Gyrene: The World War II United States Marine

Rating:
Summary: Best book of the common Marine of WWII
Review: At the time when World War II movies are at their best, Wilbur Jones has written a book that is the difinitive word on how it really was for the heart of the Marine Corps - the enlisted man. Topics have been covered in Gyrene that don't appear in the regular history books. Accounts of hundreds of Marines experiences in the jungles of the South Pacific, and their story of how they got there in the first place. This book is the result of years of research to find out just how young men of pre-war days decided to join the Corps, and what they found once they did. It's a story that every former Marine of that time period must read to see how many of his buddies experienced the same occurances. Stories that will make you cry, some that will have the opposite effect. Well worth the price of admission.

Rating:
Summary: Gyrene
Review: If the many photgraphs which appear in this book are of importance to you....do NOT buy the paperback version. Unlike the hardback the paper stock in the paperback issue is of such low quality that all the photographs reproduce poorly, muddy and with poor resolution. The text is fine and does indeed fill a spot in the history of the USMC during WWII.

Rating:
Summary: A tribute to the "Leathernecks"
Review: This book is individual history at its best. The author has interviewed, either personally or through written statement, many hundreds of former Marines, and ably synthesized their remembrances into an exceptional work on the Marine Corps in World War II. There is no doubt that this book was a "labor of love", and that love for the men involved shines through on every page. It's a complete catalog of the Pacific war, with sole emphasis on the men who fought, not the strategy and tactics involved in its winning. From beginning to end the reader feels involved with the subjects of the work, and there will be laughter and tears aplenty during the reading. At the dawn of this new century, we can only look back with awe at these unassuming heroes who risked everything, and often gave their lives, so that we might live in peace and freedom today. Monuments are not enough; books such as this are the truest, and best, legacy of their valor and self-sacrifice.