The toll on American soldiers, Japanese soldiers and Japanese civilians would have been astronomic if America had been forced to invade. Read book reviews and find books similar to With the Old Breed by E. B. Sledge. In the process keeps notes, a diary which after the war friends press him to write as a book which you get in this great book. An illustration of an open book. “Eugene Sledge became more than a legend with his memoir, With The Old Breed. Everyone with an interest in the war in the Pacific should read this. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Sledge takes you deep into the horrors of being a Marine rifleman in the Pacific campaigns of Pelilu and Okinawa. Presidio Press, 1981, 326 pages. Much praise has - rightfully - been given to this book. An illustration of two cells of a film strip. Sledge, the author an 18 year old from Mobile chooses the Marine infantry as a idealist and by chance he serves in the fight for the island of Pelileu and then Okinawa- the two bloodiest struggles of the Pacific war. It’s painful to read though and if you won’t want to know the gory details faced by young men barely out of school and inexperienced with the. Eugene Sledge would seem an unlikely author of what I consider the most powerful memoir of war in the Pacific theater. In what may be the last memoir to be published by a living veteran of the pivotal invasion of Guadalcanal, which occurred almost seventy years ago, Marine Jim McEnery has … The son of a Mobile, Alabama, doctor, Eugene began his military career as a candidate in an academic college program that would have made him an officer. For example, one of the bloodiest, The Battle of Peleliu, has been suggested to have been superfluous since MacArthur was able to take the Philippines without that support from the western flank in some people's opinions. It is also one of the primary source materials for HBO's compelling miniseries The Pacific. He became a chronicler, a historian, a storyteller who turns the extremes of the war in the Pacific—the terror, the camaraderie, the banal and the extraordinary—into terms we mortals can grasp.”—Tom Hanks NEW YORK TIMES … Welcome back. Not much can be added to the previous reviews of this excellent book. Also, he gives details about people who figure in his reminisces, whether they survived and what they went onto to do in civilian life or what awards they earned. At this mad juncture in American history, it’s an honor to meet this decent, humble, loyal, courageous and truth-obsessed man. View Homework Help - With The Old Breed Book Review Questions from MICRO 101 at Jinnah University for Women, Karachi. Eugene Sledge would seem an unlikely author of what I consider the most powerful memoir of war in the Pacific theater. It is based on Eugene’s notes that he wrote in a small, pocket-sized Bible during the battle in the Pacific. This is truly a phenomenal read. The reality of battle meant unbearable heat, deafening gunfire, unimaginable brutality and cruelty, the stench of death, and, above all, constant fear. Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2018. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. E. B. Sledge's With the Old Breed - At Peleliu and Okinawa is a difficult book to describe. In his own book, Wartime, Paul Fussell called With the Old Breed "one of the finest memoirs to emerge from any war." Our guys outfought men who thought that dying to the last man would earn them heavenly reward. They tend to be either poorly written (not surprising since most Infantry in the war were the least intelligent of the Branches.) Straight forward, not overly sentimental or harsh. or they tend to be so stylish that it is easy to tell that they were ghostwritten. Only after reading this book did I understand his silence on what he had experienced. 2 Favorites . In The Wall Street Journal, Victor Davis Hanson named With the Old Breed one of the top five books on epic twentieth-century battles. So at times, it is hard to decide where the action is taking place and how it fits in with what is going on around the individual who is writing the account. October 25th 1990 Let's start off by saying that in general, I do no care for low-level personal accounts of the war. Hello, Can I afford to read this book under your permission? Disabling it will result in some disabled or missing features. But reading this book one begins to realize. Be the first one to write a review. Sledge, however, takes With the Old Breed to an entirely different level of … Our guys were lying on skin-slicing coral with rotting bodies of their comrades all around. As I read it two things struck me. With the Old Breed allowed me to understand much of these veterans endured. You can still see all customer reviews for the product. After Nagasaki and Hiroshima the world was never the same. The review is also long because the book gave me lots to think about. E. B. Sledge served in 3/5 during WWII and managed to survive his entire tour without injury. What did I learn from this book? I also realized how huge the courage and bravery of all the young men were who fought for their country and how great their love was for their countries and for all of us. These marines and military people deserve our respect, love and admiration and everything good we can give them. No matter what happens to me, the ups and downs, good times and bad times, whatever life brings I am thankful for because at least I am free and alive in the greatest country on earth. The initial fear of the unknown and how you will react, the daily misery in a combat zone, and the emotional roller coaster from pre to post combat are all conveyed with great detail. For me, this tends to detract from my enjoyment of the book. