The long march by William Styron
QR code
"The long march" by William Styron is a novella written in the mid-20th century. It follows Marine reservists at a Carolina training base in the early 1950s after a deadly training accident, focusing on Lieutenant Culver, his embittered friend Captain Mannix, and their exacting commander, Colonel Templeton. The story probes fear, aging, and the pull of authority as a punishing overnight march becomes a test of bodies, loyalties, and pride. The opening
follows Culver witnessing the graphic aftermath of two misfired mortar rounds that kill eight men and wound many more, then flashing back to his reluctant recall from a settled New York life to a disorienting camp routine. Through Culver’s eyes we meet Templeton—cool, theatrical, and devoutly Marine—and Mannix, a scarred veteran whose cynicism erupts in lectures, at the officers’ club, and in memories of past peril. Templeton orders a thirty-six-mile forced march to “shape up” the battalion; Mannix responds with fierce resolve to make his company finish, despite a nail in his boot and rising pain. The narrative tracks the start of the march: a brutal pace in sand, thirst, silence broken by Mannix’s bullying cadence, brief breathers on the roadside, and Culver’s mounting panic and fatigue. Mannix’s mood swings between grief (after viewing a boy’s shattered body) and harsh command as he goads his men and wrestles with his own wound. The section closes with the march underway, Mannix hurting, and Templeton hovering—calm, implacable—as the night’s ordeal deepens. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
Kobo, Nook etc → Transfer via USB
Phone, tablet or computer → Open in a reading app
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Styron, William, 1925-2006 |
|---|---|
| Title | The long march |
| Original Publication | New York: Random House, 1952, reprint 1956. |
| Note | Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_March_(novel) |
| Credits | Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 77.5 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | War stories |
| Subject | Korean War, 1950-1953 -- United States -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 76604 |
| Release Date | Aug 1, 2025 |
| Last Update | Nov 4, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 268 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!