From Here to Eternity (The World War II Trilogy Book 1)

Many veterans who have read Mr. Jones's novel assert it was an accurate portrayal of the times in the Army. I'll take their word for it. The closest I ever came to serving in the military was joining the Cub Scouts and playing with my G.I. Joe action figure (a.k.a. doll) when I was a kid. The novel revolves two major characters, Robert E. Lee Prewitt and Milton Anthony Warden. There are other notable individuals such as Angelo Maggio, Dana Holmes, and the cook Maylon Stark. The two major women characters Karen Holmes and Alma "Lorene" Schmidt are well developed but take a back seat to Prewitt's and Warden's stories. 'From Here to Eternity' exudes masculinity in all its glory, violence, sexuality, and imbecility. It is a story about men obsessed with manliness and status. Petty politics reins supreme. The government-sanction frat club continually fight boredom and sexual frustration during peace time. I had to keep reminding myself that most of them were young immature men.The novel was published in 1951. It was understandable that the publishers originally edited out some of the more unseemly material because of the American market's more puritanical sensibilities. Fortunately, 'From Here to Eternity' has been restored to the author's original intent. The racy material would not even meet up to the standard of erotica in today's society. Maybe it got the blood rushing and heart pounding while reading it in the 1950s but today it's meh. What I did find shocking, considering when it was published, is the laissez-faire attitude towards homosexuality. It sometimes is depicted as predatory and other times as consensual. Also, be warned, racist jargon is peppered throughout the work. African-Americans, Jews, and Italians are especially targeted. Also, alcohol was apparently one of the major food groups.It is a brutal book but not gloomy. 'From Here to Eternity' is loaded with irony and thoughtful discussions about a variety of human conditions. It occurs during a time when women had limited options and Jim Crow was still very much alive. Information was easily manipulated for patriotic reasons and military culture was insular. Mr. Jones's impressive novel is to be savored. It is not some swaggering John Wayne-like comic book but a grown-up's work. For nearly three decades, I avoided reading 'From Here to Eternity' because of the movie poster famously showing Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr sucking face on the beach. I've never seen the film and assumed the book was some kind of military Harlequin Romance drivel. Boy, was I ever wrong.

My favorite books are historical fiction so FROM HERE TO ETERNITY has long been on my to-read list. I never saw the movie so I didn’t have any expectations other than it was about the US Army in Hawaii prior to December 7, 1941.I started reading FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, but i quit after less than 1/2 through the novel. The novel is basically a soap opera. There’s racism, sexism, homosexuality, masturbation, infidelity, prostitution, etc. . . . all things that one would expect in the US Army or civilian world in early 1941. The US Army in early 1941 is much different than today’s US Army, but there are still some similarities especially in backgrounds and personalities of enlisted men, NCOs, and officers.My biggest complaint about the Kindle edition of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY is the grammatical and punctuation errors. There were so many that I found it distracting. Some of the spelling errors are understandable as the author JAMES JONES wrote words and phrases as the characters would pronounce them, i.e., colloquial language / words. Other times, there were just basic typo errors, e.g. “once” spelled as “onct.” The most glaring and numerous were the incorrect spelling of contractions, e.g. “didn’t” spelled as “didnt”; “can’t” spelled as “cant”; “wasn’t spelled as “wasnt”. There were also question marks (?) inserted in the middle of sentences when a comma should have been used.These type of grammatical and punctuation errors are more common when older books are converted to e-books. The Kindle edition of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY isn’t as bad as other older books, but I still found it distracting. One would hope or expect that publishers would spell check their e-books before making them available for sale.

