From Here to Eternity
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- Create Date：2021-08-31 09:52:44
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：James Jones
- ISBN：014139322X
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Summary
'I'll never understand the fucking Army。'
Prew won't conform。 He could have been the best boxer and the best bugler in his division， but he chooses the life of a straight soldier in Hawaii under the fierce tutelage of Sergeant Milt Warden。 When he refuses to box for his company， he is given 'The Treatment'， a relentless campaign of physical and mental abuse。 Meanwhile， Warden wages his own campaign against authority by seducing the Captain's wife Karen - just because he can。 Both men are bound to the Army， even though it may destroy them。
Published here in its uncensored， original version， From Here to Eternity is a raw， electrifying account of the soldier's life in the months leading up to Pearl Harbor-of men who are trained to fight the enemy， but cannot resist fighting each other。
Prew won't conform。 He could have been the best boxer and the best bugler in his division， but he chooses the life of a straight soldier in Hawaii under the fierce tutelage of Sergeant Milt Warden。 When he refuses to box for his company， he is given 'The Treatment'， a relentless campaign of physical and mental abuse。 Meanwhile， Warden wages his own campaign against authority by seducing the Captain's wife Karen - just because he can。 Both men are bound to the Army， even though it may destroy them。
Published here in its uncensored， original version， From Here to Eternity is a raw， electrifying account of the soldier's life in the months leading up to Pearl Harbor-of men who are trained to fight the enemy， but cannot resist fighting each other。
Reviews
Ron
，
The first 150 pages or so were a struggle but then it seemed to settle into a decent story at least for me。 I should borrow the movie and see how they did that and how it compares to the book。 I am rating it from a male perspective， and I note this comment as I see others who did not enjoy the book were in many cases female， so take this comment for what it is worth！
Wojtek Konieczny
，
（Audiobook）， 8。5/10Lektor - 5/6Oddech wielkiej literatury， ale choć są momenty wybitne （ostatni monolog wewnętrzny Prewitta！）， to kompozycja całości jest trochę dziwna。
Nikola Majerle
，
This is a thick-layered book with a lot of depth。This is more than a simple war novel。 I would argue that this is a highly psychological book playing out in Hawaii just before the Attack on Pearl Harbor 1941。It took me a whole summer to read it but it was well worth it， a real classic。
Virginia
，
Adorato alla follia， non riuscivo a staccarmi dalle pagine。Mega bonus: Milt Warden。
Joan Miles
，
I did force myself to read the entire book and parts of it I did enjoy。 I kept waiting for it to become interesting and at times I thought it was going to but never did
Kris Carter
，
More like 3。5 stars。 I always round up。 As always this will be brief… I struggled through much of this。 I hated… HATED the first quarter of this weighty tome。 Just north of 800 pages but felt much longer。 Over those first 200 pages I thought for sure this was going to be a one star rating。 I disliked the characters。 I disliked the writing style。 I disliked the story。 It was painful， wordy， and depressing。 However the book took a slow turn upwards after battling through the long set up and the st More like 3。5 stars。 I always round up。 As always this will be brief… I struggled through much of this。 I hated… HATED the first quarter of this weighty tome。 Just north of 800 pages but felt much longer。 Over those first 200 pages I thought for sure this was going to be a one star rating。 I disliked the characters。 I disliked the writing style。 I disliked the story。 It was painful， wordy， and depressing。 However the book took a slow turn upwards after battling through the long set up and the story was quite good。 James Jones style took a very long time to get used to and I can’t say as I loved it but it became tolerable。 The end result is a book that could have been edited down about 200 pages or so and still hit all the marks。What is the final takeaway - I still didn’t like any of the characters （and generally disliked the majority of them）， I was depressing， and although a best seller in 1951 the book hasn’t aged well。 I don’t recommend this。 Spend your time reading something near， lighter， and more fun。 I rarely quit on a book I start so I managed to make my way to the end of this but it was definitely a slog。 I intend on reading The Thin Red Line at some point - because I may be a glutton for punishment - but I won’t be tackling that before I finish a book or two as a way to decompress from the depression that was From Here To Eternity。 。。。more
Mary Beth Pritzl
，
Dnf
andy noble
，
A modern classicThe American army at peace， but on the edge of war。 Hawaii 1940-41， the novel follows the build up to Pearl Harbour from the perspective of the main characters in G company。Raw， violent me， proud and stubborn。 I loved it。
Joan
，
