A Novel of the Bonus Army

Two armies. One flag. No honor.
The darkest day in American history.

Mired in the Great Depression, the United States teeters on the brink of revolution. And as the summer of 1932 approaches, a charismatic hobo leads twenty thousand desperate World War I veterans into the nation’s capital to demand their service compensation.

The remarkable true events depicted in this sweeping historical novel are unfolded through the eyes of eight individuals who came together on a tense July day to determine the nation’s fate:

— Herbert Hoover, the beleaguered president.
— Douglas MacArthur, the ambitious West Point general.
— Pelham Glassford, the compassionate D.C. police chief.
— Walter Waters, the troubled leader of the Bonus veterans.
— Floyd Gibbons, the celebrated war correspondent and radio broadcaster.
— Joe Angelo, the banty Italian-American who serves as George Patton’s orderly.
— Ozzie Taylor, the street musician turned Harlem Hellfighter.
— Anna Raber, the Mennonite nurse.

This timely epic leads the reader across a memorable panorama of American history, from the Boxer Rebellion in China to the Plain of West Point, from the persecution of conscientious objectors to the horrors of the Marne, and from the Hoovervilles of the heartland to the pitiful Anacostia encampment in the bowels of the nation’s capital.

Here is the shocking but little-known story of the political intrigue and government betrayal that culminated in the only pitched battle ever fought between two American armies under the same flag.

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Awards

Foreword Reviews Book-of-the-Year Finalist
Chaucer Award Book-of-the-Year Finalist
indieBRAG Medallion Honoree

“A WONDERFUL SOURCE OF HISTORICAL FACT WRAPPED IN A COMPELLING NOVEL… IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT ONE OF AMERICA’S DARKEST DAYS, ONE THAT RARELY GETS ANY ATTENTION, THIS IS A BOOK THAT WILL BOTH TEACH AND ENTERTAIN.”
— Historical Novel Society

“A VIVID PICTURE OF NOT ONLY MEN BEING DEPRIVED OF THEIR VETERANS’ RIGHTS, BUT OF THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS AS WELL… CRANEY PERFORMS A VALUABLE SERVICE BY CHRONICLING IT IN THIS ADMIRABLE BOOK.”
— Military Writers Society of America

“MASTERFUL AND COURAGEOUS….[E]SSENTIAL READING FOR THOSE WHO FOUND TRUTH AND BEAUTY CO-EXISTENT IN THE WORKS OF JOHN STEINBECK AND JOHN DOS PASSOS.”
— The Review Group UK

“CRANEY HAS WRITTEN AN OUTSTANDING SOCIAL AND MILITARY HISTORICAL NOVEL.”
— Joseph Spuckler, Author Alliance reviewer and Marine veteran.

“ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST MEMORABLE BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ.”
— Nathan Mercer, Movies and Manuscripts Reviews

“[I] KNOW OF NO OTHER FICTION WRITER WHO HAS MADE THIS BRAVE, TRAGIC PROTEST MOVEMENT THE MAIN THEME OF A NOVEL. GLEN CRANEY DESERVES PRAISE.”
— Ruth Latta, The Compulsive Reader Review

“FANS OF HISTORICAL FICTION SHOULD READ HIS BOOKS.”
— Dana Lombardy, World War One Historical Association.