First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

First to Fight makes for wonderful reading. It is fast paced; often stirring; always informed, interesting, and enlightening. Marines will zip through it, delight in it, and wish it was far longer. -- Marine Corps Gazette

A fascinating combination of memoir and study of the U.S. Marine Corps. -- Booklist

General Krulak's skills as a journalist enhance the telling of his tales surrounding the Corps's history...his personal recollections add immeasurably to the book's quality. -- National Defense

Product Description

Deftly blending history with autobiography, action with analysis, the legendary Marine general Victor "Brute" Krulak offers here a riveting insider's chronicle of U.S. Marines--their fights on the battlefield and off, and their extraordinary esprit de corps. He not only takes a close look at the Marine experience during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam--wars in which Krulak was himself a participant--but also examines the foundation on which the Corps is built. In doing so, he helps answer the question of what it means to be a Marine and how the Corps has maintained such a consistently outstanding reputation. First to Fight has been included on the Marine Corps's recommended reading list for many years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557504644
• ISBN-13: 978-1557504647
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,560 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more than Marine Corps History!, February 7, 2000

By	Bret M. Duff (Poway California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps (Hardcover)

I must admit that this book was a big surprise to me. Picking up what most books on the Marines Corps leave out. Not only did General Krulack give me a new perspective on the Corps's battles, tactics & it's inventiveness. But on it's vary existence as an elite fighting force.

Many times over the Corps had proved it's worth to her county on battlefields across the globe. But as the General points out (form first hand experience) - unknown to most are the political battles fought behind closed doors that saved the Marine Corps from becoming nothing more than a token force, or worst it's complete elimination. Even more surprising are some of "Great Americans" who (for various reasons) fought so hard to emasculate and/or eliminate the Corps outright. Americans like: Truman, Eisenhower, and Bradley to but name a few. While I'll always have great admiration for these individuals and their accomplishments - As a Marine alumni (77/81) I can't help but feel somewhat betrayed by these people and others like them.

First in Fight makes for engaging reading - as it covers Krulack's own experiences within the battle over the unification of the armed services. Moreover - this book explains how & why the U.S. Military chain of command (Executive office - down to the lowly Private) is set-up the way it is today.

Most people think that the erecting of the U.S. Flag on Mt. Suribachi's peak was the defining moment that guaranteed the existence of the Marine Corps. While I'd never take anything away from that historical event - thanks to this book I now realize that the Corps survival to date is partly in thanks to a few dedicated Marine senior officers, a Pro-Marine Congress and a supportive people.

On a personal note: I would make this mandatory reading for any Marine, as it gives new insight into our timeless inter-service rivalry with the other service branches. Semper Fi!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why's and How's, not What's, March 28, 2002

By	William M. Marcellino (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a not a battle memoir. Unlike many "We did this, then we did this," battle recollections, this work is a keen analysis of the US Marine Corps, its history, and America's reasons for having her.
The book starts from the premise "The U.S. doesn't need a Marine Corps," "Brute" Krulak articulates why America chooses to have one anyway. Not least among the gems of history in this book is the role Brute Krulak and others in the Chowder Society played in keeping the Marine Corps alive the last time the Executive Branch and Department of the Army conspired to kill her.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marine Corps history of amphibious opperations, April 21, 1999

By	[e-mail] Jim Campbell "jimcmaui" (Maui, Hawaiian Islands, USA) - See all my reviews

Lt.Gen Victor Krulak (father of the current Commandant of the Marine Corps) has written a book that every former Marine who has not been able to rid himself of the 'Once a Marine.....'syndrom, should read right away. This book exemplifies the mystical 'Band of Brothers' of Henry V more than any book I have read on the Corps, and I have read many. Krulak gives a detailed account of the evolution of the amphibious doctrine including the famous Higgin's boats and armored LVTs, but the book is far more than that. For myself I had a less than steller career as an enlisted infantryman but Krulak brings up an amazing amount of things to make me feel a true kinship to 'We few, we happy few.' He writes of Gallipoli where my grandfather was wounded in the landing as an ANZAC. Opperation Starlite where two of my buddies were wounded, His deployment of a platoon to Tiger Tooth Mt.in 1964 of whom I knew every single guy. Gen. Puller who I had a confrontation with and a dozen other intimate entries. I am sure every Marine will find a similar bunch of identifiable inclusions to make them feel that The Corps is truly a special outfit and they were lucky to have served under him. Way under him, in my case. I only wish the book was longer.