On October 11, 2011, Open Road Integrated Media will publish To the End of the War: Unpublished Fiction by the late James Jones (1921–1977). Recognized as “one of the significant writers of his generation” by the New York Times, Jones is best known as the author of From Here to Eternity, which was reissued to great acclaim, with previously censored scenes and dialogue, by Open Road earlier this year.
To the End of the War contains twelve never-before-published stories by James Jones. Edited and with introductory material by George Hendrick, stories in To the End of the War—from “Night Train” to “Johnny Meets Sandy”—stand as testaments to Jones’s remarkable talent, evident from the start of his career. His themes remain as prescient today as they were in 1943. Whether examining the mistreatment of wounded men who were declared fit for additional combat service, portraying anti-Semitism in the Army, or challenging the prevailing conventional wisdom about other large American institutions, Jones “did not worship sacred cows,” according to Hendrick.
The interrelated stories and characters in To the End of the War were initially developed by Jones as his first, unpublished novel, They Shall Inherit the Laughter. Set during World War II, the autobiographical work caught the attention of legendary Scribner editor Maxwell Perkins, who ultimately felt the reading public was not ready for such provocative themes. In the introduction to “Night Train,” Hendrick writes: “Maxwell Perkins had an inkling that Jones was giving a realistic picture of his world in late 1943, but he was unable to help Jones reshape his story. Perkins timidly believed the American public was not interested in Jones’s subject and that civilians and military people would have been insulted by the presentations. Perkins was probably wrong.”
At Perkins’s encouragement, Jones shelved the project and developed From Here to Eternity, which went on to win the National Book Award. His later novels, Some Came Running (1957), Pistol (1958), The Thin Red Line (1962), and Whistle (1978) solidified Jones’s reputation as one of the most accomplished authors of the World War II generation. The stories in To the End of the War, however, remained unavailable to readers.
Now, nearly sixty years later, these stories will be published for the first time, available in trade paperback and as an ebook, featuring an illustrated biography of Jones that includes rare photographs from the author’s estate. In addition to publishing To the End of the War, Open Road will release a revised edition of Jones’s second novel, Some Came Running—“a towering work of native social realism that American writers once dreamed of writing” (Willie Morris)—as an ebook and trade paperback later in 2011.
Other James Jones titles currently available as ebooks include From Here to Eternity, The Pistol, Go to the Widow-Maker, The Ice-Cream Headache and Other Stories, The Merry Month of May, A Touch of Danger, and Whistle. Three of these titles—A Touch of Danger, Go to the Widow-Maker, and Whistle—are also available as paperbacks from online retailers.
Newly developed content from Open Road includes an illustrated biography complete with rare photos from the author’s estate, as well as videos featuring interviews with his daughter, Kaylie Jones (Lies My Mother Never Told Me), writer Larry Heinemann (Paco’s Story), writer Winston Groom (Forrest Gump), and more.
Extra content includes:
- Review copies via NetGalley
- Illustrated biography in each ebook, including rare photographs and documents from the Jones estate illuminating his life and distinguished career
- Behind-the-scenes commentary and videos at www.openroadmedia.com/authors/james-jones.aspx
AVAILABLE OCTOBER 11, 2011
TRADE PAPERBACK AND EBOOK EDITIONS
Amazon.com, Apple iBookstore, Barnesandnoble.com, Google eBookstore/IndieBound, Kobo Books, OverDrive, and Sony Reader Store
Watch a Documentary-Quality Video about James Jones
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