Very long， wordy， lots of detail about several prominent characters。 Very good though， or I wouldn’t have finished it。 The author is an excellent writer， did a great job creating these characters and all the things that happen to them。 They’re in Hawaii in 1941， in the army。
Ryan
，
Something something war sucks but at least you got a nut or two yknow what I mean？
Elna
，
I was pleasantly surprised。 I found that the book as a whole was well written and intelligent。
Isaac Lambert
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 phew。 what a read。 so many voices， characters， emotions， sensuality + raw sex （which surprised me a bit， given the age） & violence- in the 'peaceful' time in Hawaii leading up to Pearl Harbor。Prew is the star of this epic， and his stories make this truly stellar。 the characters overall are complex， nuanced， and unforgettable。 it's a huge in one book- took me months to read this， reflecting over some critical parts （such as Karen Holmes + Warden） I feel one day in the far future- this can be part phew。 what a read。 so many voices， characters， emotions， sensuality + raw sex （which surprised me a bit， given the age） & violence- in the 'peaceful' time in Hawaii leading up to Pearl Harbor。Prew is the star of this epic， and his stories make this truly stellar。 the characters overall are complex， nuanced， and unforgettable。 it's a huge in one book- took me months to read this， reflecting over some critical parts （such as Karen Holmes + Warden） I feel one day in the far future- this can be part of my books list again， to better realize how this all comes together。 。。。more
Jon
，
I'm not seeing how this book was such an amazing success。 It's basically about a trumpeter and rambles around about his time in the Army。 I'm clearly missing something。。。 I'm not seeing how this book was such an amazing success。 It's basically about a trumpeter and rambles around about his time in the Army。 I'm clearly missing something。。。 。。。more
Alicia
，
A book of 'isms' - racism， elitism， homophobia， sexism， you name it。 It's not terrible writing， but at 800+ pages and a narrative exploring what happens when a lot of bored undereducated people have no purpose， it's a bit much to take。 A book of 'isms' - racism， elitism， homophobia， sexism， you name it。 It's not terrible writing， but at 800+ pages and a narrative exploring what happens when a lot of bored undereducated people have no purpose， it's a bit much to take。 。。。more
Flewts
，
I've seen the pictures of the stars of the movie， and thought I knew what it was all about。 But this book popped up on a list of suggested reads just as the guys in the band started talking about who played during the famous bugle scene。 ？？ So I decided to read the book。960 pages of small print。 Not at all what I expected。 Yes， there's action in the book， otherwise there couldn't have been a movie， but so much of the book is dialogue or the thoughts of the characters。 Deep thoughts， covering so I've seen the pictures of the stars of the movie， and thought I knew what it was all about。 But this book popped up on a list of suggested reads just as the guys in the band started talking about who played during the famous bugle scene。 ？？ So I decided to read the book。960 pages of small print。 Not at all what I expected。 Yes， there's action in the book， otherwise there couldn't have been a movie， but so much of the book is dialogue or the thoughts of the characters。 Deep thoughts， covering so much philosophical territory。 It was a long slog at times， but well worth the read。 。。。more
Susan
，
In spite of all the reasons that i "should" love this book， i just cannot keep plodding thru it waiting for something to happen。Nothing has grabbed me by almost halfway in， and by this point the psychological musings of the characters have become tedious and uninteresting。 I've picked it up and put it down several times over the weeks。 Nope。 Not going to finish it。 In spite of all the reasons that i "should" love this book， i just cannot keep plodding thru it waiting for something to happen。Nothing has grabbed me by almost halfway in， and by this point the psychological musings of the characters have become tedious and uninteresting。 I've picked it up and put it down several times over the weeks。 Nope。 Not going to finish it。 。。。more
Kenneth
，
Read this off and on for five months。 Good enough to rate 3 stars， but not good enough to try and read in one big go。
Chris Mantei
，
About 400 pages to long。 Drags and drags for large portions。 Good， not great。 Definitely better WWII novels out there， but it could have been worse。
Tatiana
，
Wow， what a story。 I always assumed that Catch-22 was my favorite war novel because it was so darkly funny。 This book is， in some ways， funny， but it's even darker than Catch-22。 It's like that book but maybe half as funny and twice as upsetting。 But it's great， and it's a journey， and the ending is so satisfying and appropriate for the story。 I can see that some people might be turned off by the length （800+ pages） but it's really worth going through that journey with the characters。 Wow， what a story。 I always assumed that Catch-22 was my favorite war novel because it was so darkly funny。 This book is， in some ways， funny， but it's even darker than Catch-22。 It's like that book but maybe half as funny and twice as upsetting。 But it's great， and it's a journey， and the ending is so satisfying and appropriate for the story。 I can see that some people might be turned off by the length （800+ pages） but it's really worth going through that journey with the characters。 。。。more
