Publisher's Synopsis
Boys quickly become old men in the brutal Italian campaign. From the bloody beaches of Salerno to the wars closing chapter in May 1945, every foot of Italian ground is gained only after a grueling death match with the combat tested Wehrmacht; the vaunted Fallschirmjagers, and the fanatical, twisted Waffen S.S. led by intractable foes such as Hauptsturmfuhrer Karl Abarth. His God is Hitler, and his only desire other than totally possessing the icy distant Comtessa Gina DeContella is the total destruction of his enemies. For private Dominic Abbruzzi, son of proud Italian immigrants, and his fellow G.I."s it seems at times a hopeless task that none will survive. Their only respite from the madness are their thoughts and dreams of the nubile young women they loved and left behind. For Dominic it was Carole, sweet and warm and wiser than her nineteen years. Their love was forever till Abbruzzi betrayed her with her best friend. Could she, would she ever forgive? Private Charles B. Blakely IV, heroic descended from true southern cavalier stock. The others, especially Abbruzzi look to him for his strength of character and innate wisdom. But Blakely has abandoned his birthright and all it conveyed and now fights to keep his own demons of secret shame at bay. Private Richard Yamovitz understands misery and disaster, they have dogged him ceaselessly, destroying his hope of rising in life or finding the one girl he can love and be loved by in return. He thought he had found her in the arms of an Irish flower, but her brothers unfettered hatred smashed his frail dream. His only sanctuary now is in the fellowship of his three friends. Private Francis X. Giordano, wise cracking, two fisted Italian- Irish New Yorker, ready to take on the world with his brilliance; anti-Army and anything else that keeps him from his women and having a hell of a good time. His biggest problem is he can not keep his mind from grappling with the insanity surrounding him. Can Dominic Abbruzzi and his buddies endure and survive the war that engulfs them to their very souls as the seek the elusive only way home, THE BACK DOOR TO GLORY.
