Chesty: The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, USMC [Hardcover]

Jon T. Hoffman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2001

The Marine Corps is known for its heroes, and Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller has long been considered the greatest of them all. His assignments and activities covered an extraordinary spectrum of warfare. Puller mastered small unit guerrilla warfare as a lieutenant in Haiti in the 1920s, and at the end of his career commanded a division in Korea. In between, he chased Sandino in Nicaragua and fought at Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu.

With his bulldog face, barrel chest (which earned him the nickname Chesty), gruff voice, and common touch, Puller became—and has remained—the epitome of the Marine combat officer. At times Puller's actions have been called into question—at Peleliu, for instance, where, against a heavily fortified position, he lost more than half of his regiment. And then there is the saga of his son, who followed in Chesty's footsteps as a Marine officer only to suffer horrible wounds in Vietnam (his book, Fortunate Son, won the Pulitzer Prize).

Jon Hoffman has been given special access to Puller's personal papers as well as his personnel record. The result will unquestionably stand as the last word about Chesty Puller.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The first biography since Burke Davis's uncritical Marine! (1962), this engrossing biography by Hoffman (Marine Corps Historical Ctr.) effectively portrays "Chesty" Puller (1898-1971) as an enduring icon of the U.S. Marine Corps. His 37-year career included engagements with bandits in Haiti, rebels in Nicaragua, Japanese Imperial forces on Guadalcanal, New Britain, and Peliliu, and North Korean and Red Chinese armies in Korea. Puller's legendary reputation is based on fearlessness, uncompromising leadership, and an ability to gain the respect and affection of his enlisted men. The author celebrates these qualities but also offers a balanced discussion of Chesty's more questionable traits, like his continuing disparagement of staff officers and military education courses and his penchant for costly frontal assaults against an entrenched enemy. Tender family correspondence allows readers to get beyond Puller's crusty exterior. Hoffman's research efforts into untapped sources, map selections, and detailed battlefield accounts are the cardinal strengths of this definitive biography. Recommended for military collections in all libraries. John C. Edwards, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Athens
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Lionized by the Marine Corps, the decorated, barrel-chested Lewis Puller had a career that virtually defined what a marine should be. Although this thorough biography has a quasi-official imprimatur--the author is a marine--it is not hagiographic and occasionally renders serious criticism of the hero. Puller's reputation as an exceptionally aggressive unit leader was established in the 1920s and 1930s by his performance in combat during U.S. interventions in Haiti and Nicaragua, but it was during Pearl Harbor that the Puller legend took off. Although immobilized by a shrapnel wound during the ghastly Battle of Peleliu in 1944, he ordered frontal assaults that resulted in the loss of more than half his regiment. Also covered is his doughty leadership in the Korean War at Inchon, Seoul, and the disaster of the Chosin Reservoir. Hoffman has succeeded in objectively folding his subject's faults into a work that will reinforce Puller's iconographic stature as the Marine Corps' ultimate warrior. For libraries near a marine base, the best defense is a good offense: buy it by the box. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 656 pages
• Publisher: Random House (August 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679447326
• ISBN-13: 978-0679447320
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #674,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thorough look at a Marine legend, December 19, 2001

By 

Jon Eric Davidson (Redmond, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chesty: The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, USMC (Hardcover)

Chesty Puller is one of the most revered warriors in U.S. military history, and it was surprising that until the publication of this biography, there was scant few books on this legend - outside of a slightly exaggerated biography published shortly after his forced retirement from the Corps.

Lt. Col. Hoffman presents a thorough, if slightly dry, narrative of the life of Lewis B. Puller. Expecting a slight bias from the author - a Marine himself - I found the biography largely free of bias and very fair. Every facet of Chesty's immense personality, whether it be good or bad, is given equal footing throughout. Also, Lt. Col. Hoffman avoided the trap of basing his biography on the numerous myths that surround Chesty's life.

I found the second half of the book to be most interesting. While Chesty's early life and Marine career - including his stints in Haiti, Nicaragua, and China - are worthwhile in establishing his warrior spirit and forging the man, there is not much depth in these topics. I presume this is due to lack of documented information more than any omissions by the author, but it does make for a slightly tedious first half of the biography. Once the narrative begins touching on Chesty's exploits in World War II, Korea, and post-Marine life, the full measure of the man is revealed, and more relevant information is presented. It is here that the "meat" of his life exists, and we get a good picture of how he was equally lauded and criticized for his tactical strategies, personality, and opinions of the military establishment.

Also, we get a partial, yet satisfying, glimpse of his interaction with his son, who would later become famous with his book "Fortunate Son". While some reviewers have criticized the author for omitting Lewis Puller, Jr.'s suicide several years ago, I believe that this tangent would only serve to be off-topic and out-of-place in a biography of a man who died in the early 1970's. The interaction of father and son following the son's gruesome wounds in Vietnam are enough of a glimpse - and a powerful one at that - to satisfy most readers.

I would highly recommend this book in favor of "Marine!", because it is far more in-depth, fair, and accurate. Lt. Col. Hoffman has done an excellent job with this biography. The only thing that prevents me from rating a full five stars is that the narrative is slightly dry and that the first half of the book is a little slow. As such, the casual reader may find it difficult to plow through the whole book.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a Kind, February 18, 2002

By 

Smoten (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chesty: The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, USMC (Hardcover)

Col. Hoffman has written the definitive biography of the greatest Marine hero of them all. "Chesty" is in the same league as William Manchester's biography of Douglas MacArthur, "American Caesar". It's that good. Any future biographer of Chesty Puller will have to pass through this vibrant, meticulous work.

This is no mere hagiographic saga that ignores or dismisses General Puller's faults. Nor does it repeat as gospel some of the more outlandish tales that have sprung up around the General. These flaws doomed a previous biography ("Marine", by Burke Davis) to obscurity. Rather, "Chesty" is that rare thing, a scholarly book that reads like a novel.

Chesty Puller was the ultimate grunt's grunt, always leading from the front and never asking his men to do anything he wouldn't. He was, and remains, revered, literally a legend in his own time. Col. Hoffman has captured the essence of both the man and the legend.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Biography of a Marine Legend, April 20, 2003

By 

R. J. Morrisey (Snoqualmie, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chesty: The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, USMC (Hardcover)

Boy was I suprised to see "Chesty" on a feature table in our local [store]. Although Chesty Puller wasn't that well known outside his beloved Corps, his combat record is well known to all Marines. Col. Hoffman's extensive research of Chesty's military career has lead to an exceptionally fine biography. Covering a span of over seventy years and three major wars this book reads more like a novel. Much like Geoffrey Perret's "Old Soldiers never die" (MacArthur's biography), every detail is included and well documented. Sure to be a historical reference for many years.