James Jones was born in Robinson, Illinois, on 6 November 1921, the son of a dentist, Ramon Jones, and Ada Blessing Jones. His midwestern roots are particularly evident in his second novel, Some Came Running, although many of his insights into the culture of mid-America come from a later period of his life after World War II when he settled in Marshall, Illinois, and spent six years writing From Here to Eternity under the aegis of Mrs. Lowney Handy and her husband Harry. Jones completed his high school education in Illinois and later took some college courses at the University of Hawaii (1942) and at New York University (1945). Jones boxed as a welterweight both in the Golden Gloves and in the army, and he reveals his intimate knowledge of the sport in the fight scenes in From Here to Eternity. The most pervasive experience for his literary career was his hitch...