The acclaimed author's controversial 1967 debut was a novel of men at
war--with themselves.
Lieutenant Dan Tierney is a Marine aboard the vast but labyrinthine and
claustrophobic USS Vanguard, an aircraft carrier on patrol in the
Pacific in 1956. Forced by the illness of his commanding officer to
assume control of the Marines on board, Tierney must make decisions that
will alter the lives of his troops and the shape of own future.
When a minor infraction committed by a promising young Private named Ted
Freeman leads to a major investigation, a secret culture of initiation
rituals and homosexuality is exposed. Torn between protecting Freeman
and safeguarding the Marines' reputation, Lt. Tierney must come to terms
with the tragic reality of a system he had once idealized.
The Lieutenant explores the culture and politics of the United
States military at the start of the Vietnam War, and reveals the
insecurities of the men whose lives were defined by it.
