The Winston Affair: A Novel

by Howard Fast

During the Second World War, a military lawyer is embroiled in the toughest case of his career when he must defend a fellow murderous officer

In the midst of World War II, Captain Barney Adams’s superiors call on him with a very unusual request. A troubled US army lieutenant has confessed to murdering a British officer, and Captain Adams has been assigned as his defense attorney. Military court officials want the cleanest possible trial for the lieutenant, and they believe that Captain Adams, a war hero and distinguished lawyer, is the best man for the job. But when Adams begins to investigate the murder, he finds that this seemingly open-and-shut case is actually much more complicated. Before long he is absorbed in a dramatic struggle for a fair trial against the most overwhelming odds.

 

Thrilling and thought-provoking, The Winston Affair is a powerful portrait of a man torn between the wishes of his superiors and the call for justice.

 

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author’s estate.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1959

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

[Howard]

From a novel about a slave revolt against Rome ('Spartacus', 1951) to one about the revolt of the American colonies against the British crown ('April Morning', 1961) to a story of a court martial trial during WWII ('The Winston Affair', 1959) and many books before and after these, Howard Fast never disappointed me.

I have never added up the total number of his books that I have read, though I know that it is a bunch, but I also know that I will never read everything that he wrote since all of the fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screen plays of this prolific writer add up to a total of more than eighty works.

[Jim]

Have you ever found your self looking for a change of pace book to read? Bored and uninterested with your available unread books on hand, one turns to a book from a library, bookstore, etc ; a book that is about a theme or subject that you have wanted to explore but just never have. I did and found myself mesmerized with a book by Howard Fast, “The Winston Affair”. This book is written about an Army Court Martial trial for a murder case taking place in a backwards base in southeast Asia. Without divulging too much the author builds a suspenseful tale of a young West Point combat experienced junior officer assigned to defend an officer accused of murder and facing the mandatory death penalty. He is working in the difficult guidelines and rules of the United Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)
He must build and plead his case to a board of senior officers while facing a JAG prosecuting attorney. For me it was a book I could not set down and ended staying awake until 3:00a.m. to finish it

[Ric]

An enjoyable and quick read. This novel dealt with the process of military law and not so much delving into the personal lives of the major players. It goes on to explain the delicate balancing act of rule of law in a military setting and the need to maintain discipline at all costs. This pitted the protagonist against the Generals who had a drop-dead guilty decision. But our young defense attorney not liking what he has been given goes off on tangents not seen before in General Courts Martial.

[Laura]

Good book but ended on a surprisingly downbeat feel. Actually, the whole thing was pretty downbeat, which isn't a huge surprise given the content, but usually these books pull it back up into happy land for the ending. I think I respect the writer more for keeping it like this.

[Terry Simpkins]

Kind of pedestrian and read a bit like a screenplay. Maybe its depiction of insanity was edgy for the time (1959 I believe) but now the controversy (is mental health an actual thing?) feels dated, cruel, and a mite idiotic

[Pat]

Many years ago I read some of Howard Fast's historical fiction, but I wasn't aware he also wrote mysteries. This story is set in World War II, in the dregs of the Indian theater. Mr. Fast gives enough detail to give us a taste of the area but the main focus is on the court-martial drama and the ethical dilemma our hero faces. The book also includes a brief biography of Howard Fast, making me want more.

[Linda]

This book reads like a screen play. It's mostly dialogue and monologue and as I was reading, I could hear the actors speaking those lines in a black and white movie. Dramatic, terse, like so many courtroom and military movies of the '40s and 50's.

[Lynn]

An Army court martial during WWII and a defense attorney who stays true to himself.

First published 1959, and still remains a classic.