Jones, James

Related Category: American Literature: Biographies

1921–77, American novelist, b. Robinson, Ill. Written in the tradition of naturalism, his novels often celebrate the endurance of man. From Here to Eternity (1951), his best-known work and the first of a trilogy, is a powerful story of army life in Hawaii immediately before the attack on Pearl Harbor; The Thin Red Line (1962) and Whistle (1978) complete the series. His other novels include Some Came Running (1957) and A Touch of Danger (1973). Viet Journal (1974) is an account of his trip to Vietnam.

See biography by F. MacShane (1985); study by J. R. Giles (1981).