From Here to Eternity

by James Jones.

Quickie recap: In the weeks and months before Pearl Harbor is attacked, the G Company stationed in Hawaii is fighting another enemy - each other.

Quickie review: For a self-proclaimed "war book", war takes an awfully long time to break out - about 825 pages, actually. It might more aptly be called an "army book" and not a very flattering one at that. But the truth isn't always pretty and Jones writes from experience. It's gritty and raw and the characters are often abrupt and stoic but it has brilliant insight.

Quickie recommendation: What can I say? It's a classic and I'm probably the last person on earth to have read it.