The acclaimed author’s controversial 1967 debut was a novel of men at war—with themselves. Lieutenant Dan Tierney is a Marine aboard the vast but labyrinthine and claustrophobic USS Vanguard, an aircraft carrier on patrol in the Pacific in 1956. Forced by the illness of his commanding officer to assume control of the Marines on board, Tierney must make decisions that will alter the lives of his troops and the shape of own future. When a minor infraction committed by a promising young Private named Ted Freeman leads to a major investigation, a secret culture of initiation rituals and homosexuality is exposed. Torn between protecting Freeman and safeguarding the Marines' reputation, Lt. Tierney must come to terms with the tragic reality of a system he had once idealized. The Lieutenant explores the culture and politics of the United States military at the start of the Vietnam War, and reveals the insecurities of the men whose lives were defined by it. This Nonpareil edition includes a new introduction by novelist and memoirist, Andre Dubus III. “ The Lieutenant is a masterpiece of military fiction and character driven storytelling. Each page is a work of total control and wound up energy, a predator ready to pounce. The beauty and stupidity of military service are on full display, as well the yearnings and failings of young men practicing leadership and preparing warriors for the battle. Dubus’s nuanced interiority and patient pacing changed the art of American military storytelling. The Lieutenant has been a secret for far too long. Read it.” — Anthony Swofford , author of Jarhead “Dubus is a master, our American Chekhov, and this re-issue of his only novel, The Lieutenant , is a gift.” — Elliot Ackerman , author of Red Dress in Black & White “Andre Dubus was a genius. His tense, wholly absorbing first (and only) novel has the dramatic pacing of a thriller, but with tremendous psychological and moral insight. At first a local study of power and of characters desperate to place their faith in corrupted and corrupting human institutions, the notes struck by the novel’s end resonate out, leaving us questioning the structure of our own relationship to power, and what, precisely, it is we put our faith in.” — Phil Klay , author of Missionaries “A fine, tense, wholly absorbing novel.” — Richard Yates , author of Revolutionary Road Andre Dubus (1936–1999) is considered among the most talented American short stories writers of his generation. Born and raised in Louisiana, he spent his adult life living and teaching in blue-collar mill towns in northern New England. Dubus’s short stories and essays appeared in distinguished literary journals and magazines across the country, and were selected for numerous editions of the Best American Short Stories series, as well as the O. Henry Awards and Pushcart Prize anthologies. Dubus’s work earned him MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, the Rea Award for the Short Story, the Jean Stein Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and nominations for a National Book Critics Circle Award and Pulitzer Prize. In addition to seven collections of stories and novellas, Dubus published one novel and two collections of essays. The award-winning films In the Bedroom and We Don't Live Here Anymore were adapted from his stories. Dubus is buried in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Andre Dubus III ’s books include the New York Times bestsellers House of Sand and Fog , The Garden of Last Days , and his memoir, Townie . His most recent novel, Gone So Long , has been named on many “Best Books” lists in 2018. His books have been finalists for the National Book Award, won him an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, and are published in over twenty-five languages. He has two new books forthcoming: the novel Such Kindness and a collection of personal essays, Ghost Dogs . Dubus teaches full-time at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.