Customer Reviews

Battle Cry

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Battle Cry" was Leon Uris's first novel and it's by far his best. Set right after Pearl Harbor, it's the story of the Marines in the Second World War and of one squad of Marines in particular, led by (and narrated by) Mac, a crusty old sergeant who has seen generations of boys pass through his command.

The story moves quickly through basic training to combat, and comes to a shattering climax with an all-out battle against the Japanese forces in the Pacific. As much as the story Uris tells so compellingly, we are held by his characters: Danny Forrester, the all-American boy; Andy the Swede, hating women indiscriminately until he meets the woman of his dreams far from home; Levin from Brooklyn, who knew what he had to do, and did it magnificently; Shining Lighttower, the Navajo, who really didn't want to go back to the reservation after all, and Sam Huxley, their colonel, who wanted glory for himself and his boys at any price, even if the price included all their lives.

Technically, Uris isn't a very good writer, but he is one helluva storyteller, and one of his greatest strengths is in plain dialogue between his characters, which shows up to much better advantage here than it did in his later books. It's in the dialogue that his characters come vibrantly alive; we understand how a disparate bunch of 18 and 19 year olds, kids like anybody else, can throw their lives away in battle rather than face the possibility of a defeat which would be worse than death. Uris shows us through his characters the men who made the Marines what they are.

Judy Lind

An outstanding piece of WWII historical fiction. Unlike other great works of this genre' (Herman Wouk's "War and Remembrance" for instance), this tale is not told from the perspective of the colonels and generals, but rather as experienced by the U.S. Marine sergeants and privates.

The tale thoroughly and patiently follows a group of young men from the train stations where they left their hometowns, through boot camp and training, and onto the beaches of Guadalcanal and Tarawa atoll where they fell in combat. Uris did not all neglect the issue of back home wives and girlfriends, who are so very important to men isolated so far from home.

His first novel, Uris wrote this from his own experience. He was a WWII enlisted Marine combat veteran in the Pacific. First published in 1953, this book was written while memories were still fresh. In a way, it's a bit dated, with terminology and (superior) social values from an America of yesterday. On the other hand, Marine and Navy veterans will recognize the jargon and behaviors that are still in use today. Tradition.

A reviewer has criticized the slow opening pace. I disagree. The device was used to well acquaint the reader with and help him/her to grow to know and love the players, just as these Marines loved their "buddies".

I noted in the author's epilogue that he strongly and repeatedly disclaimed any connection of the fictional officers in his story (he even names them) to any real life personalities he had served under. Glaringly absent was a similar disclaimer regarding the enlisted men in his story. I infer from this that many of the colorful enlisted characters of the book might be representations of Pfc Uris' actual wartime colleagues. A memorial to them, if you will. Interesting.

Uris used an unusual and successful style technique in "Battle Cry". The tale is sometimes written in third person narrative, and at other times narrated in first person by a veteran sergeant in the battalion named Mac. But it's really about the teenage boys that did most of the fighting . . . sometimes hand to hand. Again, Uris was not in a hurry and patiently let the story play out. At times it is slow and monotonous, as was the wartime Marine life. At other times the action is overwhelming. Writing realistically from life experience, the battle scenes are not an organized test of marksmanship between two opposing teams . . . the fighting is chaos. This is the kind of book that provokes the reader to alternately laughing out loud, cheering, or weeping.

This is not a cheap blood and guts war story. It's a great tale of courage, leadership, brotherhood and humanity - Well told.

At first, I thought a book called "Battle Cry" might be fairly reminiscent of the comic strip, "Sgt. Rock and His Howling Commandos of Easy." In that, I was disappointed, which means I was very relieved.

This book is a surprisingly good war story of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine (Pogey Bait) Regiment. From the call to arms to their decimation on a Pacific Island invasion, you learn about the backgrounds of several of the marines in the Communications section of their battalion.

Uris demonstrates the knack for bringing characters to life where you feel their fears, hopes, dreams, and in this case, their intense esprit de corps.

I have a few qualifications for giving a five-star rating:

Do I still have the book?
Yes.
Would I ever pick it up, and read it again?
Yes.
Was I sorry that I came to the end of the book?
Yes.

I have only read two of Uris' books; I'm glad that this was one of them.

I first read Battle Cry in the early 60's when I was a young teenager and loved everything about it -- the characters, the description of Marine life, the battle scenes. You name it, I loved it about Battle Cry. For all of these years when people would ask me what novel about WWII I thought was among the best I've read, Battle Cry was right at the top of my list. So, after almost fifty years since reading Battle Cry, I decided to read it again. I'm mostly sorry I did. With the exception of the last 50-60 pages, which were very impactful and emotional, virtually all of the aspects that I initially thought were so terrific "back then," I now consider to be somewhat of a disappointment. The characters I once considered to be so memorable I now think of as being pretty thinly developed. The dialogue now seems quite weak and the battle/action scenes, which at times are very exciting, do not comprise enough of this war novel to maintain a high level of interest. As such, I found the book, at almost 700 pages, dragged on for long passages, causing me to to skim through much of the second half. I guess my decision to revisit Battle Cry after an almost fifty year absence was a mistake; helping me to realize that some things are better left as fond memories from a time long gone.

