Customer Reviews

Hero of the Pacific: The Life of Marine Legend John Basilone

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

A hero doesn't have to be famous, a household name, president or go on the lecture circuit. A hero does the extra ordinary because they have the courage, conviction and just plain guts to get the job done at the moment. Pick up this book, HERO OF THE PACIFIC and read about an every man, an American from New Jersey, a marine, John Basilone, hero. The man who would get the Medal of Honor for action at Guadalcanal and the Navy Cross on Iwo Jima. And who better to write about Marines than James Brady, a Marine and author of numerous Marine books. This is a wonderful book about amazing courage and should be read by all of us including the next generation. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Having known Jim Brady personally I found his Hero of the Pacific probably as close to the mark as is possible for an author that did not know Basilone. I am a retired Marine "mustang" having served 16 years enlisted and the final five as an officer. Like Brady, we served in Korea (coincidentally) at the same time in 1951 and 1952. In reality, none of this is germane to the book. Brady takes nothing away from Basilone's heroism. What he does do is debunk Basilone's daughter's assumptions and those umpteen million former Marines "who saw" Basilone die on Iwo Jima. You will note the quotes about those who witnessed his death; probably the same number also saw the flagraising on Iwo a bit later in the campaign. Brady, like me, was a professional reporter. I was a combat correspondent in both Korea and Vietnam and throughout my Marine Corps career. Like Jim, I was trained to look beyond the myth and ask the pertinent questions. As a reporter, Jim did this. His book reflects this. To those of you who have not read Jim's other books, especially those where he writes "fiction to history" give it a try. He was a great writer.

I purchased the Kindle version of this book after I saw the hard copy in a local bookstore. The author, a Marine veteran of Korea (I have been told emphatically that there is no such thing as a "former" Marine), knew his subject matter, and provided helpful insights into Basilone, the Marines, and America during the World War II years. I also found that fairly extensive passages of the author's work were well-written, enjoyable, and absorbimg.

Now the tough part: The book needed a good editor to pull all of the author's fine work together. There is a lot of repetition, and the author jumped around too much (he was trying to put the good stuff up front, when he could have told the story better if he had presented it as it played out). An editor would have pointed all of this out, and if so, this would have been a truly outstanding book. As it is, the book has great moments, and then goes sliding off into a confusing jumble of images and interpretations that leaves the reader--even someone who knows a fair amount about military history--somewhat confused.

I understand the author passed away a year before this book was published, and that he was a professional writer. Either (1) he didn't want his work edited (many writers don't), or (2) he wasn't around to make sure the book was edited properly. Either way, that's the main problem with this book.

Brady offers excellent insights into the better and worse features of the Marine Corps as he develops the saga of Manila John. Basilone remains the epitome of the Marines' Marine. Brady signs off with Semper Fidelis, a salute of one Marine to another. Tragically, James Brady died after completing this book. Semper Fidelis, Lt. Brady.

Mr. Brady's "Hero of the Pacific..." sheds some well-deserved light upon a Marine hero, John Basilone, for those of us who might never heard of his actions in WWII. It was great to read about Basilone's life prior to WWII in small town America, floundering in life until he committed to military service. While reading "Hero" I couldn't help feel like I was a kid again hanging out with my grandfather at my local American Legion/VFW listening in on their tales of life prior to "The War" and their time in service. Those stories, like Basilone's prior two biographies, in hindsight were undoubtedly embellished by family and comrades in arms. People's stories of friends and loved ones who've passed tend to do this. In Basilone's case, as with countless combat vets, his heroism truly didn't need embellishment. I was happily surprised that Mr. Brady took a critical look, albeit sometimes petty, at the previous biographies and the government's desire to create super heroes and not being content with just "regular" everyday heroes like Basilone.
A few of the other reviews have accused Mr. Brady of shoddy writing in this book because of his critical tone of the two prior biographies helmed by Basilone's sister and nephew but, I found this to be a logical approach and not done with any intended spite. Gunny Basilone wasn't exactly a prolific writer, thus any Basilone biographer is heavily reliant upon the prior entries as well as other Basilone family members and acquaintances. Brady's biography wasn't flawless, but I feel that it does a good job at trying to separate the man and the myth of a long gone American hero, Manila John Basilone.

I bought this book last week at Barnes and Noble for $25.95 plus tax. I was looking forward to finally reading an excellent biography of John Basilone, but it is a big disappointment.

