Call to Arms (The Corps, Book 2) [Paperback]

W.E.B. Griffin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1987

W.E.B. Griffin's epic story of the Marine Corps continues with an elite fraternity known as the Raiders taking form after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

10 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Jove (September 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515093491
• ISBN-13: 978-0515093490
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Military > World War II > Naval
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > War

More About the Author

W.E.B. Griffin is the author of more than thirty epic novels in five series, all of which have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and other best-seller lists. More than forty million of his books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian. Mr. Griffin grew up in the suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1946. After basic training, he received counter-intelligence training at Fort Holabird, Maryland. He was assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany, and ultimately to the staff of then-Major General I.D. White, commander of the U.S. Constabulary. In 1951, Mr. Griffin was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, interrupting his education at Phillips University, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany. In Korea he earned the Combat Infantry Badge as a combat correspondent and later served as acting X Corps (Group) information officer under Lieutenant General White. On his release from active duty in 1953, Mr. Griffin was appointed Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Mr. Griffin is a member of the Special Operations Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Army Aviation Association, and the Armor Association. He was the 1991 recipient of the Brigadier General Robert L. Dening Memorial Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, and the August 1999 recipient of the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, presented at the 100th National Convention in Kansas City. He has been vested into the Order of St. George of the U.S. Armor Association, and the Order of St. Andrew of the U.S. Army Aviation Association, and been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees by Norwich University, the nation's first and oldest private military college, and by Troy State University (Ala.). He was the graduation dinner speaker for the class of 1988 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He has been awarded honorary membership in the Special Forces Association; the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association; the Marine Raiders Association; and the U.S. Army Otter & Caribou Association. He is the co-founder, with historian Colonel Carlo D'Este, of the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs. Mr. Griffin's novels, known for their historical accuracy, have been praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for their "fierce, stop-for-nothing scenes." "Nothing honors me more than a serviceman, veteran, or cop telling me he enjoys reading my books," Mr. Griffin says. Mr. Griffin divides his time between the Gulf Coast and Buenos Aires.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just fine as a semi-historical war novel, January 13, 2007

By 

D. Highley "Don Highley" (San Dimas, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Call to Arms (The Corps, Book 2) (Paperback)

If you buy a W E B Griffin novel looking for shootin' and lootin' combat action, you'll probably be a little disappointed. For new readers, I strongly recommend the first two volumes of The Corps series. As an ensemble, the characters are the most compelling of Griffin's works and the stories follow a mostly historical time line. Readers whose view of WWll comes from old B&W movies may find the carousing a little rugged although the "Platoon" and "Apocalypse Now" generation will find the sex and drinking pretty conventional.

Griffin provides his readers a slightly different angle or angles, offering multiple intertwined stories which are more or less connected within the context of the whole. Sometimes, this works well, sometimes less so, depending really upon how well he manages to tie the whole thing together in the last few pages.

If this appeals to you there are a couple of other things you may want to consider before beginning your journey into Griffin's micro version of history. The most obvious is that the books are written in series form, "The Corps", Brotherhood of War", "Honorbound", etc, and while you probably will want to read them in their proper order, (numbered for your convenience, Book l, Book ll, and so on), you may find reading them straight through a bit wearisome. This is due to the Author's practice of bringing new readers up to speed on the reoccurring characters, (reading the story on Ken McCoy's nickname for the third or fourth time, if done in too short a time frame, is off putting).

Another artistic conceit is Griffin's love of the "small world phenomena", (think Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon), all of his primary cast not only know each other through family, or business associations, or mutual friends or a shared experience, they somehow manage to be tied to famous persons of the time. To enjoy the Griffin books you'll just have to suspend reality a bit and just go with it. Get used to guest appearances by "Dugout Doug MacArthur and FDR.

You also may be a little impatient with some of the editing and although most folks who read these as military or history buffs won't mind the routine technical references to uniforms, weapons, rations, and other gear, the casual reader might. I found the earliest "Corps" and "Brotherhood" stories strongest and his later work, and the "Badge of Honor" series to be a little less focused.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another CORPS Novel from WEB Griffin, March 12, 2007

By 

A. LOWE "happs01" (LA, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Call to Arms (The Corps, Book 2) (Paperback)

THE CORPS is the best novel series I have read. It is FICTION, PEOPLE. Some complain about the re telling of the previous characters in every book. This makes the series readable non-sequentially. I bought most of the series used, out of sequence, and could easily keep up with the story. Good historical fiction is an artform, Griffin has painted his Guernica in the form of this series. It has encouraged me to delve into 20th century USMC research further. I hope they make a movie out of it someday. I would see it 50 times and buy the DVD.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Millitary Stories, March 8, 2009

By 

Brent R. Wells (Utah) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Call to Arms (The Corps, Book 2) (Paperback)

The author creates caractors of interest to anyone who reads his books.
When you finish any one in the series you cann't wait to start the next one.