The horror of a stalemate on Europe's western front: France and Britain on one side of the desolate line of barbed wire, a powerful German army on the other. Jeff Sharra opens the window onto the otherworldly tableau of trench warfare through the eyes of a typical British soldier whose innocent youth is cast into the awful hell of a new and terrifying brand of war. In the air above, a new kind of hero emerges the flying ace. As the conflict enters its third year, a neutral America is goaded into battle, but is woefully unprepared. The responsibility is placed on the shoulders of General John Blackjack Pershing, and by spring 1918, the first wave of the American Expeditionary Force joins the fight in Europe. With the renewed spirit and strength of the untested Americans, the world waits to see if the tide of war can finally be turned.Brilliant does not even begin to describe the Shaara gift. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)