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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
WWII violence; the Holocaust is taking shape in the background; some combat and death
Language
Barely any
Mild language; period restraint
Sexual Content
Some
Adult relationships; an extramarital affair; period-appropriate handling
Substance Use
Barely any
Social drinking throughout the diplomatic and naval settings
Emotional Intensity
Some
The horror of watching Europe descend into war; the Holocaust beginning to become visible through references and reports
What this book is about
Victor 'Pug' Henry, a US Navy captain, is assigned as a naval attaché in Berlin in 1939. As his family spreads across the world—one son with the RAF, another in the Pacific, his wife in the literary salons of Europe—Pug meets Hitler, Churchill, and Roosevelt and watches the world slide toward war. Wouk's massively researched historical novel is the first of a two-volume work; it follows the Henry family from 1939 to Pearl Harbor with the sweep and detail of Tolstoy transposed to the mid-twentieth century.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
WWII violence and the beginnings of the Holocaust
The moral weight of watching catastrophe approach
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