A hesitant hero in an interplanetary conflict against an unfathomable and unconquerable alien foe is Private William Mandella. His return home will be his biggest test, though. According to relativity, decades have passed on Earth for every few months of service, further separating the warriors from the world whose future they are fighting. He no longer knows the Earth. the one he goes back to. . . unrecognisable. The Forever War, winner of the Nebula, Locus, and Hugo awards, was the first book chosen for the SF Masterworks series when it debuted in 1999. It has been seen as a critical piece of anti-war science fiction, inspired by Haldeman's experiences in the Vietnam War.