Few artists saw World War II from as many perspectives as El Paso 
artist and writer Tom Lea. Commissioned by Life magazine to paint 
the war as it was being experienced by U.S. and Allied troops, Lea 
went aboard a Navy destroyer in the North Atlantic to cover the fight 
against the German U-boats in late 1941; was on the carrier Hornet 
days before its sinking during the desperate air and sea battles off 
Guadalcanal in 1942; recorded the struggles of Army Air Forces 
transport, fighter, and bomber crews in England, North Africa, and 
China in 1943; and hit the bloody beaches at Peleliu with the assault 
waves of the 7th Marines in 1944. He was preparing to join forces 
poised to invade the home islands when the Japanese surrendered 
in 1945.

    In The Two Thousand Yard Stare, Brendan M. Greeley Jr. has 
collected virtually all of Tom Lea's firsthand written accounts of his 
assignments for Life, including a previously unpublished diary 
and letters to fellow Texas writer J. Frank Dobie, along with Lea's 
powerful sketches and unforgettable paintings. Greeley places them 
in context, along with photographs and informative details on the 
people, places, and wartime events encountered by Tom Lea.

    Thoroughly documented and filled with telling illustrations, this 
book will leave a stunning impression on those interested in the 
realistic depiction of war, in both images and words. Also a must-read 
for students, scholars, and collectors of Tom Lea's work, The Two 
Thousand Yard Stare brilliantly captures the artistic skills and spirit 
of one of America's most compelling painters and writers.

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Best known as a painter and novelist of the Southwest, TOM LEA 
spent most of his nine decades in El Paso. His art has hung in 
the Oval Office of the White House, as well as the Pentagon. 
BRENDAN M. GREELEY JR., a retired Marine Corps aviator who 
lives in Annapolis, Maryland, has written and edited for the U.S. Naval 
Institute's Proceedings and Naval History magazines. ADAIR MARGO, 
whose great-grandfather baptized Tom Lea when he was eight years 
old, served as Lea's agent and close confidante in his later years. 
She currently chairs the President's Committee on the Arts and the 
Humanities.


Number 119: Texas A&M University Military History Series