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. And Studs Terkel was so fascinated with the story he interviewed its author for his book, "The Good War." The early … I couldn’t put it down. There is no glory in war, in the shedding of another man's blood; in digging a foxhole in a torrential downpour only to uncover the badly decomposing body of a Japanese soldier crawling with maggots; in watching helplessly as four of your comrades retrieve, on a stretcher, a wounded Marine amid machinegun. He became a chronicler, a historian, a storyteller who turns the extremes of the war in the Pacific—the terror, the camaraderie, the banal and the extraordinary—into terms we mortals can grasp.”—Tom HanksNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIn The Wall Street Journal, Victor Davis Hanson named With the Old Breed … If your interested in the battles of the Pacific during WWII or what it was like to be there, this is the book for you! An excellent read from the point of view from one of the men actually at the core of the fighting. “With the Old Breed” is a deep pleasure. Report on With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. This was gripping. They tend to be either poorly written (not surprising since most Infantry in the war were the least intelligent of the Branches.) The best writings are usually through first hand accounts. Video. Some of these young men later appeared in the paper killed in action. It affected me very much as my reading of Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead did when I first read that. “With The Old Breed” begins with the start of the author’s military career.Eugene Sledge was a freshman at Marion Military institute, his family pushing for him to eventually become an officer in the United States Army. if you die, turn to page 337. But what really sets this apart are the author's honest descriptions of how he felt and his motivations in combat - comradeship, bravery, anger. It is a humble story of a Marine and his battle experiences, told without self censure and speaking to the awesome horror that is war. Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2021. Outstanding telling of a young marines experiences, Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019. Book Review: With the Old Breed, by E.B. He became a chronicler, a historian, a storyteller who turns the extremes of the war in the Pacific—the terror, the camaraderie, the banal and the extraordinary—into terms we mortals can grasp.”—Tom Hanks NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Sledge serves is traumatized by the fighting. The enemy set up traps and ambushes, so you never knew when you might be blown up. As an example the historic First Marine Diviosn in which he served was decimated by the fighting on Pelileu. The technology that developed the rifle barrel, the machine gun and high explosive shells has turned war into prolonged, subhuman slaughter. A painful read and an essential one. Sledge wrote down thoughts, feelings and notes and tucked them in his small copy of The New Testament that he carried, he didn't intend them for the public at large, only for his family. Sledge's account of his tour of duty with the 5th Marines in WWII, With The Old Breed is the second account of the Pacific theater that I have read. Free download or read online With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa pdf (ePUB) book. In those years, he passed, often painfully, from innocence to experience. This book is an outstanding telling of what is was like for a young boy to be an enlisted marine fighting in WWII. There is no shortage of good books on the bloody fighting in the Pacific during World War II. Sledge's account is told in frank, straight forward and understated language. As time passes with other conflicts the new generations lose perspective of the all consuming struggle WWII was to the US and the world. There are problems with dropping the atomic bomb. Warning: this review includes some spoilers. It really lets you know what life is like as an infantryman from training to deployment, Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2018. Based on the notes he kept on slips of paper tucked secretly away in his New Testament, he simply and directly recalls those long months, mincing no words and sparing