American Spartans: The U.S. Marines: A Combat History from Iwo Jima to Iraq [Hardcover]

James A. Warren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2005

From their heroic performance in the Pacific War, against Japanese troops on godforsaken islands, to their “tip-of-the-lance” leadership in key operations in the two Gulf Wars, the Marines have proven again and again that elite men with elite training are worth entire armies. James Warren’s battle-driven history shows how this elite culture has produced the best warriors in the country, through six decades, several open wars, and many smaller interventions.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Warren chose Iwo Jima as the starting point for his history of the U.S. Marine Corps because there and at Okinawa the marines displayed the spartan virtues of hardihood, discipline, loyalty, and ferocity more vividly than ever before. He argues that the marines have remained a subculture within the larger and more lenient American military culture and that from this situation arises much of their combat effectiveness. Certainly that effectiveness has been high during the two island campaigns, in Korea, and most recently in Iraq. On the other hand, Vietnam presents a mixed picture, and training accidents such as the Ribbon Creek drownings and the implications of the post-Vietnam reforms in training suggest that the spartan way is not wholly sufficient in and of itself. Warren makes a very useful contribution to the lively ongoing debate on the role, creation, training, and use of elite troops, which is what the marines certainly are. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"A vivid and compelling account that pays tribute not only to the valor of Marines in wartime but to the grit, adaptability, and shrewdness of the Marine Corps between wars."

-- Andrew J. Bacevich, author of The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War

"A welcome, readable, and concise history of the corps' past 60 years."

-- The Washington Post --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; First edition (November 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684872846
• ISBN-13: 978-0684872841
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Overview of Marine Corps Operations, December 8, 2005

By 

Andrew N. Shannon "Semper Fi" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Spartans: The U.S. Marines: A Combat History from Iwo Jima to Iraq (Hardcover)

A concise history of the USMC told in a very readable context, from Iwo Jima (the Marine Corps finest hour) to the present day. How the Marine Corps operates, is funded, the infighting among the services, its Commandants over the decades, and the glorious battles this elite world renowned force has participated in. Excellent documentation and footnotes abound for further reading.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sixty years of Marine Corps History, April 2, 2006

By 

John F. Baltes (Stoughton, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Spartans: The U.S. Marines: A Combat History from Iwo Jima to Iraq (Hardcover)

Americna Spartans relates sixty years of the 230 year history of the Marine Corps from Iwo Jima to Iraq. After reading the first seventy pages it seemed that the book was an antithesis to the creed of MTSgt Percy Webb, a pioneer public relations type from the early 1900s who said, "I had the utmost faith in the service I was writing about and so I did not need to "gild the lily. Warren was writing a masterful tale of "cheerleading". But from that point on it became increasingly evident that the author does not "gild the lily". American Spartans is not written in the gray areas of history. It is written in black and white, reciting the bad along with the good.
The Ribbon Creek Incident in 1956 is reported by telling what happened, how it happened and what resulted from its happening. The excesses in training experienced by recruits are also realted with no excuses offered. Casualities from friendly fire are included in the battle summaries. The dismal "State of the Corps" in the period of 1972-1975 is brutal, but accurate in stating that 50% of the recruits were non-highschool graduates, just under 50% of those who joined in this period "washed-out" prior to completing their first enlistment and 20% were mental group IVs (borderline intelligence). Keep in mind that this 20% was in part forced on the Corps by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's 100,000.
The Corps was in danger of losing it's reputation as an elite force. The sociological attitudes of the junior leaders within the Corps at that time contributed to this sad state of affairs. Warren also brings to the fore a number of SNAFUs, such as Mayaguez, of the Corps. This mess and others were generally brought about by combining the Marines with their sister services causing errors in coordination and control. Splitting of the air and ground elements of the Corps lead to many of these errors and unnecessaary casualities resulted.
The leadership of the Marines became cognizant of this state and brought the Corps back from the ashes of the Phoenix Bird to it's rightful position of being the nation's "force-in-readiness".
As the history proceeds from World War II to Korea, the author shows an increasing knowledge of what occurred between the lines. The early years are reported factually but without great depth. As the distance in years is shortened the author includes more and more insight for the reader. This insight adds excitement and thrist for more of what makes history live and breath. The in-depth detail of the post World War "China Marines" creates a beginning of the thrist for more in this history of the Marine Corps and it then continues to the last page.
James Warren shows that the Marine Corps is unique over it's sister services by instilling in its leaders a "can-do" attitude expressed by Elbert Hubbard in "A Letter to Garcia" written in 1899. The senior (at whatever level) issues the order to the junior but does not tell the junior how to compete the mission. The senior expects the junior to employ his own imagination and resources to accomplish the task. This attitude is paramount in the philosophy of the United States Marine Corps.
Warren uses 50-cent words from time to time which created a need for trips to the "Webster". The author may have used these words to keep the readers attention and to insure that alertness was maintained. Warren uses "won" in place of "awarded" in reference to Medals of Honor or Silver Stars which irratates many within the "Brotherhood".
American Spartans expresses a value stated in an axion of Col. John W. Thomason, Jr., "The profession of the military is a noble one and I chose to follow it".
The United States Marine Corps has had its ups and downs but will continue to live in concert with a quote of President Teddy Roosevelt's:
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out where the strong stumbled, or how the doer could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is in the arena, his face marred by dust, sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and falls short again and again: there is no effort without error.
But he who tries, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions who spends himself in a worthy cause, at best knows the triumph of achievement, and at worst, fails while daring. His place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat". The book does "cheerlead" but it does not "gild-the-lily".

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first modern battle history of the Marines in a generation and examines how they performed in key conflicts, April 2, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Spartans: The U.S. Marines: A Combat History from Iwo Jima to Iraq (Hardcover)

Students of World War II will want to read a different view in American Spartans: The U.S. Marines: A Combat History From Iwo Jima To Iraq. It's the first modern battle history of the Marines in a generation and examines how they performed in key conflicts from World War II to modern times - and how they've changed. The evolution of their strategies and tactics have really undergone transformation over six decades, and American Spartans traces these changes using dozens of interviews, hundreds of print sources, and firsthand observation of modern Marine exercises.