James Jones' classic of combat literature- a brutal and devestating portrait of the senselessness of war. 'Is it really worth it to die, to be dead, just to prove to everybody that you're not a coward?' On Guadalcanal in the south Pacific, the soldiers of C Company are about to enter the war. The men know they face their baptism of fire. But none know if they will be one of 'the lucky ones' to make it safely off the island. From Captain Stein, who feels like a father to his troops, and 'Mad' Sergeant Welsh, condemning all nations while swigging gin from his canteen, to Private Bell, who just wants to get home to his wife, they will discover the line that divides sanity from madness, and life from death. A scathing critique of heroism, The Thin Red Line is among the greatest masterpieces of war writing. The Thin Red Line has twice been adapted for the big screen - by Andrew Marton in 1964 and by Terrence Malick in 1998. 'Moves so intensely and inexorably that it almost seems like the war it is describing' The New York Times Book Review 'The men are real, the words are real, death is real, imminent and immediate.' Los Angeles Times 'An indubitable masterpiece . . . The Thin Red Line is among the very best novels written about World War II.' Chicago Daily News