I picked up this book knowing very little about James Jones. I'm not sure he'll be one of our enduring writers, and mostly he's known to the current generation, as he was to me, by his film adaptations. I recalled seeing "The Thin Red Line" when it came out. Actually I recalled little more than that, merely that it was a pensive, artsy Malick movie. As for "From Here to Eternity," I recalled the black and white image of the couple rolling in the surf. So I guess I assumed the novel was primarily some sort of love story. It is something much more than that, something unique and important for being a historical document of the peacetime army prior to World War II as much as it is a work of literature. Jones was an expert at creating enduring characters: Prewitt, a private from the Kentucky coal mines; Warden, a staff sergeant; Maggio, a private from New York City; and the women they love, Karen Holmes, the wife of Captain Milt Holmes; and Lorene, a prostitute working in Honolulu. Prewitt ("Prew") is the book's central character. He seems to be the best at whatever he tries, whether it's bugling, boxing, flirting, or soldiering. Despite all these talents, he also has a penchant for self-destruction. He quits the bugle corps and refuses to fight on the boxing squad, which would've made things much easier for him. Eventually he lands in the stockade, where he witnesses the slow disintegration of his friend Maggio (who has also become a prisoner). Jones uses Prew's downward arc, and his eventual love affair with Lorene, as the book's trajectory. Of course, we all know what's about to happen at Pearl Harbor, so the attack looms over everything else in "From Here to Eternity." The manner in which half-drunk, surprised soldiers responded to the attack is certainly worth a read. Apparently Jones' editors cut over a hundred pages from the manuscript due to offensive language, and these pages have since been restored, as they should be. To our contemporary sensibilities, these sections are relatively tame but cumulatively have the effect of showing what these soldiers were truly like. We hear all this stuff about "The Greatest Generation," and the men who fought in WWII are deified. Rightly they should be praised for their bravery and sacrifice, but it was refreshing to find, on reading "From Here to Eternity," that they were humans just like those of any other era. If you put a bunch of men together in a barracks, they are going to fixate on women, alcohol, gambling, etc. So I thought the R-rated material in Jones' book was essential. There was a lot of casual racism, which was hard to stomach, but once again I believe this was authentic to the period. The soldiers were even racist toward the Germans and Jews in their own ranks, and to his credit Jones does try to show the pernicious effects of this. You just have to wade through the racist sections, or through Jones' many attempts at pidgin English, which are of course offensive. My ultimate gripe with "From Here to Eternity" was that the narrative was too loose, the major plot points too few, to support a book of nearly 900 pages. I think the book could have been cut to 400 or 500 pages and been stronger for it. I suppose Jones wanted to turn in a doorstop that would be considered important in the manner of Mailer's "Naked and the Dead," but I think he could've cut a lot of internal monologue and mundane detail. Jones didn't quite know when to end chapters, for example. He also had some stylistic quirks, such as using abbreviations and contractions without punctuation. And so many adverbs! Sometimes the author would use multiple adverbs, and sometimes the same adverb, in a single sentence. That's what his editor should've been cutting. None of the characters emerge from the book unscathed, and they linger with the reader. This book, with its drinking sessions, serial adultery, and weekly trips to the whorehouse, will dispel any wholesome notions of the era of our grandparents. But it is a worthwhile novel for its fascinating, gritty take on the lead-up to combat.

Having read The Thin Red Line I was keen to see how this book turned out and was not disappointed. It is an excellent piece of writing and is a candid, no holds barred, portrayal of the US peacetime army in Hawaii up to Pearl Harbor. Whilst the book takes us beyond the Japanese attack, the book is really about life prior to this and gives the human story of life for the soldiers and all the different people they mix with. Told essentially through 3 main characters this original uncensored account, based on James Jones own experience in the army based in Hawaii, holds together exceptionally well throughout its 840 pages, and I personally never tired of each page. I can see why it probably was censored when first published but in todays more permissive climate these seem trivially 'offensive' and by their removal would have taken essential aspects of the experience away to its great detriment. Well written it gives a fascinating insight into the reality of peacetime soldiering. The physical book itself ... cover design, size of print and quality of paper all enhance the reader's experience of such a fine story... I am sad to have finished reading it but glad it was so good!

This book arrived in very good time and in excellent condition and I am Extremely pleased with it. I have yet to finish reading it, since it is a very long book, and it will make wonderful winter reading but I am very sure that I will enjoy it to the end! Many thanks indeed for all your help.