Mike Zickar
，
A wonderful novel that has great pacing and was just simply surprising for its candid discussion on homosexuality， marriage， and military life in general。 I've always wanted to see the movie， but wanted to read the book。 After reading the book， I just cannot imagine how Hollywood will handle the sensitive topics in this book。And Jones has real penetrating insight into the issues that he wrote about。 There is a lot of depth to what is often simple language。 A wonderful novel that has great pacing and was just simply surprising for its candid discussion on homosexuality， marriage， and military life in general。 I've always wanted to see the movie， but wanted to read the book。 After reading the book， I just cannot imagine how Hollywood will handle the sensitive topics in this book。And Jones has real penetrating insight into the issues that he wrote about。 There is a lot of depth to what is often simple language。 。。。more
Don
，
Peacetime Army life in Hawaii， leading up to Pearl Harbor attack。 Interesting， to me， that doldrums of peacetime duties are lifted with onset of war。
Ted Quisenberry
，
Terrible book！ Started out reading it but could only get to page 120 before I put it down and got the audio book thinking it would be better。 Not so。 I did not like the characters; as for the plot， could never figure out what it was。 Got half way through the audio before I stopped wasting my time trying to get into it。 Disliked quite a bit of the conversations， could not figure how why any of them liked one another， especially Pruitt。 I'll try the old movie with Burt Lancaster just to see what e Terrible book！ Started out reading it but could only get to page 120 before I put it down and got the audio book thinking it would be better。 Not so。 I did not like the characters; as for the plot， could never figure out what it was。 Got half way through the audio before I stopped wasting my time trying to get into it。 Disliked quite a bit of the conversations， could not figure how why any of them liked one another， especially Pruitt。 I'll try the old movie with Burt Lancaster just to see what ends up happening （although I already know）。 This is the first book in a very long time I thought was terrible and could not finish。 。。。more
Copper Eldridge
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The manliest of men's romance novels The manliest of men's romance novels 。。。more
Jane
，
Over the decades that I have wanted to read From Here to Eternity （FHE）， I thought it was a war book。 It is a before-the-war book--at least before the US entered World War II。 When the book starts， the US Army consists of volunteers， many of whom see themselves as professional soldiers--"30 year men。"FHE focuses on one company of soldiers in Hawaii and covers the year running up to the attack on Pearl Harbor。 My own title for the book is "Troubled Men in Paradise，" because， well， these young men Over the decades that I have wanted to read From Here to Eternity （FHE）， I thought it was a war book。 It is a before-the-war book--at least before the US entered World War II。 When the book starts， the US Army consists of volunteers， many of whom see themselves as professional soldiers--"30 year men。"FHE focuses on one company of soldiers in Hawaii and covers the year running up to the attack on Pearl Harbor。 My own title for the book is "Troubled Men in Paradise，" because， well， these young men were troubled， just as the author， James Jones， was a troubled man when he was a soldier during World War II。FHE examines the universal nature of men and how that nature manifests itself in a structured environment like the army。 Life is a struggle revolving around three things: sex， money， and identity。 In the course of examining these three motivating forces in a soldier's life， Jones takes deep dives into issues ranging from homosexuality to the nature of government。Much of the struggle Jones faced in getting FHE published was caused by pressure from the publisher to limit the amount of foul language in the book。 Jones naturally wanted the dialogue of his characters to be true to life， and his editors wanted not to offend potential readers。 It took a long time to reach a middle ground。Unfortunately， this fixation on reducing the use of the f-word， etc。， seemed to distract the editors from doing the job editors normally do。 As a result， the book is sprawling not to the point of being a mess， but close enough to lead me to skim some of Jones' deep dives into heavy subjects。 Some things， like Jones' penchant for repeating phrase over and over again as if trying to be humorous， could have been easily cut。The characters were plausible but in key cases extreme enough to make this reader doubt that they truly counted as the "every man" that Jones wanted to describe and examine。 I had the feeling that Jones wanted to make the reader believe that Jones' own life in the military was typical as a way to rationalize his own mistakes。I always considered FHE and Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead （ND） to be companion pieces because they were both written shortly after WWII by men who had experienced the hardships and terror of the war。 Now just having started ND， I see vividly the difference in the professional capabilities of the two authors。 That said， FHE was well worth the read as a thoughtful book that transcends the unique circumstances of its setting。 。。。more
