James Jones (1921–1977) was one of the most accomplished American authors of the World War II generation. He served in the United States Army from 1939 to 1944, and was present at the attack on Pearl Harbor as well as the battle for Guadalcanal, where he was decorated with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Jones’s experiences informed his epic war novels From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line. His other works include Some Came Running, The Pistol, Go to the Widow-Maker, The Ice-Cream Headache and Other Stories, The Merry Month of May, A Touch of Danger, Whistle, and To the End of the War, a book of previously unpublished fiction.