One of my all time favourite books and its sucha pleasure to be able to read it on Kindle.Just shows the moods of all the different charactersthe frustrations of being stuck in a rut because of notconforming. I love Karen and Wardens relationship it'sparticularly bitter sweet and he will not admit he loves her.Actually I love every single bit of this book just wishthere were more like it available on kindle

I read this in my teens and i thought i would revisit now in my seventies. Probably one of my few good decisions as i found it more relevant to me now than then. The story of men waiting for war and then getting it when they are attacked at their Pearl Harbour base. Not a war book by any means and it is relationships between men and between men and several women that the story revolves around. The characters are well drawn and you care about what happens to them. This edition includes scenes and language not in the early version but i cant say they added much if anything to the book.This is possibly the great novel the Americans wanted but think they havent had yet - quite.

Having seen the film many times I felt it was time to read the book. A terrific book. Jones captures the life of a service man perfectly.

I'm trying to read more 'cultured books' and heard of this. It is thick, close to about 1,000 pages! Does the title describe how long it takes to read?Every day, including every minute and every thought, in the life of a company of American soldiers just prior to America entering the war. Was a good read when finished!Service from company fine and secondhand book good quality and condition.

Great read

It took a while to reach its destination, given that it was coming from the US, but it arrived exactly as described. My top rating reflects this edition, primarily. Its an edition beautifully designed, like many old books were, with attention to detail - and preserved in good shape.

The book tells the story of a bunch of soldiers on Hawaii during 1941. I wouldn't say it was a page-turner and a lot of military slang goes over your head if you're not in the know.Good story though and worth a go.

Enlightening.

Good read, detailed, character development far out reaches the Movie of the same name. Enjoyable Read and highly recommended, the war and places are captured superbly.

First read this 50 years ago and just as enjoyable today.

Fabulous detailed description. It feels like I have actually met the characters. I would highly reccomend an insight of army life.

I never did watch the movie that is supposed to be a classic. So thinking about that old saying that the book is always better than the movie I would give it a go. Not in my case anyway. I guess if I was a guy and really enjoyed army life I would like it, I do like reading war stories but unfortunately it after reading into chapter 8 I was still in the first day of guy ‘Prew’s transfer into a different unit. The only humourus spot was when he describes the way another captain speaks. Although he did reminisce about his earlier life before he joined the army. This story is told in the first person as opposed to reading a story about happened when...Prew’s a bugler and transfers to a different army unit because of differences in opinion. I thought that after 8 chapters he would be several days into his new post. I gave up on it after that. That’s why I only gave it a two star and I feel I am being generous with that.

