The Sand Pebbles
Book description
This now-classic novel by Richard McKenna enjoyed great critical acclaim and commercial success when it was first published in 1962. The winner of the coveted Harper Prize, it was on the New York Times bestseller list for seven months and was made into a popular motion picture that continues to…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Sand Pebbles as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
An old army buddy of mine used to say that when he had trouble at work and was worried about being able to support his family and when life was beginning to be a little too much, he would pick up a copy of The Sand Pebbles by Richard McKenna. Soon, he’d be transported to the deck of the USS San Pablo, during the 1920s, steaming up the Yangtze River in the heart of China and suddenly everything was right.
McKenna was a sailor in the US Navy for 22 years (1931 to 1953). He enlisted at the age of…
From Martin's list on GI life as told by GIs.
This acclaimed 1962 novel about a Yangtze River gunboat, the fictional USS San Pablo, and its crew, was adapted into a major 1966 film. The author drew upon his own experiences aboard a gunboat stationed in Changsha and Hankow. The protagonist is an independent-minded machinist, Jake Holman. At the heart of the novel is the clash of waning Western imperialism and emerging Chinese nationalism in the mid-1920s.
From John's list on or set in the Hunan province in China.
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