Gloria Jones collection of James Jones
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Administrative/Biographical History
James Ramon Jones was born November 6, 1921 in Robinson, Illinois to Ramon and Ada (Blessing) Jones. Upon graduating from high school, Jones enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1939 and served with the 27th Infantry in Hawaii. After the attacks on Pearl Harbor and before his deployment to Guadalcanal, Jones took courses at the University of Hawaii (1942). Jones was wounded in January 1943 and sent to a hospital in Memphis, from which he was honorably discharged. He moved back to Illinois and lived with Harry and Lowney Handy, beginning a career as a novelist while taking more courses from New York University (1945). While living with the Handy's, Jones assisted in the formation and development of the Handy Writer's Colony by donating some of the proceeds from his first novel.
Jones's first novel, From Here to Eternity (1951), which ends at the attack on Pearl Harbor, focuses on a group of regular enlistees and won the National Book Award for Fiction. His later novels also depict war, including The Pistol (1959) and The Thin Red Line (1962), but Jones did not consider himself a war novelist. On the contrary, he sought to depict "the regimentation of souls, the systemized reduction of men to animal level, the horrors of pointless death, [and] the exhaustion of living in constant fear" that came with battle, noting that "modern war destroys human character." In 1958, Jones and his new wife, Gloria Mosolino, relocated to Paris where they became part of a group of writers based there in the post-war era. Jones also worked on film scripts.
Jones visited Vietnam as a journalist for The New York Times Magazine during the Vietnam War, and the trip would inspire the nonfiction work Viet Journal (1974). Jones died in Southhampton, New York on May 9, 1977.
Jones's publications, in order of completion, include:
Jones, J. (1951). From Here to Eternity. Charles Scribner's Sons.
Jones, J. (1958). Some Came Running. Charles Scribner's Sons.
Jones, J. (1959). The Pistol. Charles Scribner's Sons.
Jones, J. (1962). The Thin Red Line. Charles Scribner's Sons.
Jones, J. (1967). Go to the Widow-Maker. Delacorte Press.
Jones, J. (1968). The Ice-Cream Headache and Other Stories. Collins.
Jones, J. (1971). The Merry Month of May. Delacorte Press.
Jones, J. (1973). A Touch of Danger. Doubleday Press.
Jones, J. (1974). Viet Journal. Delacorte Press.
Jones, J. (1975). WWII. Grosset & Dunlap.
Jones, J. (finished by Willie Morris). (1978). Whistle. Delacorte Press.
Sources
"James Jones: An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Center." Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, The University of Texas, Austin. https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthrc/00208/hrc-00208.html.
Mitgang, Herbert. "James Jones, Novelist, 55, Dies; Best Known for 'Here to Eternity.'" The New York Times, May 10, 1977.
"Who is James Jones?" The James Jones Literary Society. https://jamesjonesliterarysociety.org/who-is-james-jones/.
Author: Jonathan Puckett Administrative InformationThe RBML reproductions policies can be found here:
http://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/ReproductionServices.htm
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.
Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would damage materials or involve violation of copyright law.
Submit request (Aeon) |
Rows will be filtered from the table below as selections are made
| Service Location | Boxes | Request |
|---|---|---|
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 000 | Request Box 000 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 001 | Request Box 001 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 002 | Request Box 002 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 003 | Request Box 003 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 005 | Request Box 005 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 006 | Request Box 006 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 007 | Request Box 007 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 008 | Request Box 008 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 009 | Request Box 009 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 010 | Request Box 010 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 011 | Request Box 011 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 012 | Request Box 012 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 013 | Request Box 013 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 014 | Request Box 014 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 015 | Request Box 015 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 016 | Request Box 016 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 017 | Request Box 017 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 018 | Request Box 018 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 019 | Request Box 019 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 020 | Request Box 020 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 021 | Request Box 021 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 022 | Request Box 022 |
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 346 Main Library | Box 023 | Request Box 023 |
Printer-friendly | 
Email Us