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Don Swaim Interviews

Audio Interview with James Jones

James Jones

James Jones, a WWI veteran and author of From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line, discusses his motives for writing his most recent book at the time about WWII. Despite there being a multitude of novels about the war, Jones thought the real story had yet to be told. He said that because war is led by the upper classes, history tends to be distorted. He wanted to write about the viciousness, brutality and mercilessness that are often taken out of warfare.

Jones shares with Swaim memories from his time on the battlefield. His introduction to WWII came from the attack on Pearl Harbor. First he felt the rumbling of the ground and saw the smokes stakes rising into the sky. Then, he saw a Japanese pilot fly by so close that Jones clearly saw him wave and grin as he flew by.

To hear the gruesome details about Jones’ experiences with WWI, his struggles to "stop being a soldier" and of his thoughts on war, click on the link below.

Listen to the James Jones interview with Don Swaim, 1975
(30 min. 18 sec.)

 

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For over a decade, many of the best writers of the English language found their way onto Don Swaim's daily two-minute CBS Radio show, Book Beat. His New York-based program was derived from longer interviews, sometimes 40-minutes in length. Found exclusively here, Wired for Books proudly webcasts these conversations in their entirety using RealAudio.

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