Humanity is waging an endless war against another star-faring species. With only sub-light-speed travel possible, relativistic time dilation means that soldiers going to war will only age a few months while their home planet will age decades or even centuries.

Haldeman is a Vietnam veteran and wrote this book as an anti-war statement from his experiences (I think this is correct). The depictions of war aren't really very interesting, though. The key points in this book are the times when the protagonist Mandella's unit returns back home and they have to cope with decades of societal changes. The different societies are somewhat believable, but more believable are the reactions the soldiers have to them: prejudice, intolerance, or hatred, depending on the person.

RELEASE NOTES:

On a bench just outside the llama enclosure