O'Hara's choice - Leon Uris

Uris used his own experiences in the Marine Corps as the basis for his first novel, Battle Cry, published in 1953. Fifty years later, Uris revisits the Marine Corps and it's history, with O'Hara's Choice, his last novel, bringing him full circle.

Irish immigrant Paddy O'Hara was a legendary Marine - one of the first - and the inspiration for a fraternity of Marine brothers who call themselves the Wart Hogs. In the years following the Civil War, these stalwart warriors engage in the fight of their lives, struggling to keep the Marine Corps a vital part of the country's armed forces. There are those in the government who would like to see this unruly band of brothers dissolved and the Navy given sovereign rule of the waves. The Marines' one hope just may lie in Zachary O'Hara, the young, brash, fiercely intelligent son of their hero Paddy.

As Paddy O'Hara's son, Zachary practically grew up in the Marines, and is as dedicated to saving the Corps as any Wart Hog. He hadn't planned on falling in love, though, and certainly not with the passionate, obstinate heiress Amanda Kerr, daughter of one of the biggest industrialists in the country. But more than just differences in background could come between Zachary and Amanda: Paddy's son is haunted by a secret he can never tell, a secret that may force him to choose between a stunning career as an officer in his beloved Corps and life with the woman who fulfils his every desire.