no pain. Sledge's account of his tour of duty with the 5th Marines in WWII, With The Old Breed is the second account of the Pacific theater that I have read. The enemy had special treats for our infantry to see--like soldiers' severed privates stuffed into their gaping mouths. It tells the account of one of the American soldiers by the name of Sledge. I think what sets Sledge's account apart from others like it are his honest and thoughtfu. Textbooks, documentaries, and even Hollywood productions have proven to be accurate as to the details of this theater of war. With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. An illustration of a 3.5" floppy disk. The best writings are usually through first hand accounts. However, he deliberately failed to become a Marine assigned to infantry in the Pacific. It affected me very much as my reading of Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead did when I first read that. This is a review of two books, “With the Old Breed” and “Helmet for My Pillow.” HBO based its miniseries “The Pacific,” on these books, and Audible Studios and Playtone recently made new recordings of both books. His 1981 memoir, “The Japanese fought to win - it was a savage, brutal, inhumane, exhausting and dirty business. This book was written by someone who actually fought as a Marine in the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa rather than being written by a historian like most military books are. Paper is poor, size is small, cover is so-so. A wonderful read. Eugene Sledge was a private in the United States Marine Corps who saw intense combat on Peleliu and Okinawa, fighting as a member of the storied 1st Marine Division. An antidote to any nobility of war thoughts people might have. I think what sets Sledge's account apart from others like it are his honest and thoughtful introspective musings on the inhumanity of war, fear, his anger and resentment against the Japanese, and many other heartfelt opinions. Just a man who survived two of the worst battles in the Pacific telling us what happened. For me, this tends to detract from my enjoyment of the book. He is superb in how he describes and explains thoughts, feelings, actions, surroundings, people and everything. With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa is a book written in memory of World War II by a United States Marine, professor and writer Eugene Sledge in 1981. Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2019. I am inspired to read an overview of the Pacific theater and the battles to gain a greater understanding of the decision for some of these battles that were in obscure places like the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. 537 Views . And Studs Terkel was so fascinated with the story he interviewed its author for his book, "The Good War." You've read the other reviews, so you already know how good this is. This might be the best memoir I’ve ever read. The First Marines on Peleliu and Okinawa. It's well written, with plenty of insights into military life - the friendships, the stink & grime, the horror & occasional humour. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. On my way to the airport I selected ‘With the Old Breed’ from the to-read pile. “With the Old Breed” by Sledge is one of the two best down to earth combat story of the Pacific War. I could feel the pain—the dirt or worse yet on Peleliu the coral one couldn’t dig into—the bad food and dirty water, dirty and wet clothes, the fear. There is no glory in war, in the shedding of another man's blood; in digging a foxhole in a torrential downpour only to uncover the badly decomposing body of a Japanese soldier crawling with maggots; in watching helplessly as four of your comrades retrieve, on a stretcher, a wounded Marine amid machinegun fire ("If it were me out there," Sledge recounts, "I would want to know I wouldn't be left behind. Buy a cheap copy of With The Old Breed: At Peleliu And... book by Eugene B. Sledge. Sledge still has nightmares about "the bloody, muddy month of May on Okinawa." No sensationalism here; E. B. Sledge merely tells it the way it was. I don't think a lot of people really deeply understand everything people went through for their countries and what they gave up, this book will make you understand more fully their sacrifices. Eugene Bondurant Sledge (November 4, 1923 – March 3, 2001) was a United States Marine, university professor, and author. “Eugene Sledge became more than a legend with his memoir, With The Old Breed. Everyone should read this book and thank all the people who have fought for their countries in person and in our hearts for everything they experienced and sacrificed . Sledge kept a diary of information and when the war was over he put his skills to work and wrote a very fine piece full of emotion and personal endeavor. As I read it two things struck me. Sledge's honesty and compassion for the other marines, even complete strangers, sets him apart as a memoirist of war. