- Hardcover: 495 pages
- Publisher: Macmillan Pub Co (June 1962)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0684155559
- ISBN-13: 978-0684155555
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14.7 x 4.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 771 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #46,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
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
--This text refers to the
Audio Cassette
edition.
From Library Journal
Jones's 1962 novel follows the men of Charlie Company as they fight on Guadalcanal. Though LJ's reviewer was less than knocked out by it, a forthcoming feature film starring John Travolta, George Clooney, Nick Nolte, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Oldman, and many others should generate heavy interest.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
The two transports had sneaked up from the south in the first graying flush of dawn, their cumbersome mass cutting smoothly through the water whose still greater mass bore them silently, themselves as gray as the dawn which camouflaged them. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
The two transports had sneaked up from the south in the first graying flush of dawn, their cumbersome mass cutting smoothly through the water whose still greater mass bore them silently, themselves as gray as the dawn which camouflaged them. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE Best Infantry Novel of WWII ever Written...,
By
This review is from: The Thin Red Line: A Novel (Paperback)
This is the best combat novel of World War II infantry ever written. The second of an autobiographical trilogy planned by Jones (with "From Here to Eternity" being the first, and "Whistle" planned to finish the storyline) it covers the shortest span of time, and it is also the shortest. But it is probably the most intense and I think, the most gripping. Avoid Terrence Malick's cinematic version which I think missed Jones' vision by a mile.In this novel, we see "C for Charlie" company's struggle for some fictional territory on Guadalcanal in late 1942. It carries some of the most intense sequences of infantry combat ever committed to paper (one of the most harrowing is the company clerk, Bead and his run-in with a roving Japanese soldier while attempting to relieve himself is particularly effecting to make it all the more remarkable, it's based on Jones' own personal experience). I can't recommend this masterpiece highly enough. Jones has captured for all time, the sights and smells of infantry combat better than anyone before or since. Read it. You won't be disappointed.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A war novel for intellectuals,
By
This review is from: The Thin Red Line: A Novel (Paperback)
"The Thin Red Line" is not your average war novel. I've read books like "Battle Cry" and "The 13th Valley", and while they explored the feelings and experiences of soldiers in combat, neither of those books - or any similar novels I've read - discussed war in terms used in your average college course."The Thin Red Line" discusses war in the terms of an intellectual exercise, although there's also plenty of action throughout the novel. This does not make it a bad novel, but it does make it into a different type of war story than you may be used to reading. You need to understand that going into this book, or you may not want to keep reading it.
3.0 out of 5 stars
great with popcorn,
By
This review is from: The Thin Red Line: A Novel (Paperback)
The Thin Red Line is not a bad book, in many ways it's a great book. It's just that there is a thin line between great and OK. And Jones almost gets there but never quite hits the mark like the movie does. While the book strugles with divining what the thin red line is, the movie makes it crystal clear.The movie which adds haunting poetic mystery to the world yet able divine a story of good and evil, love and hate, beauty and ugly, fear and bravery, etc. and that thin line between them. Add to that great acting and beautiful fliming. Someone made a better movie then the book.Is that's the ultimate praise of a movie? Maybe not, but someone did it.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
