The long march

In the shadow of the Korean War, a series of misfired mortar shells kill six men in a Marine camp during a training exercise, prompting the commanding officer to order a grueling punishment: a thirty-six mile march through the suffocating heat of the Carolina summer. Intended to beat discipline into the aging reservists, the march instead rankles Lieutenant Culver and Captain Mannix, whose growing resentment of the brutal trek leads to an ultimate, powerful act of rebellion. The Long March is a withering critique of a military system that leaves no room for dignity or personal identity. Told in part through flashbacks and dream sequences, the story is immersed in vivid language and philosophical reflection--a poignant defense of the individual in the face of attempted dehumanization.