Brief description:
THEIRS WAS THE DREAM of all young men: to become heroes. Inspired by john F. Kennedy’s call to serve the nation, the West Point class of 1966 first gathered above the Hudson River on a glorious afternoon in ]uly 1962.. But as the cadets swore their oath of allegiance, they could not begin to imagine the dark journey that lay ahead. The Long Gray Line is the true story of that journey, an epic tale about an extraordinary generation of military officers and the women they loved.
This spellbinding narrative brings to life a rich cast of characters, including Douglas MacArthur, William Westmoreland, and a score of other memorable figures. Yet the story is told primarily through the lives of three classmates. Jack Wheeler, whose intelligence is surpassed only by his idealism, comes from a long line of soldiers, but gradually he discovers that he lacks any real appetite for the bloody art of war. Brash and impetuous Tom Carhart aspires to wear a general’s stars, yet he is haunted by bad luck and his stubborn refusal to compromise his principles. George Crocker, born to lead troops through the dark of night, becomes ever more proficient as a warrior, and his story is the story of the Army over the past quarter century.
Rick Atkinson tracks the men of ’66 through their high-spirited cadet years and into the fires of Vietnam, where dozens of them died and hundreds more grew disillusioned. During the hard peace that followed, they resigned from the Army in record numbers, only to find that civilian life offered no easy answers either. West Point — an institution of mythic proportions — remained a powerful influence in their lives, even as the academy itself weathered a period of profound change.
The tragic war, a shameful cheating scandal, the divisive questioning of the ideals upon which the academy had stood for nearly two centuries — all shook West Point to its foundation, forcing soldiers and civilians alike to reconsider the role of the military in a democratic society. Brilliantly conceived, eloquently written, The Long Gray Line tells a deeply affecting story that spans twenty-five turbulent years. The West Point class of 1966 straddled a fault line in American history, and Rick Atkinson’s masterly book speaks for a generation about innocence, patriotism, and the price we pay for our dreams.
This spellbinding narrative brings to life a rich cast of characters, including Douglas MacArthur, William Westmoreland, and a score of other memorable figures. Yet the story is told primarily through the lives of three classmates. Jack Wheeler, whose intelligence is surpassed only by his idealism, comes from a long line of soldiers, but gradually he discovers that he lacks any real appetite for the bloody art of war. Brash and impetuous Tom Carhart aspires to wear a general’s stars, yet he is haunted by bad luck and his stubborn refusal to compromise his principles. George Crocker, born to lead troops through the dark of night, becomes ever more proficient as a warrior, and his story is the story of the Army over the past quarter century.
Rick Atkinson tracks the men of ’66 through their high-spirited cadet years and into the fires of Vietnam, where dozens of them died and hundreds more grew disillusioned. During the hard peace that followed, they resigned from the Army in record numbers, only to find that civilian life offered no easy answers either. West Point — an institution of mythic proportions — remained a powerful influence in their lives, even as the academy itself weathered a period of profound change.
The tragic war, a shameful cheating scandal, the divisive questioning of the ideals upon which the academy had stood for nearly two centuries — all shook West Point to its foundation, forcing soldiers and civilians alike to reconsider the role of the military in a democratic society. Brilliantly conceived, eloquently written, The Long Gray Line tells a deeply affecting story that spans twenty-five turbulent years. The West Point class of 1966 straddled a fault line in American history, and Rick Atkinson’s masterly book speaks for a generation about innocence, patriotism, and the price we pay for our dreams.
Publication
Generic (1990)
Original publication date
1989
Collection
Media reviews
Kansas Star
Atkinson's book is exquisitely crafted. It reads as smoothly as a novel, involving the reader emotionally as well as intellectually and has the sort of multi-threaded narrative that propels its long story swiftly... It has all the power, and then some, of Neil Sheehan's mammoth Vietnam book of
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1988, A Bright Shining Lie, and a bushel more style. Show Less
Boston Globe
Rick Atkinson has written a story of epic proportions... although it is a work of non-fiction The Long Gray Line shares the force and sweep of a Ben Hur or Gone With The Wind. It is an awesome feat of biographical reconstruction... a difficult book to put down.
Washington Post
The Long Gray Line is a very moving book. Stunning in its descriptions...tolerant in its judgements, astonishing in its incidents, vivid in its delineation of character and expert in its knowledge of a particular world, beyond all these things it possesses a great and healing generosity.