Free Downloads Voices Of The Pacific: Untold Stories From The Marine Heroes Of World War II
A firsthand chronicle of United States Marine Corps’ actions in the Pacific Following fifteen Marines from the Pearl Harbor attack, through battles with the Japanese, to their return home after V-J Day, Adam Makos and Marcus Brotherton have compiled an oral history of the Pacific War in the words of the men who fought on the front lines. With unflinching honesty, these Marines reveal harrowing accounts of combat with an implacable enemy, the friendships and camaraderie they found—and lost—and the aftermath of the war’s impact on their lives. With unprecedented access to the veterans, rare photographs, and unpublished memoirs, Voices of the Pacific presents true stories of heroism as told by such World War II veterans as Sid Phillips, R. V. Burgin, and Chuck Tatum—whose exploits were featured in the HBO® miniseries, The Pacific—and their Marine buddies from the legendary 1st Marine Division. Includes rare photos!
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Berkley; Reprint edition (January 7, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425257835
ISBN-13: 978-0425257838
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (443 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #93,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #95 in Books > History > Military > United States > Veterans #255 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Military > World War II #708 in Books > History > Military > World War II
I just started this book and had to post an early review to warn peopleâ¦if youâre a fan of A Higher Call like me and you bought this book thinking itâs another A Higher Call, youâre in for a surprise. Adam Makos didnât write this book like A Higher Call. The WWII Marines wrote this book. Itâs 98% in their words. Makos just chimes in here and there to give some history tidbits and to set the stage for the veteransâ stories.Iâm not complaining. In fact, by turning the spotlight on the vets the action is faster. I just read the Battle of the Tenaru River part where 4 of the Marines put you in the foxholes with them (Sid Phillips, Jim Young, Roy Gerlach, and Arthur Pendleton). Literally youâre there as the Japanese are splashing across the river toward them waving swords and flashing bayonets.One vet tells a spurt of a story then the next chimes in. Then another guy piles onto the other guyâs story and before you know it the stories are building in intensity. I found my heart pounding. When you see war only through the veteransâ eyes itâs a scary thing.Iâll add to my review later but wanted to warn people that this is a very different kind of WWII story. Itâs no A Higher Call, but very unique in style and like a good WWII book should be, itâs all about the men who were there.
So, let's see now. I have read all the books regarding the Band of Brother's, seen the mini-series, and read Hugh Ambrose's "Pacific", have seen Spielberg and Hanks great 10 part epic on the Pacific campaign and followed that up with Ken Burns multi-part PBS documentary, "The War". Having done that, I thought that I had somehow come to the end of WWII. My library was full of great works on the genre. Then on April 2, 2013, a new book on the Pacific campaign was released, its title "Voices of the Pacific". Recently acclaimed author Adam Makos and Marcus Brotherton have come together to bring another great painting of that terrible time. In December, Adam released his first book entitled "A Higher Call". With Larry Alexander they painted a great story on the European side of the war. This time Adam went back and found a great number of veterans both new and some old that shared some new aspects on the war with Japan. I found the picture I was getting was that of some of the missing pieces that Hollywood left out. I understand that there are still more stories to tell and I hope that Adam and Marcus will continue to tell them.Adam Makos is on his way as a history writer of much importance. It goes without saying that this work is a must read for all the history people. If you read this review, and are a lover of history, you must put this volume on either the BUY or your WISH LIST for future reading. You DO NOT want to miss this extraordinary volume. You also do not want to miss the Band of Brothers books authored by Marcus Brotherton. Two outstanding authors together. What a great job gentlemen.
I have read hundreds of books on WWII, from all kinds of perspectives. This book really stands out in my mind because it simply lets the vets speak without much "interference" from an outside editor, author, or historian. It helps the reader along by providing very brief historical "guide posts" along the way, three or four sentences that help you track the USMC vets through their experiences, but there is nothing added to try to make things more "interesting" or "interpret" the vets accounts. It is just their words, their memories, their feelings and it really gives you a very realistic understanding of what, precisely, they went through from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. It is nearly impossible to understand the living hell they endured during the Pacific campaign, but this book is one of the finest for simply hearing the old veterans talk. Those of us old enough to have spoken to a lot of WWII vets, as I have, know how powerful it is simply to sit and listen to a WWII vet talk and share his experiences, this book is precisely that. The book does not try to provide some "grand narrative" and dribble throughout vet's comments, it simply gives you the vet's comments, you get many observations, not just one, as for example, in Gene Sledge's book, which is a must read too.Highly recommended!!!
As a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, I see the paralells between those wars and WWII, something Voices of the Pacific illuminated for me. In the islands, our Marines (my grandfather was in the 1st Marine Division) fought an enemy with whom there was no Geneva convention. If you had to surrender you knew you faced a fate worse than death; torture first and a beheading, second. What happens today if a soldier or Marine or USAF controller is taken prisoner by the Taliban or AQ? The same thing. The settings are different but this book spoke to me. The heat, the smells of death and human waste and that gnawing tension where you don't know if you're walking in someone's gun sights.I recommend this book to any civilian who wants to know what the worst of war is like or to the warfighter who will take comfort in knowing that other men have braved the same dangers (our grandfathers) and that we can triumph over anything.
Voices of the Pacific: Untold Stories from the Marine Heroes of World War II Inside Out: Literature, Cultural Politics, and Identity in the New Pacific (Pacific Formations: Global Relations in Asian and Pacific Perspectives) The Silence of War: An Old Marine in a Young Marine's War Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific: A Young Marine's Stirring Account of Combat in World War II Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 Heroes: The World's Greatest Super Hero Creators Honor The World's Greatest Heroes 9-11-2001 Alien Voices: Lost World (Alien Voices Presents) Loyola Kids Book of Heroes: Stories of Catholic Heroes and Saints throughout History American Seashells; The Marine Molluska of the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America Reef Fishes of the Indian Ocean: A Pictorial Guide to the Common Reef Fishes of the Indian Ocean (Pacific Marine Fishes) Guide to Northeast Pacific Flatfishes: Families Bothidae, Cynoglossidae, and Pleuronectidae (Marine Advisory Bulletin) Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds And Selected Fishes Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific, A Marine Tells His Story War in the Pacific (Graphic Modern History: World War II) Dive! World War II Stories of Sailors & Submarines in the Pacific: The Incredible Story of U.S. Submarines in WWII We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq Pacific Coast Tree Finder: A Pocket Manual for Identifying Pacific Coast Trees (Nature Study Guides) America's Great Hiking Trails: Appalachian, Pacific Crest, Continental Divide, North Country, Ice Age, Potomac Heritage, Florida, Natchez Trace, Arizona, Pacific Northwest, New England Karen Brown's Pacific Northwest 2010 (Karen Brown's Pacific Northwest: Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries) Lost Voices (The Lost Voices Trilogy)
