The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific

by Marcus Brotherton, Tosca Lee

Overview

"A tour de force."—Publishers Weekly starred review

"A great read."—Library Journal starred review

"A must-read literary triumph."—Booklist starred review

Jimmy Propfield joined the army for two reasons: to get out of Mobile, Alabama, with his best friends Hank and Billy and to forget his high school sweetheart, Claire.

Life in the Philippines seems like paradise—until the morning of December 8, 1941, when news comes from Manila: Imperial Japan has bombed Pearl Harbor. Within hours, the teenage friends are plunged into war as enemy warplanes attack Luzon, beginning a battle for control of the Pacific Theater that will culminate with a last stand on the Bataan Peninsula and end with the largest surrender of American troops in history.

What follows will become known as one of the worst atrocities in modern warfare: the Bataan Death March. With no hope of rescue, the three friends vow to make it back home together. But the ordeal is only the beginning of their nearly four-year fight to survive.

Inspired by true stories, The Long March Home is a gripping coming-of-age tale of friendship, sacrifice, and the power of unrelenting hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780800742751
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/02/2023
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	488,760
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Marcus Brotherton is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author or coauthor of more than twenty-five books that have been called "fascinating," "brilliantly arranged," "magical," and "refreshingly frank."

Tosca Lee is the award-winning New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels, including The Line Between, The Progeny, The Legend of Sheba, and Iscariot. Lee's work has been praised as "deeply human," "powerful," and "mind-bending historical fiction."

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/27/2023

In this tour de force from Brotherton (A Bright and Blinding Sun) and Lee (A Single Light), four friends’ lives change irrevocably when America becomes embroiled in WWII. In 1930s Mobile, Ala., preacher’s son Jimmy Propfield shares an idyllic upbringing with childhood sweetheart Claire Crockett and her younger brother Billy. Hank Wright soon enters their circle, and the four become inseparable as they grow up. But as high school graduation approaches, Jimmy wrestles with uncertainty about his future, and though he’s expected by his father to attend seminary, he’s driven by faith—and a telegram with shocking news——to enlist with Billy and Hank. (He’s also eager to create distance from Claire, with whom his relationship has fractured.) The three are assigned to the Thirty-First Infantry in Manila, which at first seems like a paradise. But things become dire after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and the boys are taken prisoners of war, beginning a 60-mile march up the Bataan Peninsula to camps where unbelievable horrors await. They struggle to survive and return home, where Jimmy hopes to reunite with Claire. Brotherton and Lee masterfully capture what it was like for soldiers to face war’s atrocities, as well as the heartbreak of those waiting for them back home. This is a winner. (May)

Publishers Weekly

★ 05/01/2023

Jimmy Propfield is expected to follow in his hard-nosed preacher father's footsteps, but he has bigger dreams. He views the second World War as his chance to escape rural Alabama and see the world. Soon he's in the Philippines, living large with his childhood friends Billy Crockett and Hank Wright. When the Japanese military invades the island country, though, Jimmy and thousands of other Allied soldiers are stranded behind enemy lines and all his daddy's preaching on hell "ain't done it a lick of justice." Forced to obey the whims of soldiers disregarding the Geneva convention, Jimmy and his pals vow to return home alive. Brotherton (A Bright and Blinding Sun) lends his research prowess to Lee's (The Line Between) suspense expertise in this gritty tale of suffering and redemption. VERDICT A great read for those enthralled with real-life stories of war and survival such as Laura Hilderbrand's Unbroken and Adam Makos's Devotion. Recommend to those looking for a new angle on World War II fiction.

Library Journal