Shades of Gray | 11 Rare West Point Works of Fiction
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FICTION FROM FACT
Books are great - the keepers of ideas, the connectors of dots, those sweet smelling bound bastions of knowledge. This year the United States Military Academy at West Point celebrates its 218th birthday. The cumulative knowledge amassed over those 218 years is vast and almost endless. Surely you’ve found yourself captivated by a treasure trove of a book filled to the gills with West Point factoids and nuggets.
But, today we present something little different - a list of West Point books that may not be on your radar, these are all of the FICTION variety. In this list are stories of ghosts, controversy, social change, epic poems of early USMA history and contemporary novels, there’s a comic book and a wonderful collection of satire and humor.
I do hope you enjoy this list, we had a blast putting it together. I learned a lot about the nature of West Point and FICTION. It’s full of perspective, demons, controversy and romance. Lastly, if I missed a particularly interesting book of FICTION, please let me know in the comments below.
Beyond the Point
Claire Gibson
ABOUT BEYOND THE POINT
The world—of business, of love, and of war—awaits Dani, Hannah, and Avery beyond the gates of West Point. These three women know that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But soon, that adage no longer rings true—for their future, or their friendship. As they’re pulled in different directions, will their hard-forged bond prevail or shatter?
Beyond the Point is a heartfelt look at how our closest friends can become our fiercest battle buddies. After all, the greatest battles we fight rarely require a uniform.
Thayer’s Return:
Early history of West Point in verse
H. J. Koch
From slumber waked a drowsy mind, and sound
Within the room could hear, and motion round
The chamber one could feel. A phantom stood
’Midst cadet’s abode, empty, smocked in hood.
Forth from his leering visage, coldness sprung.
With voice well raspy, he this question flung:
“Ye with frightful countenance, sheepish youth,
Awake! Many questions have I in truth.
ABOUT THAYER’S RETURN
In a compilation of historical verse divided into four parts, H. J. Koch intertwines his love of poetry with family experiences to provide a unique perspective on the early history of West Point. The Father of West Point, Sylvanus Thayer, has returned from the mist of history in the form of a ghost to seek an update of the academy from a cadet. As the two men converse over a number of nights, they lyrically explore the early history of West Point from its founding in 1802 until World War One. Thayer’s Return shares historical verse that lyrically explores the fascinating early history of West Point.
Shades of Gray
Timothy O’Neill ‘87
ABOUT SHADES OF GRAY
Set against a detailed background of West Point life and based on an actual legend at the academy, this novel explores the disappearance of Cadet Barstow, a student who complained of supernatural happenings in his barracks room.
Fright to the Point: Ghosts of West Point
Thad Krasnesky
ABOUT FRIGHT TO THE POINT
The United States Military Academy at West Point houses more than cadets; there are ghosts aplenty to stir your imagination and peak your curiosity about the country's oldest continuously running military school. This collection of 13 spooky ghost stories is focused on apparitions that make their home at West Point, right along with the living souls who march the halls of patriotism everyday. Within these pages meet Vivian, a mourning ghost at the Morrison House, but be careful not to lose your head over her (literally). The playful, but lazy, spirit maid at Washington Hall may take your wallet or you may be surprised to see the Lady in White at the Catholic Chapel floating at nearly 100 feet above your head just before she plunges to the ground and disappears. What will frighten you at West Point?
The Collected Works of Ducrot Pepys
Ronan C. Grady ‘43
ABOUT THE COLLECTED WORKS
"Collected Works" is a misleading title. These "works" are the diary, or something that purports to be the diary, of the mythical cadet Ducrot Pepys during his entire career at the U. S. Military Academy from 1940 to 1943: his last name is that of the celebrated English diarist, and his first name was a generic moniker, long traditional and usually disparaging of course, for a new Cadet. The diary is one of the classics of American humor, which owes its low profile largely to being a sort of inside joke: anyone who has ever been a Cadet at West Point or even, as in my case, at one of the other service academies, will recognize this stuff all too well, and the Foreword is all too accurate in saying that "cadets have laughed 'til the tears came over Grady's diary of Ducrot Pepys, because not only was it funny, but amazingly, it was true".
The Classic Adventures of Peter Parsec
Space Cadet
Mike Conrad ‘80
ABOUT PETER PARSEC
Peter Parsec first appeared in issues of The Pointer, a collegiate magazine produced by cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Running from 1976 to 1980, the satirical adventures of Peter and first-captain Carrie Sabres poked fun at comic books, science fiction and Academy life, and helped many classes of cadets get their minds off of the combined pressures of a heavy course load and countless military duties and regulations. The original adventures have been collected into a DOWNLOADABLE PDF, along with a few special features.
Join Pete and Carrie as they take on the many evils of the Universe, from the soporific Rack Monster to the grim armies of Sirius. Included is the independently produced Against Regulus, arguably the first graphic novel ever published, along with a few Bonus Features, such as the History of Peter Parsec AND the "lost" graduation episode -- the only one ever published in full color!
The Classic Adventures of Peter Parsec, Space Cadet
By Mike Conrad ‘80
A Clint Lane Story
Colonel Red Reeder ‘26
ABOUT THE CLINT LANE STORIES
The story of Clint Lane's first year at the United States Military Academy, and his struggle to balance the academic and athletic challenges of being a cadet, as well as living up to the memory of his deceased father, a military hero.
