From Here to Eternity (1951)

by James Jones

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: World War II Trilogy {Jones} (1)

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Diamond Head, Hawaii, 1941. Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt is a champion welterweight and a fine bugler. But when he refuses to join the company's boxing team, he gets "the treatment" that may break him or kill him. First Sgt. Milton Anthony Warden knows how to soldier better than almost anyone, yet he's risking his career to have an affair with the commanding officer's wife. Both Warden and Prewitt are bound by a common bond: the Army is their heart and blood . . .and, possibly, their death. In this magnificent but brutal classic of a soldier's life, James Jones portrays the courage, violence and passions of men and women who live by unspoken codes and with unutterable despair. . .in the most important American novel to come out of World War II, a masterpiece that captures as no ther the honor and savagery of men. From the Paperback edition.… (more)

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▾Member reviews

English (31) Spanish (1) Hebrew (1) All languages (33)

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Showing 1-5 of 31 (next | show all)

A war novel that I remember liking, though I can't recall anything about it now. (

)

mykl-s | Aug 13, 2023 |

Brutal, sad, and human. (

)

zeh | Jun 3, 2023 |

Different jacket, no ISBN, Charles scribner’s sons, New York

SusanGreen9999 | Aug 28, 2022 |

8475304397

archivomorero | Jun 27, 2022 |

Not sure why I finally got around to reading this book. Perhaps the war in Ukraine. More likely chance. A vivid depiction of Amy life and life in Honolulu just before and after Pearl Harbor. Characters come to life on the telling of the story. The narrator does a good job of bringing personality into the characters voices. Some unexpected twists. (

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waldhaus1 | Jun 21, 2022 |

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thingScore unrated

Reminded me a bit of Celine, unmitigated pressure, a cross between hell and purgatory set against the backdrop of paradise in the Hawaiian Islands.

added by Shortride | editNational Book Foundation, Harold Augenbraum (Jun 18, 2009)

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (16 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
James Jones	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Kliphuis, J.F.	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Schrag, Otto	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

World War II Trilogy {Jones} (1)

Belongs to Publisher Series

Modern Library 100 Best Novels (62)

Is contained in

The World War II Trilogy: From Here to Eternity, The Thin Red Line, and Whistle by James Jones

Contains

Härifrån till evigheten. 1 by James Jones

Härifrån till evigheten. 2 by James Jones

Has the adaptation

From Here to Eternity [1953 film] by Fred Zinnemann

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

National Book Award (Winner – Fiction – 1952)

Distinctions

New York Times bestseller (Fiction – 1951)

Publishers Weekly Bestseller (Fiction – 1950)

Notable Lists

The Essential Man's Library: 100 Must-Read Books

Guardian 1000 (War and Travel)

The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels: The Board's List (62)

The New Lifetime Reading Plan With Going Further (Going Further – 239)

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

Original title

From Here to Eternity

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1951

People/Characters

Robert E. Lee Prewitt

Captain Dana Holmes

1st Sergeant Milton Warden

Private Angelo Maggio

Karen Holmes

Important places

Important events

Related movies

From Here to Eternity (1953 | IMDb)

From Here to Eternity (1979 | IMDb)

From Here to Eternity (1980 | IMDb)

Awards and honors

National Book Award (Fiction, 1952)

The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels: The Board's List (62)

New York Times bestseller (Fiction, 1951)

Guardian 1000 (War and travel)

Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay (1953)

(show all 7 items)

Epigraph

The sphinx must solve her own riddle. If the whole of history is in one man, it is all to be explained from individual experience. Emmerson.

I have eaten your bread and salt.
I have drunk your water and wine.
The deaths ye died I watched beside,
And the lives ye led were mine.
--Rudyard Kipling

Gentlemen-rankers out on a spree,
Damned from here to Eternity,
God ha'mercy on such as we,
Ba! Yah! Bah!
--Rudyard Kipling

Dedication

To the United States Army

First words

When he finished packing, he walked out on to the third-floor porch of the barracks brushing the dust from his hands, a very neat and deceptively slim young man in the summer khakis that were still early morning fresh.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

From Here to Eternity (novel)

From Here to Eternity the Musical

▾Book descriptions

Diamond Head, Hawaii, 1941. Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt is a champion welterweight and a fine bugler. But when he refuses to join the company's boxing team, he gets "the treatment" that may break him or kill him. First Sgt. Milton Anthony Warden knows how to soldier better than almost anyone, yet he's risking his career to have an affair with the commanding officer's wife. Both Warden and Prewitt are bound by a common bond: the Army is their heart and blood . . .and, possibly, their death. In this magnificent but brutal classic of a soldier's life, James Jones portrays the courage, violence and passions of men and women who live by unspoken codes and with unutterable despair. . .in the most important American novel to come out of World War II, a masterpiece that captures as no ther the honor and savagery of men. From the Paperback edition.

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