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, See all details for With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. Review Date: 25 Jul 2005. -- John Keegan Eugene Sledge became more than a legend with his memoir, With The Old Breed. Insects were constantly congregating on bodies biting until there were infected welts on welts. We’d love your help. And as a Christian I am adamantly opposed to civilian deaths. or they tend to be so stylish that it is easy to tell that they were ghostwritten. It is also one of the primary source materials for HBO's compelling miniseries The Pacific. Sledge tells a flowing tale from an enlisted Infantryman’s perspective, a modest, down to earth, or perhaps I should say corral reef, view of the war. Sledge presents that combat so realistically. But, as he also tellingly reveals, the bonds of friendship formed then will never be severed. Books. It hides nothing about the inhumanity of the Pacific conflict that Sledge was part of but in the end his prose shows a retention of his own humanity. He came back with a box of medals and never spoke about what he had survived. Straight forward, not overly sentimental or harsh. He became a chronicler, a historian, a storyteller who turns the extremes of the war... Free Shipping on all orders over $10. Fortunately for us, this memoir was made public and I found it to be an moving account of one mans journey through his time as a Marine and his experiences of two brutal battles, Peleliu and Okinawa. Our commanders knew that if we were to win and survive, we must be trained realistically for it whether we liked it or not. This is why war should be avoided at all costs, and this is why no one man should ever be given the authority, with a flourish of his signature, to risk the lives of young men and women. I have been reading military history all my life but I have never read anything quite like PVT Sledge’s first-hand account of his war experience as a member of a front-line infantry unit in the 3rd battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Compared to the high quality of Leckie's Helmet for My Pillow for $6.41, WTOB is a rip off. Sledge's account is full of colorful accounts of his experience of WWII, much like John Leckie's book (another primary source for The Pacific) Helmet For My Pillow. With the Old Breed Summary and Study Guide. Sledge's elegant prose describes battles that are metaphors for hell. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. I bought the Presidio Press paperback version (not the mass market version) of With the Old Breed (WTOB) for $13.60 thinking it would be a quality product. I have since bought a copy for a friend here in Australia and he also ranks it in his top 10 military history books. But American history became a passion. The Pacific war was a fierce world of barbaric conduct by tro. At one point in the book I had to stop because of how terrible and unbelievably cruel and gruesome the war was to these young people. So instead of being a discussion of tactics, this book is an account of one man's experiences while fighting in two of the most brutal battles of the WW2 Pacific War. Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2017. And as a Christian I am adamantly opposed to civilian deaths. Book Review: “The Old Man Who Danced Naked Around the Flag Pole” by James Scott Introduction The book, “The Old Man Who Danced Naked around the FlagPole” was written by James Scott and it appeared before his readers by the Authorhouse Publication in the year of 2005. I would give it six stars if I could. It is well written and is the best WW2 first hand account I have read. Overview “Eugene Sledge became more than a legend with his memoir, With The Old Breed. Firsthand account of a Marine in the Pacific during World War II, Sledge's book is devastatingly unflinching in its examination of close quarters combat against a fearless and dedicated enemy. I couldn’t believe what I was listening to (It was an audio book.) This page works best with JavaScript. Of all the books about the ground war in the Pacific, [With the Old Breed] is the closest to a masterpiece ― The New York Review of BooksOne of the most arresting documents in war literature. In his own book, Wartime, Paul Fussell called With the Old Breed "one of the finest memoirs to emerge from any war." Sledge's memoir of his. Surname 1 Name Professor Course Title Date Book Review – With the Old Breed The nonfiction book With the Old Breed by E.B. John Keegan referred to it in The Second World War as "one of the most arresting documents in war literature." Using nuclear weapons on Japan was not wrong but overdue. Describing it as an example of "the American procedure at its best, unashamed of simplicity," Paul Fussell said that With the Old Breed "is one of the finest memoirs to … An illustration of an audio speaker. There were jungle diseases, dysentery, malaria and that was just the start. ISBN 978-0-8914-1906-8 Printed in the United States of America www.presidiopress.com 24 26 28 29 27 25 23 In memory of Capt . A great read. