Other editions of book One of Ours

One of Ours is a novel by Willa Cather that won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It tells the story of the life of Claude Wheeler, a Nebraska native in the first decades of the 20th century. The son of a successful farmer and an intensely pious mother, he is guaranteed a comfortable livelihood. Nevertheless, Wheeler views himself as a victim of his father's success and his own inexplicable malaise.

Claude is a young man who is constantly searching for his place in life, needing to feel that he belongs and that his life should have some clear purpose. Although he is an extremely competent farmer, far better in fact than either of his brothers or his father, he is not fulfilled by farm life, and though he is a good student, he believes that the church-affiliated college he attends does not provide the intellectual challenge that he needs. Only when he matriculates in a European history course at the state university does he begin to find his place.His happiness does not last. When his father buys a farm in Colorado, management of the Nebraska farm falls to Claude. Though Claude accepts this responsibility without complaint, he is again unhappy and silently resentful.Marriage seems a solution for his narrowed horizons, but even in this Claude is unfortunate. He comes to discover that Enid, a pretty girl whom he has known all of his life, has interests far different from his own: the Church, prohibition, and (as her father half jokingly warns before their marriage) vegetarianism. When Enid leaves Claude temporarily to nurse Carrie, her missionary sister who has fallen ill in China, Claude’s world once again collapses.This episode coincides with the outbreak of World War I, and Claude, his mother, and his father eagerly follow the newspaper accounts. For Claude’s father, the war means rising wheat prices and a chance for quick profits; for Claude, it is a chance to devote himself unselfishly to a cause. Despite the influenza epidemic which sweeps his troopship, despite the manifold horrors of the battlefield, he believes that at last he has a mission. He dies a hero, “believing his own country better than it is, and France better than any country can ever be.”

NWO Editions has the goal of making available to readers the classic books that have been out of print for decades. While these books may have occasional imperfections, we consider that only hand checking of every page ensures readable content without poor picture quality, blurred or missing text etc. That is why we publish only hand checked books; that are high quality; enabling readers to see classic books in original formats; that are unlikely to have missing or blurred pages.

An intimate story of young man’s life. Claude Wheeler’s stormy youth, his enigmatic marriage, and the final adventure which releases the baffled energy of the boy’s nature, are told with almost epic simplicity. World War I offers him even more, but he may crave excitement more than life itself can allow. Wanting it as much as he does can’t protect him from the consequences of personal bravado in an age of killing machines. But behind the personal drama there is an ever deepening sense of national drama, of national character, working itself our through individuals and their destiny.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

An intimate story of young man’s life. Claude Wheeler’s stormy youth, his enigmatic marriage, and the final adventure which releases the baffled energy of the boy’s nature, are told with almost epic simplicity. World War I offers him even more, but he may crave excitement more than life itself can allow. Wanting it as much as he does can’t protect him from the consequences of personal bravado in an age of killing machines. But behind the personal drama there is an ever deepening sense of national drama, of national character, working itself our through individuals and their destiny.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

An intimate story of young man’s life. Claude Wheeler’s stormy youth, his enigmatic marriage, and the final adventure which releases the baffled energy of the boy’s nature, are told with almost epic simplicity. World War I offers him even more, but he may crave excitement more than life itself can allow. Wanting it as much as he does can’t protect him from the consequences of personal bravado in an age of killing machines. But behind the personal drama there is an ever deepening sense of national drama, of national character, working itself our through individuals and their destiny.

Willa Sibert Cather (December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer who achieved recognition for her novels of frontier life on the Great Plains, including O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Ántonia (1918). In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours (1922), a novel set during World War I. Cather grew up in Virginia and Nebraska, and graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She lived and worked in Pittsburgh for ten years, supporting herself as a magazine editor and high school English teacher. At the age of 33 she moved to New York City, her primary home for the rest of her life, though she also traveled widely and spent considerable time at her summer residence on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick.