Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan
"Rings with that truth recognizable to every combat man. Those looking for action will find it here in buckets."--John Toland, New York Times Book Review Written by Robert Leckie, whose wartime exploits are featured in the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg HBO miniseries The Pacific , Strong Men Armed is the perennial bestselling classic account of the U.S. Marines' relentless drive through the Pacific during World War II. As scout and machine-gunner for the First Marine Division, Leckie fought in all its engagements until his wounding at Peleliu. In Strong Men Armed, Leckie uses firsthand experience and impeccable research to re-create the nightmarish battles of the Pacific campaign--from Guadalcanal to Okinawa--as ships, men, and guns moved over vast distances to fight an enemy willing to defend to its last man. Here is the whole sweeping epic of the Marines who battled--and won--on the bloody beaches at Guadalcanal, the unforgiving reefs at Tarawa, the rain-soaked mud of New Britain, the dark gray soil and deadly caves of Mount Suribachi, and the muddy slopes of Shuri Castle on Okinawa. It is a masterful narrative by a writer the New York Times praised as possessing the "rare gift of capturing all that is human in the most inhuman of man's activities." "Raw, heartbreaking, and superb." --Christian Science Monitor