Customer Reviews

Why Marines Fight

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

 

 

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!

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.

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.

As a Marine, the material on Marines of different generations is interesting but Mr. Brady's constant narrative injecting himself, his politics, his place of residence and the restaurants he frequents makes it sound like the book is all about him. It's almost like he trying to have some of the valor of his subjects rub off on him.

Purchased & read right away - couldn't wait. Bogs down every chapter with unnecessary and long winded info on each Marine. Specifics concerning company assignment, etc made this a long read. Got the point why Marines fight, but it seemed to be an afterthought rather than the theme.

I certainly don't know why he wrote this book, for Brady never actually systematically tried to answer the question posed in his title Why Marines Fight. Some of the individual stories of men he interviewed were very good, but they get buried amid references to Brady himself and the continual name dropping. Supposedly Brady had a wealth of material as Marines in droves responded with letters to him when they heard about the proposed title to the book. Expecting to read the stories of unknown Marines, I was disappointed when so much of the book covered the stories of Marines turned famous politician such as James Webb and John Warner of Virginia and the late John Chaffee of Rhode Island. Whether that was Brady's choice or those of his editor, I wish far more space had been given to the stories of lesser known Marine and no space at all to John Warner's penchant for dating beautiful and filthy rich women. An ever greater waste of space are the political comments on events in Iraq and Afghanistan scattered throughout the book on a random basis. These opinions bear no relevance to Brady's purported topic and show no special insight on Brady's behalf. They merely echo the conventional wisdom of Brady's peers on the celebrity journalist beat at Parade magazine.

as a young Marine I was looking forward to "Why Marines Fight", but this book just talked about things ive already learned and been trained to know. talks alot about Marines from the past.

I was interviewed for this book and while it may come across as a bit self-serving, I thought the overall concept was great and the other, cross-generational stories very interesting. I could see where some people might disagree with the running commentaries, but I thought it kept the stories flowing well.

I had read the coldest war also written by Brady and found it to be an honest description of a part of the Korean war true to the title.This on the other hand did not to my mind keep the promise of the title.Personally I did not even finish it.Save your money

A most insightful book.

As a Canadian, I did not have the opportunity to even consider joining the Marines.

However, I do have a huge amount of respect and admiration for those who serve their country in the military, and who put themselves in harm's way.

Mr. Brady did an extensive amount of research for this publication. The result is a series of answers to the question in the title, some similar, some not.

I am glad he got the opportunity to speak to, or about, some Marine veterans before they passed on.

A great read!