The Last Detail
by Darryl
Ponicsan.
First published
1970.
Published by Skyhorse.
Paperback.
Published by Skyhorse.
Paperback.
ISBN-10:
1510727752
ISBN-13: 978-1510727755
Description:
The acclaimed novel that was the basis for the classic movie starring Jack Nicholson.
ISBN-13: 978-1510727755
Description:
Unlike the other
branches of the armed services, the navy draws its police force from the ranks,
as temporary duty. The risk is that men on Shore Patrol might bring their
humanity to the task. This accounts for the underlying tension in "The
Last Detail", which takes place during the height of the Vietnam War.
Billy Bad-Ass and Mule Mulhall, two career sailors in transit in Norfolk,
awaiting permanent orders, are given a "chaser" duty. Their
assignment is to escort and deliver Larry Meadows, an 18-year-old sailor, from
Norfolk to Portsmouth, N.H., where he is to serve an eight-year sentence in the
brig. It's good duty, on the face of it, until the two old salts realize the
injustice of the sentence and are oddly affected by the true innocence of their
prisoner, even though he is guilty as charged. Failure, or refusal, to carry
out their duty is never a question, no matter how much they hate the detail or
how wrong it seems, and yet something must be done, some gesture made in order
to help their hapless prisoner survive the long ordeal he faces, and to purge
their own sense of shame. "The Last Detail" was Darryl Ponicsan's
first book and it catapulted him into the front rank of American novelists. It
was made into the 1973 film starring Jack Nicholson, and has become a classic
of the Golden Age of American cinema. This new edition of "The Last
Detail" coincides with the publication of its long-awaited sequel,
"Last Flag Flying", also available from The Wright Press.