24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Unanswered Question, December 9, 2007
As a former Marine combat Grunt, I was looking forward to reading this book. However, after enjoying Brady's novels about the Corps, I found this non-fiction work to be less than expected. From the guy who is listed as the "Corps' poet laureate", this work is much less that expected.
The title asks the question, "Why do Marine Fight"? However, the question is not answered. Rather, Brady writes a series of vignettes about people he apparently knew, none of whom deal with the issue - why DO Marines fight?
From my personal experience, Marines fight for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is the brother Marines to their left and right, for the Corps and for their country. Marines fight because, as volunteers, they are and always have been trained to fight since 1775. Never giving up a piece of ground without an argument, Marines fight ferociously because that is what is expected of them. They took "impossible" positions in WW I and "impossible" island fortresses during the pacific campaign in WW II, never yielding, but always on the offensive, even when cut off and without support, as at Guadalcanal. What makes a man go forward into almost certain death? Again, it's his fellow Marines, those who have also been trained to close with and kill the enemy, and protect their comrades, which is why so many Marines have been awarded the Medal of Honor for selfless acts such as covering a grenade with their own body to protect fellow Marines.
Brady had a good idea, but in the writing it fell way short of his objective. Marines fight because that is what we are trained and expected to do. It is also because we have leaders and NCOs who are trained to lead and lead from the front, not from a desk. Every Marine is a rifleman and every Marine is trained to taker command, if needed. That's why and how we fight!
Our motto says it all: Semper Fidelis! ALWAYS FAITHFUL!
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book, November 4, 2007
I really enjoyed this book. As a Marine myself, I thought it was great to hear, in their own words, Marines from various generations describe their combat and life experiences.
While the prose, apparently direct from interviews, could at times be a bit grating, I liked Brady's introductions and running commentary.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A good collection of Marine stories, but poorly written, December 6, 2007
This book gives unique glimpses into the personal lives of Marines past and present--rightfully portraying the average Marine as the unknown hero next door.
What would have made this book an epic is if the author would have kept his political opinions out of it. He agreed with one Marine that he quoted, saying that war is purely apolitical. Yet sprinkled throughout the book [and laid on pretty thick in the last chapter] were his personal opinions that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are--in his words--silly. This discredits the objectivity of his work, reducing it from greatness to an okay book from a guy with an ax to grind.
Also, he tends to get diarrhea of the mouth when talking about trivialities (i.e. himself). He kept mentioning how important he was when writing articles for Parade magazine. It's completely irrelevant...especially when discussing something as intriguing--and nearly sacred--as the motivations of a Marine.
If you are able to filter out the bias and "white noise", the individual stories are decent.
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