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Recommendations based on The Thin Red Lineby James Jones
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From Here to Eternity
by James Jones
Tragic tale of fate and destiny, set in the backdrop of World War II.
In February 1941, Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, nicknamed "Prew", reports to his new posting at G Company, a US Army infantry unit stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Prew is a career soldier ... (Wikipedia)
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
A soldier's harrowing experience of the horrors of war.
The book tells the story of Paul Bäumer, who belongs to a group of German soldiers on the Western Front during World War I . The patriotic speeches of his teacher Kantorek had led the whole class to ... (Wikipedia)
King Rat
by James Clavell
A tough prisoner of war's fight for survival in a Japanese POW camp.
The novel opens in early 1945. Peter Marlowe, a young British RAF Flight Lieutenant , has been a P.O.W. since 1942. Marlowe comes to the attention of the "King" - an American corporal who has become ... (Wikipedia)
The Naked and the Dead
by Norman Mailer
Based on WWII, a journey of a platoon of soldiers in the Pacific theater as they confront death and the harsh realities of war.
The novel is divided into four parts: Wave; Argil and Mold; Plant and Phantom; and Wake. Within these parts are chorus sections, consisting of play-like dialogue between characters, as well as Time ... (Wikipedia)
East of Eden
by John Steinbeck
Exploration of the timeless struggle between good and evil, set against a backdrop of a family saga.
In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas ... (Goodreads)
The Day of the Jackal
by Frederick Forsyth
An assassin attempts to kill the president of France in a thrilling race against time.
The book begins in 1962 with the (historical) failed attempt on de Gaulle 's life plotted by, among others, Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry in the Paris suburb of Petit-Clamart : ... (Wikipedia)
Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West
by Cormac McCarthy
A violent and bloody western epic, exploring the depths of human depravity.
An epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, Blood Meridian brilliantly subverts the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the "wild west." ... (Barnes & Noble)
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
A journey into the depths of the human psyche, exploring the darkness of colonialism.
Aboard the Nellie , anchored in the River Thames near Gravesend , Charles Marlow tells his fellow sailors how he became captain of a river steamboat for an ivory trading company. As a child, Marlow ... (Wikipedia)
The Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway
A group of expatriates in 1920s Europe, struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of WWI.
On the surface, the novel is a love story between the protagonist Jake Barnes—a man whose war wound has made him unable to have sex—and the promiscuous divorcée usually identified as Lady Brett ... (Wikipedia)
The Big Sleep
by Raymond Chandler
Private eye investigates a complex case involving a wealthy family and blackmail.
Private investigator Philip Marlowe is called to the home of the wealthy and elderly General Sternwood, in the month of October. He wants Marlowe to deal with an attempt by a bookseller named Arthur ... (Wikipedia)
The Odessa File
by Frederick Forsyth
The uncovering of a sinister Nazi plot, while searching for the truth of a young boy's death.
In November 1963, shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy , Peter Miller, a German freelance crime reporter, follows an ambulance to the apartment of Salomon Tauber, a Holocaust survivor ... (Wikipedia)
Red Dragon
by Thomas Harris
A serial killer stalks the night, and a former FBI agent is the only one who can stop him.
In 1975, Will Graham , a brilliant profiler of the FBI , captured the serial killer Hannibal Lecter . However, Graham suffered serious injuries from the encounter and retired afterwards. Four years ... (Wikipedia)
Red Harvest
by Dashiell Hammett
A private detective infiltrates a corrupt town to clean up the crime and corruption.
The Continental Op is called to Personville (known as "Poisonville" to the locals) by the newspaper publisher Donald Willsson, who is murdered before the Op has a chance to meet with him. The Op ... (Wikipedia)
A Farewell to Arms
by Ernest Hemingway
A story of unrequited love in the midst of war.
The novel is divided into five sections or 'books'. Frederic Henry is first person narrator of the story. Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American paramedic , is serving in the Italian Army . The novel ... (Wikipedia)
Memoirs of Hadrian
by Marguerite Yourcenar
Reflections of the Roman Emperor Hadrian on his life, death and the nature of existence.
Both an exploration of character and a reflection on the meaning of history, Memoirs of Hadrian has received international acclaim since its first publication in France in 1951. In it, Marguerite ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Long Goodbye
by Raymond Chandler
A hard-boiled detective's journey to unravel the truth behind a mysterious disappearance.
The novel opens outside a club called the Dancers. It is late October or early November. No year is given for the events but internal evidence and the publication date of the novel place them between ... (Wikipedia)
The Last Kingdom
by Bernard Cornwell
Epic tale of a Saxon warrior's quest to reclaim his birthright and unite the divided kingdom.
