Rating: 
Summary: HE DID IT AGAIN!
Review: Those of you who are unfamiliar with Mr Leckie have been missing out. He is one of the premier military historians, not only because of his excellent writing style, but because he is a combat veteran and can therefore associate with his subject. He has written wonderful general histories of all of America's wars, including the best WWII summary, Delivered from Evil. But this book stands tall among all of his other writings because this one was personal. Leckie is a veteran of many bloody battles with the first Marine division in WWII and therefore knows quite well what he is talking about. Here he takes you on a sweeping journey, as the marines battle the japs across the Pacific. His writing is awesome! He always keeps you on the hook, and as you speed through his very short chapters, you find it hard to find a place to stop. This is a very easy read, including well drawn maps, that will give you a good overall history of the Pacific campaign and still show you the war from the individuals perspective on every page. One of the classics of Pacific WWII literature!!!
Rating:
Summary: Chronicles of Courage
Review: Three veterans of the First Marine Division have written accounts of WWII. E.B. Sledge in "With the Old Breed," William Manchester in "Goodbye Darkness," and Robert Leckie in "Strong Men Armed." "With the Old Breed" and "Goodbye Darkness" are personal reminiscences, but "Strong Men Armed" is a scholarly study. It doesn't dwell on personal experiences, but gives the vast panorama of the Navy/Marine Corps island hopping campaign, and helps to put Sledge's and Manchester's personal memoirs into the context of the whole war in the Pacific. Leckie does give his chronicle a personal touch by occasionally stopping to pay tribute to some of the matchless individual deeds heroism and sacrifice. One arresting theme is his account of each and every Medal of Honor awarded to Marines who threw themselves onto live hand grenades to save their comrades. ("Greater love hath no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.") Sledge's book ("With the Old Breed") is a plain spoken account of one man's view of the horrors of the war in the Pacific. Manchester's book ("Goodbye Darkness") reads something like the out-loud ruminations of a mental patient working through unresolved issues on the psychiatrist's couch. Leckie's book is an epic account of a titanic struggle. For the Big Picture of the war in the Pacific, "Strong Men Armed" can't be beaten. For a more personal look at the war, read "With the Old Breed."
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