Close Combat (Eagle Large Print) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

W. E. B. Griffin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1993 | Series: Eagle Large Print

CLOSE COMBAT is W.E.B. Griffin's epic novel of World War II--a powerful, dramatic tribute to the brave men and women who lived it...The captain who led his squadron in to the fiercest air battles of the Pacific. The correspondent who learned more about combat than he bargained for. The Marine who embarked on a top secret mission from which there was no certain return...

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1942, the sixth book (following Line of Fire ) in Griffin's series about The Corps revolves around a war bond tour featuring Marine heroes of the Guadalcanal campaign. Series fans will recognize the central characters, among them Marine general and presidential troubleshooter Fleming Pickering, his fighter pilot son Pick, and movie mogul Homer Dillon, a Marine for the duration. Griffin has Marine Corps lore and trivia down pat, and he uses the bond-tour story line to convey the public-relations aspects of modern war. Essentially, however, the novel succeeds because the alcoholic and amorous exploits of its stateside heroes could be mink-lined wish fulfillment for the fantasies of the average soldier--most of the "close combat" here takes place in various bedrooms.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 565 pages
• Publisher: Chivers North Amer (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792716604
• ISBN-13: 978-0792716600
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,655,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CAUTION: once you read this book, you will NOT stop!!!!!, January 30, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Close Combat (Eagle Large Print) (Hardcover)

Book 6 of the continuing Corps series. McCoy, Banning and the others are back. SSgt. Galloway leads his fighter squadron in a fierce air battle against the Japanese during the first year of world war 2. i've read all 7 of the books, and am reading them again. in reading the books, it feels like i'm just not reading the book, but reading the thoughts of these men who came before me. i have characters i admire, and some i hate.

i try to read only for a little while, but a few minutes becomes 10 minutes, 10 minutes become a half hour, and the next thing i know, i've been reading for 2 hours, and still want to read more. this is not you're everyday military book. it's more.

W.E.B Griffin researches his material and for those who don't know military language very well, or military history, he adds footnotes at the bottom of some of his pages which i find useful. i know alot about the war, but am finding out even more through his books. though the lives, thoughts, and some adventures of the characters are fiction, all of the scenes, and places are are true.
for anyone interested in the military, world war 2, or just well written books, i suggest this one, as well as the other 6.
Pfc Martin Lambert ([e-mail])

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We're Finally Getting into the Real War!, December 24, 2001

By 

Rodger Raubach (Converse County ,WY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close Combat (The Corps, Book 6) (Book VI) (Mass Market Paperback)

In this,the sixth volume of The Corps series,Griffin seems to have all of his characters introduced and is now starting to utilise them in some action. The novel picks up at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal with Billy Dunn and VMF-229. The Marines are hanging on to the field (and the island) by a thread. After several battles in which the Japanese are soundly defeated,our heroes (Dunn , Jake Dillon , McCoy,Zimmerman,and "the Easterbunny") are all returned to the States. We see an expansion of Jake Dillon's role as the tour director for a War Bond tour featuring the Guadalcanal Aces and Ken McCoy's idiot brother Tommy.

The novel introduces the Guerrilla potential of Wendell Fertig on Mindinao and also the problem of the Gobi desert weather station required by the Navy and sets up the next two novels in the series,which I happen to like better than this particular episode.

I gave this particular installment 4 stars based on the character development of many of the minor characters in the series. Griffin really brings people to life--I feel as though I KNOW some of these individuals in real life. I do get a bit bored at times with "Pick" Pickering's poor little rich boy behavior,and some of the Scotch guzzling scenes get on my nerves.
In spite of these few warts,I really enjoy these books as much as any I have read. Perhaps if Griffin had given us a little more firsthand smell of gunpowder and sped things up a little more I would have rated the book 5 stars. Overall highly recommended!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Do the guys always get the girl and the good scotch?, July 31, 2002

By 

Former SF guy (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Close Combat (The Corps, Book 6) (Book VI) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really like this series as well as "The Brotherhood of War" series. The stories are great, the characters are very likeable and the little bit of history you can get from the books are nice. I have read each of Griffin's series at least twice. I like them that much.

However, I AM REALLY GETTING TIRED OF THE SAME OL' THING. Follow me here. Have you noticed:

1- The guy always gets the girl
2- The girl is always "so ... beutiful"
3- It is nearly almost always love at first sight.
4- The main characters generally start out young and enlisted
within a few chapters they are being gererously promoted.
Most are promoted to officers, some right out of boot-
camp or basic training. It appears promotions are handed
out like meals.
5- The girls are all easy, but they are still "nice girls".
6- None of the main characters die or become handicaped.
7- They all drink scotch (famous grouse)
8- Most of the main characters are rich and of course from
Philly or near there.
9- They all make wonderful and reluctant heroes.
10- etc... etc...

All-in-all, I would recommend Griffins series to anyone who is male. I don't think women would much like them.