Paranoia and the Fickle Finger of Fate

In his first published work, Arlow Grant draws on his childhood and 20 years of military experience to give us the character of Harry, a sensitive young boy who joins the National Guard at the age of 14 and fails to see the "irony of getting a school spanking in the winter and being handed his first assault rifle that summer." We meet Harry just prior to World War II, when "chronic parental absenteeism" means freedom for both city kids and rural kids alike. In this skillfully told tale, Grant presents a cast of misfit characters and rollicking escapades that take us through Harry's childhood, his military years, and into the present day.