There are certain non-fiction books that stand the test of time. Most are religious or philosophical books, and a few are historical. Very few war memoirs ever make the list.

Helmet for My Pillow is the exception. As Remarqu’s compelling All Quiet on the Western Front did for World War I, or Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage did for the Civil War, Robert Leckie wrote what may be the most compelling memoir of World War II. Helmet for My Pillow makes every reader reflective as Leckie describes the horror of war and the depth of depravity that war brings out. But he also touches on the honor of war, of fighting for a just cause, and of the courage men carry deep in their hearts when confronted with overwhelming odds. There are fun personal anecdotes as he describes “the great debauch” on their long leave in Australia, and deep insights as he ponders what we have wrought with the atomic bomb.

Leckie begins the book with his father dropping him off at the recruitment center. The narrative runs through bootcamp, being assigned to the 1st Marine Division, shipping out to the Pacific, the slow battle of attrition on Guadalcanal, the long break in Australia, the renewed battle on New Britain, and the brutality of Peleliu where the war finally ends for Leckie. Throughout the book the reader is introduced to the sheer ferocity of the war, the blood and mud, the hand to hand combat. Leckie weaves his story with insights about how warriors are made and tested, about the meaning of war (or lack thereof), and about the toll it takes on the body and mind. It is compelling and it is brilliant.

Leckie is a fascinating man because he is a man of contrasts. A private in the Marines, he quotes Augustine and Shakespeare. A non-conformist who spent plenty of time in the brig, he honors and respects his superiors. A Roman Catholic, he enjoys all the earthly pleasures of alcohol and female companionship. None of this is held back in the book; it is completely transparent.

Originally published in 1957, the book is making a comeback with the popularity of the miniseries “The Pacific” on HBO. The producers of that show, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman, credit Helmet for My Pillow as their inspiration. I can see why.

Few personal memoirs of war survive the test of time as the war fades from memory, but this will be the exception. Five hundred years from now when scholars want to understand the personal sacrifice made by the men who fought World War II in the South Pacific, they will turn to this book.