The Forever War

Written in the mid 1970s, this 1976 Hugo and 1975 Nebula Award winner for best novel of the year is the story of a draftee fighting a war that spans millions of light years. The terror of battle is coupled with the problems of time-dilation due to the enormous distances the soldiers must travel. The Earth he left in 1997 is vastly different from the one he finds in 3143.