the story. To cry and laugh with it. To get in touch with the deepest human emotions.
A major experience to be sure!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Put simply, the novel tells the story of a company of soldiers at Scofield Barracks, Hawaii shortly before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Army is sleepy, not primed for war. The officers advance by politicking and one of the ways to politick in the peacetime Army was to have one's company do well in the divisional sports competition. The protagonist is a talented boxer who does not want to box. This turns into a test of wills between him and his company commander, who wants another boxing star in his company. There is much more to the story; this is a long and complex novel. The basic theme is that the Army in those days was a small, sleepy institution that would have to be (and was) transformed radically in order to take on the Axis. The novel is an interesting look at the Army as it was in those days.

Jones' writing is excellent and his characterizations are strong. The reader will come to care deeply about the various protagonists. This is a great story. My only criticism is that the book does not feature an uplifting or happy ending, and really, this is something of a dark and unhappy story.