I'm not saying LOTR is bad. It's actually quite enjoyable but I really can't relate to Hobbits and Wizards in Middle Earth. To me it is a fairy tale (in a good sense). However, there is a lot that seems EXTREMELY REAL to me in From Here To Eternity. The characters were the type of people that all of us have known. BTW, Jones' observations about hookers were right on the mark. He didn't glamorize them like happens in a lot of novels and movies but he did humanize some of them. I've also talked to old timers who lived in Hawaii just prior to Pearl Harbor attack and they told me that Jone's observations about pre-war Hawaii was exactly on the mark.
I really can't relate to Hobbits and Wizards in Middle Earth. I can... Look, I didn't know the purpose of your thread was to throw all these works into a ring and see if "From Here to Eternity" wins and all other works are either discounted, disqualified, or not in the same class... Competitive Novel fighting... interesting.
LoTR is just a fairy tale to you... and I may think you shallow for that. There are a lot of very real ideals in the story that are not that hidden from me... but don't worry, I will still try From Here to Eternity. I haven't read it and should...