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THE RESPONSIBLES by M. R. Kadish Kirkus Star

THE RESPONSIBLES

By

Pub Date: Jan. 19th, 1950
Publisher: Random House

The blood and mud of the Italian campaign grippingly recreated in this tour de force account of a howitzer gun crew, from Cassino to the Alpine foothills of the North-- the endless waiting for senseless orders, the overcharged brutality, the bloodshot nights, the cold, the flithy clothing and bodies and the desperate substitutes for normal sex. Bewildered and resentful, the men can't see beyond immediate circumstances and wish they could all go home, while the brass by and large devote their thoughts to getting ahead-- to the next rank-- the higher decoration. Only the harrassed, cracking lieutenant and the hard-bitten long-jawed sergeant of the crew retain a wellspring of decency and responsibility that carries them through. Probably as realistic a picture of army life in the second great war as any yet written, reminiscent of Harry Brown's best selling A Walk In The Sun.