The Last Parallel: A Marine's War Journal [Paperback]

Martin Russ (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1999

Long regarded as one of the best books about combat written, this book tells of the experiences of combat soldiers during the Korean War.

Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: Fromm Intl; 1st Fromm International Ed edition (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880642378
• ISBN-13: 978-0880642378
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #668,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars War in a Very Cold Place, April 18, 2001

By 

Steven S. Berizzi - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Parallel: A Marine's War Journal (Paperback)

This is the third first-person account of the Korean War I have reviewed here during the last year (the others were James Brady, The Coldest War : A Memoir of Korea, review date May 27, 2000, and James R. Owen, Colder Than Hell : A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. review date December 8, 2000), and I have enjoyed all three. No war is pretty, but the Korean War was especially ugly: Most of the fighting took place over cold and barren ground from World War I-style trenches; the enemy, North Koreans and Chinese, was tough and relentless; and the conflict ended in a cruel stalemate that essentially persists to this day. The author of this memoir, Corporal (later Sergeant) Martin Russ describes Seoul, the capital of South Korea, as "a huge trash heap," and the countryside as "a frozen patchwork of fields and rice paddies."

By the time Russ arrived in Korea in December 1952, the war had been in progress for two and one-half years. Although Russ was trained to be a small-arms mechanic, he informs us that all marines underwent advanced infantry training before being sent to Korea, and he spent most of his time as a rifleman in trenches. Five days after he arrived in at his post in the field in January 1953, he wrote: "I consider it an honor to be here." It was, however, a hard life. An occasional chocolate chip cookie is balanced by "an obscene putrescence in one of the cans which is labeled `Ham and Eggs.'" According to Russ: "It is impossible to keep anything clean; showers of dirt fall each time an incoming shell lands anywhere nearby." At one point, Russ describes himself and his fellows as "bearded, filthy, and stinking." As a result, Russ writes: "The portable showers [were] a real luxury."

The trenches of the Chinese forces were no more than 200 yards away, and firefights occurred every night. The fighting often lasted only for a few minutes (in one instance, Russ writes: "The fire fight lasted for at least five minutes - a hell of a prolonged encounter for this type of situation"), but it could be terrifying. Even when they weren't fighting, the marines were almost continuously exposed to danger. They often patrolled through heavily-mined rice paddies, looking for "line jumpers,...Korean or Chinese spies that had gotten through" the Allies' main line of resistance. The possibility of imminent combat was so great that it was, according to Russ, "mandatory to carry one's weapon when outside" at all times. On one occasion, a Chinese mortar round lands in the middle of a group of marines, and Russ reports that another marines described the scene as a "slaughterhouse." On another occasion, after "heavy assaults" by the Chinese on several successive nights, Russ characterizes the marine casualties as "appalling." Russ's crude drawings and diagrams help to illustrate the points he is making.

Russ writes revealingly about his peers: "As a marine, one almost feels obliged to conceal any emotion except anger;" and "The average marine...hates sailors, is not averse to beating up homosexuals, and loathes civilians." It probably was inevitable that some marines would turn that anger inward, and Ross reports: "Suicide is not a rare occurrence in the Corps." According to Russ, "the men of the Corps are the most skillful killers in the world." Russ describes one instance in which a marine is killed while hunting for souvenirs, and this is the verdict of one of his peers: "He was a fool. I don't feel sorry for him; only for his folks."

Russ's writing often is colorful, and he clearly has a gift for observation. However, like the Brady and Owen books, his account makes few references to the geopolitical struggle at the heart of the Korean War. And readers wanting to learn about the big picture of the early Cold War also must look elsewhere. But I now believe that there is considerable value in reading about the individual infantryman's experience in this or any other conflict, and Russ's battlefield memoir is one of the best from the Korean War. Thanks to Brady, Owen, and Russ, this is no longer the "forgotten war."

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you want real, then this is it., December 2, 1999

By 

Yuancie Lee (West Lafayette, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Parallel: A Marine's War Journal (Paperback)

For people who want to get a good idea on what it's like to be a Marine, I think that this is a great book. The book takes the reader through not only the excitement in war, but also the mundane parts of it. Very few books that I've read do this, and I was pleased to find one that did.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Literate and compelling, hard to put down., April 2, 1999

By 

Christopher (Leawood, KS, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Parallel: A Marine's War Journal (Paperback)

The Last Parallel is one of the great combat memoirs; Russ provides the reader with a "you-are-there" experience, thoroughly illustrating the constricted, bottom-up view of the Marine infantryman. The unique, static environment of the Korean War at the time of his participation, and the intense, dangerous, night-time patrolling activity that occupied much of his time is well detailed. The book contains reproductions of numerous sketches and drawings he made in his journal, illustrating particular features, locations and incidents. While very simple, they add considerably to the context and are a unique element, further drawing the reader in. If you are at all interested in the Korean War, or the experience of the foot solider, then The Last Parallel is worth your time. Finally, it is, in moments, extremely funny. The source of the humor is often self-deprecating, or drawing on the absurd human circumstances that accompany war. Of course, war is not funny, but people, and soldiers, can be, and Russ has a talent for illustrating those moments.