King Rat — James Clavell

The time is World War II--but the place is far from the sounds of battle. Here, deep in Japanese-occupied territory, a brutal prison camp contains over ten thousand soldiers--and within this seething mass of humanity, one man, an American corporal, seeks dominance over both captives and captors alike. His weapons are physical courage, unblinking under-standing of human weaknesses and breaking points, total willingness to exploit every opportunity to enlarge his power and corrupt or destroy anyone who stands in his path.

Here is an epic novel that strips human beings down to the most naked passions and elemental survival needs, as all distinctions between East and West fade before the all-conquering force of one man's thrust for personal empire .. .