O'Hara's Choice : A Novel

After the Civil War, stalwart warriors struggle to keep the Marine Corps alive. Their one hope may lie in Zachary O'Hara, the son of their hero, Paddy. But Zachary is haunted by a secret - one that may force him to choose between a career in the Corps or a life with a woman who fulfils his desires. Zachary O'Hara grew up in the Marines admiring his father Paddy – a legend. Now he may be the only hope of keeping the Corps alive. But he's haunted by a secret that may force him to choose between a career as an officer in his beloved Corps or a life with the woman who fulfills his every desire. “Uris is to the twentieth century what Charles Dickens was to the nineteenth.” -- Associated Press.Fifty years after his first novel, Battle Cry, took the world by storm, Leon Uris returns to the topic that first inspired him to write books that captivate, educate, and thrill -- the Marine Corps. In the years following the Civil War, first-generation Irish-American Zachary O'Hara, son of a legendary Marine and a force of a man in his own right, finds himself playing a critical role in the very future of the Marines. If he can persuade the Secretary of the Navy that the Marines are more crucial than ever to America's safety and security -- all the while hefting a heavier secret weight in his heart -- he'll save the corps and make his career.But there's an obstacle in his path that this warrior had not planned on. Amanda Blanton Kerr, the daughter of a ruthless industrialist, is a woman on a mission of her own; passionate, obstinate, and whip-smart, she's an heiress poised to blaze a trail for her sex.O'Hara's Choice is the story of the inevitable collision of these two handsome, fighting spirits. Getting their souls' desire could jeopardize everything they -- and their parents before them -- scraped and struggled to achieve.Duty to country, love of family, and a tormented passion intertwine in this latest epic by Leon Uris, international bestselling author of such classics as Exodus, Trinity, and Battle Cry. A riveting, sweeping tale in inimitable Uris style, O'Hara's Choice is this master of the historical novel at his most brilliant. 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 fight for the survival of the Marines. Some in the government want to see this unruly band of brothers dissolved and the Navy given sovereign rule of the waves. Paddy O'Hara's son, Zachary, practically grew up in the Marines, and is as dedicated to saving the Corps as any Wart Hog. Young, brash and fiercely intelligent, 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 fulfills his every desire. -- Back cover Two decades after the Civil War, first-generation Irish-American Zachary O'Hara, son of a legendary Marine and a force of a man in his own right, finds himself playing a critical role as the very existence of the Marine Corps is being decided. If he can help persuade the Secretary of the Navy that the Marines will be crucial to America's security in years to come--all the while hefting a heavy, secret weight in his heart--he'll save the Corps and make his career Duty to country, love for family, and a doomed passion intertwine in the last epic novel from the bestselling author of Exodus and Battle Cry The Royal Society of Paddy O' Hara's Wart-Hogs were the ugliest and most vile men to ever wear the uniform of United States Marines. Duty to country, love for family, and a doomed passion intertwine in the latest epic set in America after the Civil War