The Great Santini

This is the story of Bull Meecham, the epitome of the Marine officer. Demanding, authoritarian, as tough a disciplinarian at home as at the base, Bull is a difficult man to please, and even harder to love. This is also the story of Ben Meecham, Bull's oldest son. A gifted athlete whose best never satisfies his father, Ben must balance his own ambition with his father's expectations—and decide what course he will chart for himself and what kind of man he will become. Piercing, bittersweet, and unforgettable, “The Great Santini” is Pat Conroy's semi-autobiographical lens into fathers and sons, and the powerful legacy one man can leave behind.