Clint Lane's second year at the Point includes combat maneuvers, night patrols, and participation in the great Army-Navy game.
Cadet Lane goes on his Second Class trip and learns about other branches of the military - Navy and Air Force, and more about the Army. An aircraft carrier, submarine, guns, night maneuvers, planes and jets are just a few of the things that Cadet Lane learns about during the beginning part of his summer.
Clint Lane’s fourth year at West Point is no less exciting than his first three, described in "West Point Plebe" and two other volumes. Now he is acting commander of Beast Detail (indoctrination of new cadets), is caught in a forest fire, wins his stripes as cadet captain and faces Navy in both football and baseball.
The Gray Girl Series
Susan Spieth ‘85
ABOUT THE GRAY GIRL SERIES
The Gray Girl Series depicts authentic experiences of the early years when the United States Military Academy first admitted women cadets. Jan Wishart is both heroine and troublemaker. She and her friends sometimes create their own dilemmas but mostly solve the larger issues they face while at West Point in the early 1980's. GRAY GIRL: Honor Isn’t Always Black and Whiteis the first book in the Gray Girl Series. AREA BIRD: Duty Doesn't Always Follow the Rules is book 2. Book 3 is WITCH HEART: Leadership Always Requires Sacrifice. Book 4 is FALL OUT: Courage Always Stands its Ground. All four can be read alone, but best read in order.
Dick Prescott at West Point: The Entire Series
H. Irving Hancock
ABOUT DICK PRESCOTT
This edition covers Dick Prescott's entire four years of adventures at West Point Military Academy. This continues Dick's adventures after the "High School Boys" and "High School Boys Vacation" series of books by author H. Irving Hancock, but can easily be read without knowledge of the prior books.
Splendid stories of young men who know how to get the most out of both work and play, and to make each year of life a preparation for a better year to come. These books are a great example of life in a simpler time before WW1.
The four books in this volume:
Book 1: Dick Prescott's First Year at West Point (Two Chums in the Cadet Gray)
Book 2: Dick Prescott's Second Year at West Point (Finding the Glory of the Soldier's Life)
Book 3: Dick Prescott's Third Year at West Point (Standing Firm for Flag and Honor)
Book 4: Dick Prescotts's Fourth Year at West Point (Ready to Drop the Gray for Shoulder Straps)
Full of intrigue and adventure, these classic novels are a must for adventure pulp literature fans!
Dress Gray
Lucian K. Truscott IV ‘69
ABOUT DRESS GRAY
Ry Slaight was a West Point cadet with everything going for him. The respect of his peers. A future military career with no limits. And a passionate love for Irit Dov, an Israeli woman with her own successful New York business.
But when a body was found floating in Lake Popolopen at the beginning of June Week, and the academy's official statements were startlingly at odds with what Slaight knew to be true, he was faced with the dilemma of his life.
Ry Slaight became obsessed with uncovering the truth. With Irit's help and the aid of a few trusted fellow cadets, Slaight learned more - of corruption, cover-up and abuse of power - than anyone ever wanted to know about West Point. In the process, he was forced to come to terms with what honor, love, and commitment really meant - both in the sheltered world of West Point, and beyond.
Full Dress Gray
Lucian K. Truscott IV ‘69
ABOUT FULL DRESS
Ry Slaight was a rebellious cadet who almost destroyed West Point when he exposed and solved the murder of a gay cadet in 1969. Now, nearly three decades later, Slaight's been promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Superintendent of the Military Academy. It's cause for congratulation -- and the occasion for a new blockbuster.
When a female cadet dies during parade, an autopsy establishes that she had sex with multiple partners the night before. Was she the victim of a gang rape? Was there a cadet orgy? Don't ask. Don't tell.
And that's just for starters. Slaight has his hands full: adultery among the senior faculty, sexual harassment, and an off-post beating involving cadets and drugs, not to mention the conservative Congressman who wants West Point closed, convinced it's a den of iniquity. And when the Commandant of Cadets aligns himself with a faction that believes the military academy should produce stone killers rather than an officer corps with a conscience, Slaight finds himself up against the same problems that bedeviled him as a cadet. But where once he almost brought West Point to its knees, now he's the only man who can put it back on its feet, as Full Dress Gray marches inexorably toward a climactic courtroom battle torn straight from today's headlines.
We’re suckers for good cover art and we’re big fans of 4 out of the 6 alternate covers. Pretty awesome.
Flirtation Walk
Siri Williams
ABOUT FLIRTATION WALK
Trying to escape the shambles her con-man father has made of their reputation, Lucinda Curtis arrives in West Point, New York, determined to land a husband from the military academy. Campbell Conklin is first in his class and preparing to embark upon a storied career in the U.S. Army. Lucinda thinks Campbell will make the perfect husband . . . as long as he does not find out about her father.
Seth Westcott also has taken a liking to Lucinda. He's kind, smart . . . and working extremely hard to graduate last. Tradition states that the worst cadets are assigned to the cavalry out west. And west is where Seth must head to track the swindler who stole all of Seth's mother's money. Seth is smart enough to vie for the top spot, but life isn't fair and this is his chance to catch the man who ruined his family. It's too bad Campbell is all shine and no substance, but Lucinda will surely see through all of that, won't she?
Whoa! That’s a lot of stories. But, we surely missed something…let us know what West Point fiction should be on this list in the comments below.
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