Narakan Rifles, About Face!

Smith, George H. (George Henry), 1922-1996Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 63K words
Chapters: 7

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Narakan Rifles, About Face! by George H. Smith. Author: Smith, George H. (George Henry), 1922-1996. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Mar 6, 2010

Editor's review

This is an English novel by George H. Smith, included in Project Gutenberg's free ebook library and classified under American and Canadian literature. As an early popular work of science fiction or military fiction, it carries the narrative pace and imaginative style of the mid-twentieth century, and is suitable as informative reading for those interested in the evolution of English-language genre fiction. The Project Gutenberg edition is easy to obtain and search for free, and well suited to quick reading on electronic devices. Note that the book is in the original English and the material provides only bibliographic information; readers should approach it mainly to experience the text as it stands and the feel of its era, rather than expecting a modern, carefully edited introduction. When reading, one may consider it alongside the development of American popular literature and early science fiction, treating it as a sample for examination and noting its military setup, character dialogue, and plot progression. For readers studying English-language popular fiction, this is a low-cost, readily accessible primary source.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early English-language science fiction or military fiction
Learners who need free original English texts for corpus reading
University students studying the development of American popular literature
Readers accustomed to e-reading who want to skim public-domain novels quickly

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a Chinese translation or bilingual edition
Beginner readers who need detailed annotations and introductions
General readers who prefer contemporary, fast-paced science fiction

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to read closely or extensively.
Use the ebook's search function to map out character relationships and military terminology.
Note period language and narrative conventions while reading for easy cross-comparison.
For research purposes, read alongside histories of American popular literature.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

This is the original English edition, released by Project Gutenberg; the material provides no information about a Chinese translation. Some English reading ability is needed before starting; it is advisable to try the opening chapters first to judge whether the vocabulary and sentence patterns suit you.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg is known for providing free ebooks, and its editions are usually easy to download, search, and copy in full, making them suitable for computers or e-readers. They generally contain no modern editorial annotations or introductions, so readers need to supplement the background information themselves.

Is it suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material, but the book was written long ago and its language and expressions bear the marks of its time, so it may not be suitable as the only learning model. It is advisable to pair it with modern English reading materials and to check unfamiliar usages rather than treating old-fashioned expressions as general rules.

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About the author

Smith, George H. (George Henry), 1922-1996 Author

George H. Smith (George Henry Smith, 1922–1996) was an author best known for military and adventure fiction; reliable public information about his life and nationality is limited. Five of his works are held in this collection: The Last Crusade, Benefactor, Witness, Narakan Rifles, About Face! and The Ordeal of Colonel Johns. Judging from these titles, he often wrote about war, military life and moral testing, placing characters in extreme situations where they must make difficult choices, with the tension typical of adventure fiction. The Ordeal of Colonel Johns and Narakan Rifles, About Face! in particular suggest an interest in army life and the psychology of soldiers, while Witness and Benefactor hint at themes of bearing witness, responsibility and conscience. Because biographical material is scarce, his style and influence can only be inferred roughly from these works, and readers should form their own view from the texts themselves.