The Dirty Dozen

by E. M. Nathanson

The Dirty Dozen is a powerfully prosaic novel about World War II. The title group comprises twelve convicted servicemen --murderers, rapists, armed robbers -- whose sentences are temporarily commutted by the War Office in order that they might partake in Project Amnesty, an unorthodox, unprecedented, and top secret mission, the exact nature of which is not revealed until the end of the book. Until then, we know only that the Dirty Dozen -- so named because they refuse to wash -- must be trained by Captain John Reisman to sneak behind enemy lines disguised as German officers, wreak some havoc, sow a bit of confusion, and generally weaken Nazi defenses in order that the Allied invasion can be more easily accomplished. Reisman has to slim 'em down, toughen 'em up, and give to each a sense of worth and group identity. A Herculean feat when all is considered. Need it be said that within these ranks are an embittered Negro intellectual, a borderline homosexual, a name-calling Southern cracke