Can a single night define a man's life? From the summer of 1943 to early 1945, John Basilone was one of the most famous and admired people in America. As the first enlisted man to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II, for extraordinary bravery under fire at Guadalcanal, he toured the nation with movie stars, shared podiums with mayors and governors, shook the hands of thousands of citizens, and was even rumored to have made a romantic connection with a beautiful young actress. Why would a man who had proven his courage beyond any doubt, who had gone above and beyond the call of duty, and was reaping the rewards of his sacrifice beg his commanding officers to break with tradition and send a Medal of Honor winner back into combat? Legendary columnist James Brady explores this and many other puzzling questions in this thrilling and surprising biography. Hero of the Pacific tells the dramatic and compelling life story of a small-town boy who became one of World War II’s greatest and best-known heroes, only to be forgotten after his death during another famous and hellish battle on Iwo Jima. You may never have heard of John Basilone, but once you listen to this powerful tale, you’ll never forget him.
As the war in Iraq continues, the idea of being a soldier in wartime is of interest to many Americans. Why Marines Fight by James Brady is a ruthlessly candid book told in the words of U.S. Marines themselves, who answer provocative questions about what drives them to fight and why so competently and ferociously.
For more than two centuries, U.S. Marines have been among the world's fiercest and most admired of warriors. This pounding look into the U.S. Marines is magnificent in scope and is written by an author whom some marines consider to be the unofficial poet laureate of their corps. Brady interviews combat marines from wars ranging from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan, and records their responses in their own unique and powerful voices. These he crafts into an authentically American story of a country at war as seen throught he eyes of its warriors. Americans who experience Brady's chronicle of this part of a soldier's life and its lasting effect may find it impossible to forget.
Late November of 1941. Half the world is at war, and with the other half about to join in, a thousand U.S. Marines stand sentinel over the last days of an uneasy truce between ourselves and the Imperial Japanese Army in chaotic North China. By November 27, FDR is convinced Japan is about to launch a military action. Washington doesn't know where, and isn't sure precisely when. But the Cabinet is sufficiently alarmed that War Secretary Henry Stimson and Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox are authorized to send an immediate and coded "warning of war" to American bases and units in harm's way. In Shanghai two cruise ships are chartered and eight hundred armed American Marines of the 4th Regiment (serving in China since the Boxer Rebellion) are marched through the great port city with enormous pomp and circumstance, about to embark for Manila. Another two hundred Marines, unable to reach Shanghai, and serving in small garrisons and posts from Peking to Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, are caught short by this "warning of war." This is their story. Of how a detachment of American Marines marooned in North China as war erupts set out on an epic march through hostile territory in an attempt to fight their way out of China and, somehow, rejoin their Corps for the war against Japan. James Brady dazzles us once again with a stunning and unflinching look at America at war. Warning of War is a moving tribute to sheer courage, determination, and Marine Corps discipline, and is a wonderful celebration of America in one of its darkest but finest hours.