From Here to Eternity, James JonesWhen this novel was published in 1951, shortly after the Second World War, it sold like hotcakes and became a huge movie, and with good reason. If you've seen the movie you've only seen a fraction of the book, which is a whopping 800 pages long. It offers the reader a deep, intensive and compelling dive into the life of hot-housed males. The setting is Schofield Barracks, an army base in Hawaii, during 1941, the year running up to Pearl Harbor, and the novel concludes some weeks after the huge Japanese surprise attack.Good books need a gripping plot or are well written. There are many of these.There are much fewer very good books. There are perhaps two kinds of very good books. From Here to Eternity is the second kind. The first consists of polished texts by an intelligent author who is a stylist and truly knows the techniques of writing: plot, characterisation, momentum and flow, telling details, artful description and an ear for language and dialogue, all embedded into fine writing.The second group of very good books emerge from authors with big ideas, profound and passionate vision, illuminating intelligence, a shocking insight or humane revelation that shifts your orientation and who has enough of the writer's craft to make this literature not polemic.Maybe then the truly great, the truly classic works of literature, combine both of these, like for example Rabbit, Run, The Grapes of Wrath, Crime and Punishment or David Copperfield. We might say that War and Peace has both but a little more of the second. He offers big ideas more than brilliant style (at least in translation). Jane Austen is an undoubted stylist, so of the first kind, but her penetrating irony that both celebrates and lacerates an entire culture puts her best novels into this class of the greatest.I am not sure whether From Here to Eternity deserves to be classed amongst the truly great. Perhaps. The whole concept and plot is brilliantly crafted. There are powerful characters, feminist women; stubborn, proud and intense men of character, dignity and individuality. There are many passages of huge power and it's enormously endowed with the strength of illuminating intelligence. Instead, I think that Jones has produced a book like War and Peace, which was indeed his intention. He wanted to do something for the Second World War equivalent to what Tolstoy had done for the Napoleonic wars. This is the first of a trilogy of huge novels and this one set almost entirely in the peacetime preamble to the compulsion of war creates a compulsive immersion into a world of tough men that curiously reveals their sensitivity, vulnerability and poetry. The rougher and tougher the environment the more it points to the need of the soul for love, fairness, dignity and self-respect.The original novel as published was bowdlerized. It contained too many passages of supposed profanity or sexually offensive language. Jones carried out along tough negotiation to maintain as much as possible of what he considered to be the authentic language of the world he was describing. Thousands of soldiers cooped up in an army camp don't always talk nice. They're more likely to find sex in a brothel than a marriage bedroom or loving relationship, and the marriage that is a featured strand of this novel has been soured. Nevertheless, two loving relationships are the DNA strands of this novel.The new edition restores the language and passages that Jones sought to put into the novel. (It is perhaps however a pity that a different kind of edit did not take place to the original novel. Many great novels have benefited from a good editor who can help the author strengthen the language and in particular tighten the text. I suspect it might have been possible to strip 50 to 100 pages from the book and make it stronger and that's the only reason I doubt its installation in the highest standards of literature. It certainly been named one of the hundred greatest works of literature of the 20th century.The structure of the novel is entwined around two main characters: the enormously resourceful and capable First Sergeant Milt Warden, and the former bugler and self-described `thirty-year man', Robert E. Lee Prewitt, from poor mining town Kentucky. Prewitt had been a sergeant who had discovered music and his soul in playing the bugle - there is an extended and moving passage in which he covertly plays the bugle after he has been busted down to private, a performance that captures the heart and soul of soldiers across the camp and reveals to the reader the inner nature and language of music. Prewitt has been busted when another man is promoted above him by favour and not merit. His sense of (stubborn, stupid, admirable) honour makes it impossible for him to continue in the corps. He is transferred to an ordinary fighting company which is looking to win the boxing Championships and Prewitt is also a champion boxer. In this case however he has given up boxing after blinding a man and in duty to the dying request of his mother to never hurt another person unnecessarily. The captain of the company, Holmes, decides to break his resolve (to not fight) by administering The Treatment, a punishing a tough regime designed to break the will, only Prewitt's will is (stubbornly, stupidly, admirably) unbreakable. Meantime, Holmes is being cuckolded by Milt Warden, who starts an affair with his wife Karen, who is in turn looking for a real relationship and self-respect. Prewitt in turn finds love with a hooker who sees her present activities as a career move in self-improvement.Here then are the circumstances that set up an account of adventures in brothels, drunken socialising, months in a brutal army prison, and the Japanese attack: all the stuff of a male novel and it is indeed (for the most part) an intensive immersion in the male soul. But there are very good reasons (and not just for eye-watering education) why it is not just for men but rather for anyone with an interest in human life.It's a novel about self-respect and self-development. The women are richly feminist ahead of their time. It's profoundly compassionate; humane and philosophical about social justice, the human soul and spirit. I learned about important social movements in the early decades of the century, of the dispiriting but character-maturing experiences of the poor `on the bum' during the depression, of courage and the need for tenderness and love and care, of friendship and the rough kindness of high expectations, of dignity and the need for meaning in life. Jones believed in reincarnation and saw each life as part of a journey of fulfilment, a saga in an epic journey of redemption and self-transcendence.Something in the structure of the novel also points in this direction. Just when you think it's finished (tragically), there is a coda, the new thrust of development that will take us forward into the next book in the trilogy.It's an extremely rich novel.