This is a book you will never forget. It is

about the U. S. Army, the huge un-

wieldly organism on which much of the

nation s survival depends. It is about

Americans trying to live personal lives.

to cling to touchstones of faith and hope

in the grip of the blind, bluuderous

history of the last 25 years. It is about

marriage, the illusions and hopes that

people bring to it, the struggle to main-

tain and renew commitment.

On June 5, 1950, graduation day at

West Point, Joanna Welsh of Cincin-

nati, poet and idealist, walks beneath

an arch of shining sabers, the bride of

Peter MacArthur Burke. one of the

stars of Army s perenially victorious

football team. Within minutes she is

followed by Amy Kemble, the cool,

tough-minded Philadelphia heiress.

who has married George Rosser. a

somewhat bland but clever Califor-

nian. Next comes red-haired Honor

Prescott of Charlesville. Virginia, gid-

dily in love with Adam Thayer of

Maine, who hides his brilliance and

his reckless idealism behind a stream

ofjokes and comic impersonations.