An early autobiographical novel by the great American poet, closely based on his experiences in a French detention facility in World War I. Falsely suspected of spying for Germany, Cummings and a friend were detained in appallingly squalid conditions amid abusive guards and an international collection of people who would be misfits under most circumstances. Considered by F. Scott Fitzgerald to be the finest novel to emerge from the Great War, it remains a vivid tale documenting the stupidity and cruelty endemic to authorities afflicted equally with paranoia and power.fic