?Conroy takes aim at our darkest emotions, lets the arrow fly and hits a bull's-eye almost every time.? ?Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This is the story of Bull Meecham, the epitome of the Marine officer. Demanding, authoritarian, as tough a disciplinarian at home as at the base, Bull is a difficult man to please, and even harder to love. This is also the story of Ben Meecham, Bull's oldest son. A gifted athlete whose best never satisfies his father, Ben must balance his own ambition with his father's expectations ? and decide what course he will chart for himself and what kind of man he will become. Piercing, bittersweet, and unforgettable, The Great Santini is Pat Conroy's semi-autobiographical lens into fathers and sons, and the powerful legacy one man can leave behind.

?Robust and vivid...full of feeling.? ? Newsday

?Few novelists write as well, and none as beautifully.? ? Lexington Herald Leader