The Big Red One

A new edition of a World War II classic -- from the poet laureate of hard-boiled America.

Describing Sam Fuller as a cult legend and a celluloid genius would be like describing Muhammad Ali as a boxer or Jimi Hendrix as a guitar player. He was a singular American visionary, a giant of independent filmmaking, and a king of bruised-knuckle cinematic poetry. The Big Red One is his masterpiece. Twenty years in the making, both the novel and the film are based on Fuller's own experiences with the Army's First Infantry Division ("the Big Red One") in World War II. The story centers on the friendship of five soldiers and follows them from the arid landscapes of Vichy French Africa to Europe to the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and onward into Germany. Excruciating scenes of suffering and brutality are juxtaposed against heartbreaking scenes of compassion and selflessness. In Fuller's vision the lines between heroism and villainy are blurred--"the only glory in war is surviving"--but The Big Red One also provides an epic adventure steeped in the true history of World War II.

Author: Samuel Fuller
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 08/19/2005
Pages: 448
Weight: 0.89lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.66w x 1.22d
ISBN: 9781560257431
25th Anniversary Edition

About the Author
Samuel Fuller (1912-1997) was an American screenwriter, novelist, and film director known for low-budget, understated genre movies with controversial themes, often made outside the conventional studio system.