A collection of the first four installments of Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, “like Game of Thrones, but real” (,The Observer, London)—the ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Fist of God
by Frederick Forsyth
A gripping thriller set during the Gulf War, following a group of soldiers and spies as they race to uncover a secret weapon before it's too late.
Dr. Gerald Bull designs a supergun codenamed Project Babylon for Iraq . He believes that it is for launching satellites into space and assumes it could serve no military purpose for a few reasons: ... (Wikipedia)
Cold Mountain
by Charles Frazier
A Confederate soldier's homecoming journey, filled with danger and adventure.
The novel opens in a Confederate military hospital near Raleigh, North Carolina , where Inman is recovering from battle wounds during the American Civil War . The soldier is tired of fighting for a ... (Wikipedia)
The Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara
A gripping story of the Battle of Gettysburg, told through the eyes of the soldiers on both sides.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , one of the major characters, remembers reciting to his father a speech from, Hamlet, : "What a piece of work is man...in action how like an angel!" Sgt. Buster Kilrain ... (Wikipedia)
The Shipping News
by Annie Proulx
A man's attempt to rebuild his life in a small Newfoundland town, discovering compassion and joy.
The story centers around Quoyle, a newspaper reporter from upstate New York , whose father had emigrated from Newfoundland . Shortly after his parents' joint suicide, Quoyle's unfaithful and abusive ... (Wikipedia)
Mila 18
by Leon Uris
A historical novel set in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II, following the lives of Jewish resistance fighters.
It was a time of crisis, a time of tragedy and a time of transcendent courage and determination. Leon Uris's novel is set in the midst of the ghetto uprising that defied Nazi tyranny, as the Jews of ... (Goodreads)
Sharpe's Rifles
by Bernard Cornwell
A tale of heroism and courage in the Napoleonic Wars, as one man rises to become a legendary soldier.
Sharpe's battalion, acting as rearguard to the British Army in its retreat to Corunna , are cut down by a squadron of French regular cavalry. Sharpe takes up Captain Murray's heavy cavalry sword ... (Wikipedia)
A Prisoner of Birth
by Jeffrey Archer
A man is wrongly convicted of murder and seeks revenge against those who framed him.
After proposing to his childhood sweetheart Beth Wilson, Danny Cartwright takes her and her brother Bernie to celebrate at a nearby pub. In the pub, they are accosted by four people. Danny, Beth and ... (Wikipedia)
The Dunwich Horror and Others
by H.P. Lovecraft
Collection of horror stories exploring fear, dread and the unknown.
Contents: ix · H.P. Lovecraft and His Work · August Derleth · in 10 · In the Vault · ss The Tryout Nov ’25; Weird Tales Apr ’32 19 · Pickman’s Model · ss Weird Tales Oct ’27 33 · The Rats in the ... (Goodreads)
Cannery Row
by John Steinbeck
An exploration of the lives of the inhabitants of a small town in California.
Cannery Row has a simple premise: Mack and his friends are trying to do something nice for their friend Doc, who has been good to them without asking for reward. Mack hits on the idea that they ... (Wikipedia)
Coming Up for Air
by George Orwell
A middle-aged man revisits his hometown, reflecting on his past and the changes that have occurred.
The themes of the book are nostalgia, the folly of trying to go back and recapture past glories and the easy way the dreams and aspirations of one's youth can be smothered by the humdrum routine of ... (Wikipedia)
Eaters of the Dead
by Michael Crichton
An unlikely hero embarks on a journey to explore the mysterious forces of evil.
The novel is set in the 10th century. The Caliph of Baghdad , Al-Muqtadir , sends his ambassador, Ahmad ibn Fadlan , on a mission to assist the king of the Volga Bulgars . Ahmad ibn Fadlan never ... (Wikipedia)
The Caine Mutiny
by Herman Wouk
A naval officer is court-martialed after leading a mutiny against his captain.
The story is told through the eyes of Willis Seward "Willie" Keith, an affluent but callow young graduate of Princeton University . Following a mediocre living as a nightclub piano player, he signs ... (Wikipedia)
The Surgeon's Mate
by Patrick O'Brian
A tale of adventure and romance set during the Napoleonic Wars.
Sailing into Halifax, the victorious HMS Shannon contends with her losses in officers and crew, with particular concern for Captain Broke, who lies unconscious from head wounds. The American Captain ... (Wikipedia)
