by NormanMailer (Author)
Reissue of a modern classic - the book that catapulted Norman Mailer to fame on its first publication in 1948. Based on Mailer's own experience of military service in the Philippines during World War Two, 'The Naked and the Dead' is a graphically truthful and shattering portrayal of ordinary men in battle. First published in 1949, as America was still basking in the glories of the Allied victory, it altered forever the popular perception of warfare. Focusing on the experiences of a fourteen-man platoon stationed on a Japanese-held island in the South Pacific during World War II, and written in a journalistic style, it tells the moving story of the soldiers' struggle to retain a sense of dignity amidst the horror of warfare, and to find a source of meaning in their lives amisdst the sounds and fury of battle.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 720
Edition: New Ed
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 15 May 2006
ISBN 10: 0007204957
ISBN 13: 9780007204953
`Mailer recorded every foul thought and word of his characters, wrote about ignorant, savage, primitive men. For maturity of viewpoint, for technical competence, and for stark dramatic power, The Naked and the Dead is an incredibly finished performance.' New York Times
`The best war novel to come out of the United States.' The Times
`Brutal, agonising, astonishingly thoughtful.' Newsweek
Norman Mailer is a major figure in postwar American literature. He is a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner. His most recent works include Ancient Evenings, The Executioner's Song, and, most recently, The Gospel According to the Son.