Warning of War: A Novel of the North China Marines - Paperback

by James Brady (Author)

The New York Times Bestselling Author of The Marines of Autumn

Late November of 1941.

Half the world is at war and with the other half about to join in, a thousand U.S. Marines stand sentinel over the last days of an uneasy truce between ourselves and the Imperial Japanese Army in chaotic North China.

By November 27, FDR is convinced Japan is about to launch a military action. Washington doesn't know where, isn't sure precisely when. But the Cabinet is sufficiently alarmed that War Secretary Henry Stimson and Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox are authorized to send an immediate and coded "warning of war" to American bases and units in harm's way.

In Shanghai two cruise ships are chartered and 800 armed American Marines are marched through the great port city with enormous pomp and circumstance and embarked for Manila.

Another 200 Marines, unable to reach Shanghai, and serving in small garrisons and posts from Peking to Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, are caught short by this "warning of war".

This is their story. Of how a detachment of American Marines marooned in North China as war erupts, set out on an epic march through hostile territory in an attempt to fight their way out of China and, somehow, rejoin their Corps for the war against Japan.

James Brady dazzles us once again with a stunning and unflinching look at America at war. Warning of War is a moving tribute to sheer courage, determination, and Marine Corps discipline, and is a wonderful celebration of America in one of its darkest but finest hours.

Back Jacket

Praise for Warning of War:

"Brady has emerged as one of the best novelists of his generation."--Dan Rather

"Brady has stormed publishing high ground to become, arguably, our foremost novelist currently writing on the subject of Marines at war. Authentic atmospherics and crackling action are sure to keep fans turning the pages of this newest Brady combat thriller."--Publishers Weekly

"Brady sculpts an image of an ideal Marine."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Colorful and pithy, Warning of War is the most enjoyment one can have reading an adventure war novel."--Leatherneck magazine

"An enthralling read! James Brady captures the proud swagger of real Marine esprit-de-corps and the true hard-edged violence of close combat during a time that deserves the Brady spotlight. Warning of War is a must-read."--General James L. Jones, U.S. Marine Corps

"James Brady"s tremendously engaging tale has captured the drama and desperation of a unique and nearly forgotten facet of American history."--Lieutenant Colonel Jon Hoffman, U.S. Marine Corps, author of Chesty: The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis Puller, USMC

Praise for The Marines of Autumn:

"The Korean War now has its own Iliad, historically precise and harrowingly poetic."--Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

"Mr. Brady knows war, the smell and the feel of it."--The New York Times

"The Marines of Autumn is right up there with the very best of combat writing and is destined to become one of the defining novels of the genre."--Nelson DeMille, author of The Lion's Game

Author Biography

James Brady was a baby-faced marine commanding a combat platoon during the Korean War. He captured these experiences in his highly praised memoir The Coldest War and the New York Times bestselling novel The Marines of Autumn. His weekly columns for Advertising Age and Parade magazines were considered must-reads by millions. He lived in Manhattan and in East Hampton, New York.