I've read a lot of Leon Uris's novels. The Angry Hills, QB VII, Armageddon, but Battle Cry is my favorite. It's the only Uris novel I've read more than once. Plus, being a former Marine, well, my views are a little biased here.

Why four and a half stars? Well, the books is a touch slow in a few places, but it's such a fast moving read, that the slower parts don't last all that long.

Based on Uris's own experiences with 2/6 (2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division), this novel follows the radio section of the battalion from Guadalcanal (the Canal in WWII Marine lingo) to Tarawa and climaxes with the bloody invasion of Saipan. There's plenty of combat action to satisfy the most blood thirsty reader, and enough romance to keep readers of a more gentle nature to keep turning the pages.

It's interesting to note that many former World War II Marines said Battle Cry truly echoed their own wartime experiences. Uris's focus is not only combat, but the training and what the Marines did when they got liberty.

What also makes Battle Cry unique is that it's told in BOTH first and third person. A most difficult thing to try to do, but Uris pulls it off.

Marines past and present will see similarities of their service time here whether they were in Vietnam, Korea or the Gulf. There's a universal quality to this novel which explains why it's one of Uris's most popular books. The movie isn't bad either.

Semper Fidelis Mr. Uris.

I first read this one in the late 1950s and have given it two read since that time. This is one of the better novels of WWII and follows the action of one group of Marines from boot camp through their horrible ordeal in the Pacific. This books is a tribute to the Marine Corps and is as pertinent today as it was in 1953 when it was published. I must admit to being a Uris fan as I love his story telling abilities and his character development. I highly recommend this work.

Leon Uris was a person who believed in something. He believed in the Marines and he believed that it was right to fight for the right and he believed in the United States of America. And this belief enabled him to write a story which is one of the best books written about World War II . For me this book is confused in my mind with the movie based upon it. That movie was in some ways very important to me as a young person because it seemed to tell me the way I should try to be. To be tough and to know how to fight, and to be able to meet in life the twin challenges of manhood, fighting in war, and getting the girl. The story told by Mac the tough sergeant about Marine training and then the going into combat, and also the personal relations of the main characters Danny Forester, the All- American boy, Andy the Swede, and of course Highpockets Huxley ( played by Van Heflin) was absolutely convincing. The story of Danny Forester and the girl back home (Mona Freeman) and the one who almost stole him (Dorothy Malone) was all then quite confusing to my adolescent mind. Also the story of Andy the Swede's desertion and then coming back to join the unit. And of course the great training marches( I'm just like a prairie flower honey honey I'm just like a prairie flower babe babe, I'm just like a prairie flower growing wilder by the hour/ Honey oh baby mine/ Go to your left your right your left Go to your left your right your left/) and the pictures of combat at Tarawa and then after the R&R in Australia at Saipan Bay. The story seemed to me then what adult life was really about. And it seems to me the work still today over fifty years after it was written still holds the reader, and still has something to say about courage, loyalty, friendship and love. And also patriotism. A highly recommended work by a truly outstanding storyteller.

I am an woman Army Veteran who really had an inside into the military mindset, and how guys think. This book, was so great. It had me laughing, as I thought about the difference between what men tell women, versus what they are really thinking.

I also loved this for the way the protagonist was captured, from the beginning through the end, as a really down to earth, and very proud Marine.

Read this book to tap into the human condition.

"Battle Cry" is a book my daughter had bought me for my birthday two years ago. Regrettably, it took me some time to begin reading it. I found it a little hard to get into in the early chapters. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, a la "Dr. Zhivago", and the narrative has slow periods. I considered setting it aside a time or two.

But I kept with it, and over time it began to hook me. The character development reminded me of "Lonesome Dove", and soon I became eager to get to the next page. When I had 100 pages to go, I could not put it down.

I think that I will read it again, so that I can get more out of the slow spots. This is where Leon Uris imparts a lot of the tedium and monotony of Marine life.

I would recommend that any reader of historical fiction, action, and/or WWII read this book. In fact, I should think it an essential for the libraries of any of the above. In hindsight, I can say that I did thoroughly enjoy it.

Leon Uris has written an excellent novel about a division of Marines fighting in the Pacific. Starting from their pre-Marine days, Uris gives us a glimpse of where they came from. The book takes the reader from boot camp all the way to the Pacific. This is a gripping novel, written in 1953 by the late Uris. We follow them through battle, and we see the lucky ones come home. An outstanding WWII novel.