Chad Manske
，
I didn’t know I was getting into an 853-page epic novel but was brought through it nonetheless。 。。。early 1941 and a peacetime Army。 James Jones pens a microcosm of his own personal experiences in this 1951 published， and perhaps best novel of WWII。 Beating out Catcher in the Rye for the National Book Award that year we primarily follow 1st Sgt Warden and Pvt Robert E。 Lee Prewitt。 Prew is a bugler and boxer who doesn’t want to box。 He used to be a good soldier who wanted to do 30 years but slips I didn’t know I was getting into an 853-page epic novel but was brought through it nonetheless。 。。。early 1941 and a peacetime Army。 James Jones pens a microcosm of his own personal experiences in this 1951 published， and perhaps best novel of WWII。 Beating out Catcher in the Rye for the National Book Award that year we primarily follow 1st Sgt Warden and Pvt Robert E。 Lee Prewitt。 Prew is a bugler and boxer who doesn’t want to box。 He used to be a good soldier who wanted to do 30 years but slips off the edge and gets the ‘treatment’ in the stockade， forever warping his sense of reality and contributing to his disillusionment。 Warden is sleeping with the company commander’s wife， and has lost his effectiveness。 All other characters more or less revolve around company life pre-Pearl Harbor in the Hawaii setting。 Inane rules， the savagery of men and a bored Army makes for interesting reading。。。really！ Jones himself was a soldier who fought in Guadalcanal and has a tremendous grasp on humanity and its true psyche。 Very good book！ 。。。more
Steve
，
I gave this book four stars for one reason。 It is way to wordy！！！ The long winded author wrote an enjoyable story， but took way longer than needed to do so。
Laura Mattheeuwse
，
Recommended to read the original published version 1st and then this one。 Besides i think it is a good story， reading both plubications gives interesting inside in time and censorship。
Fabian
，
Well， at the beginning I was expecting exactly what I’d seen in the 1953 film。 What I read was SO much more in depth and added life to an already amazing story。 Was it always an easy read ？ No， at times it was an absolute slog。 Jones would break off into random tangents about philosophy at the most inopportune moments。 But if you can set aside the flaws that the book has， and accept it for what it is， than it’s a beautiful story。It’s not a war novel。 Far from it。 It’s a novel about unrequited an Well， at the beginning I was expecting exactly what I’d seen in the 1953 film。 What I read was SO much more in depth and added life to an already amazing story。 Was it always an easy read ？ No， at times it was an absolute slog。 Jones would break off into random tangents about philosophy at the most inopportune moments。 But if you can set aside the flaws that the book has， and accept it for what it is， than it’s a beautiful story。It’s not a war novel。 Far from it。 It’s a novel about unrequited and unconditional love and the damage it could do。 It just happens to have Pearl Harbor at the very end。 A good read， at times tedious。 But immensely satisfying。 。。。more
Hasan Mihrican
，
Filmi de çok güzeldir。
Susan Spence
，
I haven't read a book in a long time so severely in need of editing。 I haven't read Thomas Wolf's books since I was a teenager， so perhaps I am judging this book unfairly。 It is impossible to excuse the misogyny， anti-semitism， racism and homophobia as indicative of just the time period。 I am not fond of reading books in which the author is loath to leave out anything when relating his experience of an event。 This book is a textbook example of this type of writing error。 Truly fine writing credi I haven't read a book in a long time so severely in need of editing。 I haven't read Thomas Wolf's books since I was a teenager， so perhaps I am judging this book unfairly。 It is impossible to excuse the misogyny， anti-semitism， racism and homophobia as indicative of just the time period。 I am not fond of reading books in which the author is loath to leave out anything when relating his experience of an event。 This book is a textbook example of this type of writing error。 Truly fine writing credits the reader with enough intelligence to fill in the blanks。 When Prewitt takes 6 pages to speak his dying thoughts， any sympathy or sadness is erased in the excess。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=From Here to Eternity
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=From Here to Eternity&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,From Here to Eternity&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0