The Long Gray Line

The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966

By: Rick Atkinson

Narrated by: Adam Barr, Rick Atkinson

"A story of epic proportions [and] an awesome feat of biographical reconstruction."—The Boston Globe

**This program includes an original foreword, read by Rick Atkinson, and exclusive to the audiobook, as well as a bonus conversation between the author and Ty Seidule**

For more on Rick Atkinson's research and writing, please visit revolutiontrilogy.com

A classic of its kind, The Long Gray Line is the twenty-five-year saga of the West Point class of 1966. With a novelist's eye for detail, Rick Atkinson illuminates this powerful story through the lives of three classmates and the women they loved—from the boisterous cadet years, to the fires of Vietnam, to the hard peace and internal struggles that followed the war.

The rich cast of characters also includes Douglas MacArthur, William C. Westmoreland, and a score of other memorable figures. The class of 1966 straddled a fault line in American history, and Atkinson's masterly book speaks for a generation of American men and women about innocence, patriotism, and the price we pay for our dreams.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company

Critic reviews

“Enormously rich in detail and written with a novelist's brilliance… A very moving book.” —James Salter, The Washington Post Book World

“A story of epic proportions [and] awesome feat of biographical reconstruction… A difficult book to put down.” —Cullen Murphy, The Boston Globe

“The Long Gray Line is a profoundly moving saga in which the U.S. Military Academy at West Point stands center stage. In mufti or olive drab, at peace or war, amidst joy or grief, in life or death, the academy shapes all. The author has captured its ethos. If you want to see a slice of the nation's manhood in a drama of troubled times and find its heart, feel its emotions, sense its dilemmas, then read this book. It is a stunning story.” —Colin L. Powell

“More of a biography of a generation than of a class at West Point… Stark, shocking, jolting.” —John Eisenhower, Chicago Tribune (front page review)

“Journalism elevated to narrative history, a book like Neil Sheehan's Pulitzer Prize-winning A Bright Shining Lie. But better.” —USA Today

“A work as masterfully executed as it was conceived.” —Philadelphia Inquirer

Those days will return

History repeats so a many say. The learning here is that the book reads timeless, Vietnam like yesterday. My neighbors of such vigor are now on the dying edge. The reading helped my perspective. Killing in war more long term affect then the one off murder Dostoevsky perfected.

Loved It

Wonderful story, well told, well read. Wish it had gone a little further in the lives of the main characters or at least some kind of epilogue. Really liked the interview with the author at the end.

This book and the stories it told embodied excellence on a level human beings seldom achieve!

I am 51, and this book gave me a sense of understanding I’ve been searching for and had not found. May GOD bless the author and all those who serve this Nation in any capacity. As citizens of a republic we all have a duty to serve, if only to diligently seek out the truth in order to cast an informed vote based on facts and not emotions. The truth is knowledge you must earn, and it starts with the effort of paying attention to the lessons of the past. I feel that “The Long Grey Line” shared with me some truths that will help me to become a better citizen and a better person. Thank you!

His First Book-It Stands With All the Others

I happened upon this book accidentally as Audible promoted it to its readers of military history. I have read his trilogy on World War II, which I found fascinating, so I ventured into this one. I have not been disappointed. I place it alongside his more renowned books. A great read.

An important look at USMA and the men it produced.

This is an excellent book by historian Rick Atkinson. It is not in the same vein as his superb 3 volume study of the US Army in Africa and Europe during WW2; it is a personal account of young men becoming warriors. A minor flaw - "Honky Tonk Women" came out in 1969, not in 1964. Of course, Atkinson could be referring to another song..

Anyway, a fine book.