The Proud and the Free

by Howard Fast

The return of a classic novel by legendary author Howard Fast, acclaimed and bestselling author of the Immigrants saga, Spartacus, and Citizen Tom Paine.

This is the simple and moving story of Jamie Stuart, of the 11th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line. Stuart, bound to a cobbler, had run away to join the army at seventeen. Now as a man of twenty-two, he is chosen one of the Committee of Sergeants who, on New Year's Day of 1781 -- when open revolt seemed the only way to justify the principles for which they fought -- organize and hold the Line together against its officers.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, American Revolutionary War

311 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1950

About the author

Howard Fast was one of the most prolific American writers of the twentieth century. He was a bestselling author of more than eighty works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays. The son of immigrants, Fast grew up in New York City and published his first novel upon finishing high school in 1933. In 1950, his refusal to provide the United States Congress with a list of possible Communist associates earned him a three-month prison sentence. During his incarceration, Fast wrote one of his best-known novels, Spartacus (1951). Throughout his long career, Fast matched his commitment to championing social justice in his writing with a deft, lively storytelling style.

Pseudonyms: Walter Ericson, E.V. Cunningham

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chances are if you read a book by an author who wrote during the fifties you’ll find some words and context that are a little unfamiliar. Add to this an author (who replicates the dialogue of an American revolutionary without using any quotation marks) and you have a book that is downright difficult to read! This being said, I thought the book contributed some interesting and surprisingly profound statements concerning the cost of freedom; a subject that is as important today as any day.
(Please forgive my poor critical writing. I have been out of school for too long. )