The editing and fact-checking are very sloppy. The biggest example of this lies in the book's description of which enlisted marine won the Medal of Honor first. On page 9, Brady correctly identifies Sgt Clyde Thomason of the 2nd Raider Battalion as the first enlisted marine to be awarded the Medal. However, on the dust jacket on the back of the book, it describes John Basilone by saying, "As the first enlisted man to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II..." How could such an obvious error occur, except for complete inattention to detail by the editor and fact-checker?

Brady spends a lot of time criticizing the previous works on Basilone, but that does not stop him from using their quotes constantly. He then explains how their statements were wrong, but never tells us what he found that is right! After reading this book, I am still not sure what exactly John Basilone did that fateful night on Guadalcanal. Maybe nobody knows for sure. I am also unsure of just how Basilone died on Iwo Jima even though Brady uses most of the information available. He just did not make things clear enough.

Also, Brady jumps around too much. Pages 1-76 narrates Basilone's arrival on Guadalcanal, the big fight, and how he left and got his orders to go home. Then, we have a few pages about his early life. But, then the author puts himself in the story to talk about his visit to John's hometown of Raritan, New Jersey, and all the people he talked to there while researching the book. It would been much easier to follow if he had written the book in chronological order. That is another editing problem. Brady also insists on putting himself in the story by making references to his own experiences during the Korean War. That was a big distraction.

There are very few pictures and they all seem to be an official photo of Basilone in his dress uniform. There is one photo of his funeral and one of his statue in Raritan. There are no pictures of Guadalcanal or Iwo Jima at all.

I was really looking forward to reading a good biography of this great American. This was not it. Maybe there is just not enough personal information about John Basilone to really do a good one, and maybe a lot of the information has been distorted by all the wild stories and rumors. I really consider this book to be a big disappointment.

This is a very good listen about one of the Marine Corps most cherished Heroes written by another Marine. Having read as much as I can about Manila John it was good to get a fresh perspective in to his life. I highly recommend this audiobook for any true Marine History Buff.

I received this book as a gift for Christmas from my wife who thought the author was James Bradley who's work we both enjoy. After reading the first chapter, I knew it wasn't. This is not so much a book about John Basilone as it is a book about Brady's (the author) frustration with trying to write the book. The author spends more time finding fault with others recollections than he does in presenting the facts. In one case he complains about a man in his nineties who had some of his facts wrong. In another, he spends a page complaining that Sgt. Basilone didn't write letters home saying how he felt about Pearl Harbor and other events although the author describes Basilone as a grade-school educated fighter - hardly the letter writing type. To make matters worse, when he has something purportedly written by Basilone he rips it apart saying that Basilone would never have written like that.

I also agree with others about the editing and fact checking. All in all, this book is a poorly written and difficult to follow tome, and not worth reading.

I generally liked the book. My one criticism is why the author found it necessary to rebuke the stories of other authors (Basilone's family members). I think when he himself was drawing on second hand or hearsay information he should have avoided criticizing their stories. What happened to literary license?
I think the fact that Brady was a former marine he could not resist, by his criticism, the fact that he knew firsthand what the average reader or authors didn't know about the subject of military tactics. (Ex. Basilone was a machine gunner; he would not have carried or used hand grenades on Iwo).
I did not have to read the book or any other book about GY Sgt John Basilone, to see him as a hero. I kept on asking myself "why would a marine who had proven himself and awarded the nation's highest medal want to go back into battle when didn't have to?" What did he have to prove? I say it was that he truly loved his country and his fellow marines.

I bought this book used for about 1/3 the cover price, and even that was too much. It is appallingly bad. Too few photos; too much criticism of Basilone's sister's accounts of her brother's life; too many references by the author to his own Marine service, which is irrelevant to this book; and badly organized.

It seems as if Brady didn't even do simple research. For example, he reports that Lena Basilone never visited her husband's family in New Jersey. Yet, in "The Pacific" (a much better book, BTW), there is a picture of Mrs. Basilone standing with her in-laws next to the statue of her husband in...New Jersey!

This book is a waste of paper and does not do justice to the memory of John Basilone.

To the Brady family, I am sorry for your loss, and I respect Mr. Brady's service to our country in Korea. Unfortunately this book is a very sad legacy to his research and writing ability. It. Is. Simply. Awful.