Three Soldiers

A grim portrait of World War I army life that set the standard for Hemingway, Mailer, and other acclaimed chroniclers of warfare.

They come to the army from different Americas: Fuselli, a San Francisco store clerk bucking for promotion; Chrisfield, a laid-back Indiana farm boy; and Andrews, a Harvard graduate and promising New York City musician. In basic training, they are told it doesn't matter where a man is born or what he wants to be. The best soldiers are automatons. To be a perfect c...