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2018. Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2019. With the Old Breed is an excellent memoir of the Pacific Theater during the Second World War. Sledge kept a diary of information and when the war was over he put his skills to work and wrote a very fine piece full of emotion and personal endeavor. The celebrated 2010 HBO miniseries The Pacific, winner of eight Emmy Awards, was based on two classic books about the War in the Pacific, Helmet for My Pillow and With The Old Breed.Audible Studios, in partnership with Playtone, the production company co-owned by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and creator of the award-winning HBO series Band of Brothers, … If you only read 1 book on fighting in the Pacific Theatre in WWII, this should be the one. and mass market by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., in 2007. Contributor: Bryan Hiatt. I first read With The Old Breed when I was in college. This is what it was like to be there as close as words will permit. The book follows him through training, then to the Pacific outpost of Pavuvu, then into the battlefields of Peleliu and Okinawa. The first edition of the novel was published in November 1981, and was written by Eugene B. Sledge. I know that I will forever be thankful and every day for the rest of my life will celebrate that I have a day to live and be able to celebrate. E.B. There's a problem loading this menu right now. An appropriate read for Memorial Day weekend. Written by a young Marine, this is a straight forward, no-nonsense, gritty account of life (and frequently death) on the front line in the Pacific in WW2. Highly recommended to any history buff. After Nagasaki and Hiroshima the world was never the same. Like a true Marine, Sledge possessed gifts and talents beyond fighting. With the Old Breed is an excellent memoir of the Pacific Theater during the Second World War. The author retells what he went through from enlisting to fighting in some of the most horrific battles in the war. However, he deliberately failed to become a Marine assigned to infantry in the Pacific. The book transcends WWII as it is an overall testament of the basic Marine Corps values of Semper Fidelis and camaraderie along with tradition, which makes the title “With the Old Breed” so appropriate. Andrew A Haldane, beloved company commander of K/3/5, and to the Old Breed ISBN: 0-19-506714-2. No sensationalism here; E. B. Sledge merely tells it the way it was. He became a chronicler, a historian, a storyteller who turns the extremes of the war in the Pacific—the terror, the camaraderie, the banal and the extraordinary—into terms we mortals can grasp.”—Tom Hanks. The distintegration of people physically and mentally from constant fear in a thousand forms, this book taps into the effect of war on the senses, the body and the mind. I could feel the pain—the dirt or worse yet on Peleliu the coral one couldn’t dig into—the bad food and dirty water, dirty and wet clothes, the fear. If you can make it through without welling up at half a dozen spots, you are a stronger person than I…One of the themes…is the near impossibility of communicating the experience of combat to those who have not … Sledge understood the ease with which a man could lose his sense of humanity and recognized how close he came to that outcome. Men must be trained realistically if they are to survive it without breaking, mentally and physically.”, “Until the millennium arrives and countries cease trying to enslave others, it will be necessary to accept one's responsibilities and be willing to make sacrifices for one's country - as my comrades did. In the post-war years, the U.S. Marine Corps came in for a great deal of undeserved criticism in my opinion, from well-meaning persons who did not comprehend the magnitude of stress and horror that combat can be. First, the invasion of Japan would have been the most costly battle in the history of mankind. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “With the Old Breed” by Eugene Sledge. Just a man who survived two of the worst battles in the Pacific telling us what happened. In December 1942, at the age of nineteen, Sledge, a young man from Mobile, Alabama, decides to enroll in the Marine Corps. It was well worth the time and effort. Eugene Sledge became more than a legend with his memoir, With The Old Breed . Review. This book puts you right there with him where its like you feel what they feel emotionally. In depth insights as to what it was like to be on the front lines for long periods of times. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Now including a new introduction by Paul Fussell, With the Old Breed presents a stirring, personal account of the vitality and bravery of the Marines in the battles at Peleliu and Okinawa. I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, because war is very, very ugly, and Sledge doesn’t sugarcoat it. I had an uncle who fought in the Pacific in World War II.