
Historical fiction book · Curated
From Here to Eternity
James Jones · historical fiction
Series: World War II trilogy
In February 1941 Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt reports to G Company at Schofield Barracks and refuses to box for the company, while First Sergeant Milt Warden risks his career with the commanding officer’s wife, and both are still in Hawaii when the attack hits Pearl Harbor. James Jones’s 1951 novel is World War II military historical fiction of the Regular Army in the last months before the United States enters the war.
Why read it: A widely searched war novel—the Jones title readers look up by name (National Book Award, and the film), and a Schofield Barracks counterpart to The Winds of War already on the shelf (not a Thin Red Line sequel).
About this historical novel
From Here to Eternity by James Jones is historical fiction set around 1941 in the World War II era period with key settings including Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor. In February 1941 Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt reports to G Company at Schofield Barracks and refuses to box for the company, while First Sergeant Milt Warden risks his career with the commanding officer’s wife, and both are still in Hawaii when the attack hits Pearl Harbor. James Jones’s 1951 novel is World War II military historical fiction of the Regular Army in the last months before the United States enters the war.
On HisFic we tag it under 5. Military & war and 1. Literary historical fiction so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include army, duty, desire, conformity, and war. A widely searched war novel—the Jones title readers look up by name (National Book Award, and the film), and a Schofield Barracks counterpart to The Winds of War already on the shelf (not a Thin Red Line sequel).
Use HisFic’s free journey planner to stay in this era or subgenre, save titles to a want-to-read list in your browser, and open Amazon when you are ready to buy. HisFic is discovery-only—not a bookstore—so pages like this exist to help you choose the next historical novel with intent.
Plot summary
In February 1941 Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt reports to G Company at Schofield Barracks and refuses to box for the company, while First Sergeant Milt Warden risks his career with the commanding officer’s wife, and both are still in Hawaii when the attack hits Pearl Harbor. James Jones’s 1951 novel is World War II military historical fiction of the Regular Army in the last months before the United States enters the war. A widely searched war novel—the Jones title readers look up by name (National Book Award, and the film), and a Schofield Barracks counterpart to The Winds of War already on the shelf (not a Thin Red Line sequel).
Subgenres
Eras
Browse this mix
More like this on HisFic
Curated titles that share era, story type, or themes.
- The Book Thief · Markus Zusak
A girl steals books in Nazi Germany; Death narrates a story of words and survival.
- The Winds of War · Herman Wouk
In 1939 Navy commander Victor “Pug” Henry is posted to Berlin as the American naval attaché, and the war pulls his wife Rhoda, their children, and a Jewish daughter-in-law through Germany, Britain, and Russia until Pearl Harbor, where the battleship he was about to command is hit before he can go aboard. Herman Wouk’s 1971 novel is World War II saga historical fiction of one navy family from the invasion of Poland to the day the United States enters the war.
- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas · John Boyne
Nine-year-old Bruno is moved from Berlin to a lonely house beside a fence his sister calls Out-With; from his window he sees people in striped pajamas, and he makes a secret friend named Shmuel on the other side. John Boyne’s 2006 novel is WWII Holocaust historical fiction told as a child’s fable: a friendship through the wire at Auschwitz, and a title readers still search by name.
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North · Richard Flanagan
In 1943, Tasmanian surgeon Dorrigo Evans tries to keep Australian POWs alive on the Thai-Burma Death Railway—cholera, beatings, and a Japanese command that measures men in sleepers laid—while the memory of an affair with his uncle’s wife follows him from the jungle into a decorated postwar life he cannot inhabit. Richard Flanagan’s 2013 novel is WWII military historical fiction of the Pacific war, and the Booker Prize winner readers still search by its long title.
- Atonement · Ian McEwan
In the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis misreads a moment between her sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner, the housekeeper’s son, and a false accusation follows them into World War II—Dunkirk, a London hospital, and a guilt Briony will spend a lifetime trying to rewrite. Ian McEwan’s novel is literary historical fiction of class, war, and the stories we tell to atone.
- Tightrope · Simon Mawer
A female SOE agent’s wartime courage and Cold War aftershocks (Walter Scott Prize 2016).
Regions & places
North America
Schofield Barracks · Oahu · Hawaii · Pearl Harbor
Themes
- army
- duty
- desire
- conformity
- war
Tags
war · classic · series