Rating: 
Summary: A Superb Telling of Marine Boot Camp
Review: "Making the Corps" is the best book I have ever read. I became very intrigued in the ways of becoming a true-blue American Marine. Although I am not in any armed force, at 45 I feel invigorated enough to be. I want to do exactly what the Marines in this book do -- I want to crawl in the mud, and stand with honor at graduation. Not only is does this book provide an well researched and documented insight into the life of a few dozen young men destined to become real Marines, but Ricks' writing style is superb. It is hard to believe that this is his first title when one's eyes grace the pages. But it is not flowery writing -- it is obviously real. I give this book a 100 out of 10. Ricks went beyond the call of duty to write what could very well prove to be the best book of the decade. Not only is does this book provide an well researched and documented insight into the life of a few dozen young men destined to become real Marines, but Ricks' writing style is superb. It is hard to believe that this is his first title when one's eyes grace the pages. But it is not flowery writing -- it is obviously real. I give this book a 100 out of 10. Ricks went beyond the call of duty to write what could very well prove to be the best book of the century.
Rating: 
Summary: A singular account of pre-Crucible boot camp.
Review: This book is truly an excellent read, as well as an outstanding narrative on the emotional and psychological stress Recruits endure to earn the title "Marine". Mr. Ricks skillfully draws the reader into the thoughts, emotions, and lives of Platoon 3086 and their Drill Instructors, punctuating learning in the present with hard won lessons of the past. In fascinating sidebars, the author compares and contrasts MCRD Parris Island's approach to basic training, albiet briefly, with the Army's BCT programs at Ft. Jackson (non-combat MOS) and Ft. Benning (Infantry and Airborne MOS) and notes the often striking contrast between the two, and delves into a revealing commentary on the state of American society from a Marine's point of view. The only reason this book was given 4-stars instead of 5 was because the Crucible event was being phased in just as this book was going to press. This fact is in no way a criticism, and it certainly doesn't detract from the quality of the book, but it would have been even better to experience the Crucible through the eyes of platoon 3086, whom we've grown to know so well. If you're thinking of enlisting in the Marine Corps, are an ex-Marine, or know someone in the Corps, I highly recommend this book and the book, "Into the Crucible" by Cpt. James Woulfe, which follows a different platoon through the Crucible event.
Rating:
Summary: VERY WELL DONE - ENJOYED THIS ONE
Review: Thomas Ricks has given us a good one here. This is an excellent book for both those who have never expierenced the military or basic training and for those of us who have. I think with the way the world situation is today, it is important that those who did or have not served in the military, to have some idea of just what a young man or woman goes through to become a soldier. For those who have gone through the expierence, this is a wonderful nostalgic trip. The author has given us rare glimpses into the training process and the mind set of our young men and women serving us. The book is well written, comprehensive as a work of this sort can be, and is a true page turner. All in all I was impressed and recommend this one highly.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I picked this book up my freshman year in college for a history book review. I choose this particular book because my boyfriend was toying with the idea of joining the Marines and I wanted to learn more about it, so I searched for a book that could tell me something about the subject. What I found was a fascinating account of bootcamp at Paris Island, South Carolina... I could not get enough of this book.
The author, having spent time with these young men as they experienced the Marine Corps basic training really captures the reality of the training experience. Told from many different points of view this book tells so much about the young men who choose a life of service.
Upon reading this book I gained an even deeper respect for those who choose to make the Corps their life. I suggest this book to anyone wanting to learn about the Marine Corps, or anyone who knows someone in the Marines.
Rating:
Summary: Good book.
Review: It was a very interesting book and hard to put down. It is an accurate account of day-to-day activities of boot camp. Highly recommended for anyone who may want to get an idea of what boot camp is like or to relive some old memories.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I did not know there is a mental part of boot camp, so i will be prepared for it when i join the Corps. I also feel sorry for anyone that thinks this is a sad book. My cousin says that his time in the marines was the best part of his life. He likes teaching but he wishes he could have stayed in the core forever. He says that while youre there, you will hate boot camp, but upon graduating you will look upon it as the best part of your life, because you learn to be a marine!
Rating:
Summary: Semper Fi
Review: Somewhat striking versus my years 58-62. Couldn't quit back then. None where thrown out weekly they just set them back and then back again if they didn't adjust. Some of the text gave me the opinion the Author felt they were mostly losers any way you looked at it. Well,during the years I was in I only saw strong patriots ready to give their lives for our great USA. I can't help but believe it's still the same. A saying I remember was 'they might not be real pretty but they are pretty tough. Let there always be men that wish to become the greatest-- a United States Marine.
Rating: 
Summary: This Civilian Thanks You Marines. What Do Journalists Want?
Review: As a never-served civilian, I would gladly recommend this book to any fellow American - WITH CAUTION. It's so well-written, that I've read it repeatedly. With appreciation and real support (and not pandering) from my side of the fence, YOU MARINES WILL CONTINUE TO WIN WARS AND KEEP AMERICA FREE.
Ricks's worldview - the Washington Post Intellectual Elite - has to be accounted for. He almost seems to relish what he sees as a deepening divide between civilians and military. Remember, modern liberals love to claim to save us from division they claim exist from their high perch:
1. Ricks does what a lot of journalists covering the military do. He postures as lending them support, sympathy, airing their feelings. He positions himself as neither supporting liberal nor consverative views of military conduct and policy. But the impression he gives is opposite - that the marines are a CULT, that the marines are on the cusp of becoming an American SS. IN RICKS'S WORLD, ROOTING FOR THE USA IS JINGOISM AND MORALLY AND INTELLECTUALLY INFERIOR JOURNALISM.
To the modern journalist and liberal, patriotism is political. To the modern journalist and liberal, it's more authentic and superior for a Marine to be neutral to a political party. RICKS'S MESSAGE IS, IN EFFECT, A MARINE CAN NOT BE LOYAL TO HIS SERVICE AND PATRIOTIC AT THE SAME TIME, AND WORSE, CONSERVATIVE!
2. Why is Ricks bothered by the increasing partisan conservatism (if Ricks is even right) of the Marines and other armed services? He sets off false alarms that Leftists love to believe - that underneath it all, the USA's military institutions attract losers seeking benefits and also promote dumb robots.
Since when, Mr. Ricks, is American conservatism equal to militarism or military supremacism?
3. Ricks contributes to a false stereotype of the American enlistee and volunteer- that America's youth are destined for loserhood in burger-flipping jobs. In fairness to Mr. Ricks, a couple of recruits that Ricks profiled KNEW WHY THEY WANTED TO BE MARINES AND KNEW THE RISKS AND REVERED THE USA.
The liberal elites dump on the traditional "Ozzie and Harriet" American family. They ushered in 1960s radicalism to free youth from a supposedly intellectual, cultural wasteland. The 1960s cultural revolution was a disaster (YES, TRUE!). Do elites like Ricks now believe that service to country will clean up the decadance and make America MORE egalitarian? IS IT THE MILITARY'S JOB TO MAKE MAKE AMERICA MORE EGALITARIAN?!
4. Much talk from Left-liberals these days about a back-door draft, and the supposed dire need for a draft comes from the liberal worldview of Ricks.
Should America want a draft to WIN WARS or improve the the spiritual, cultural, and economic health of America's poor and downtrodden?
Does Ricks not believe that America's young volunteers are up to the job of WINNING WARS?
WHEN AMERICA HAD A DRAFT, LIBERALS CLAIMED THAT RICH, WHITE GUYS IN BOARDROOMS WERE SENDING POOR FOLKS OUT TO DIE. NOW WITH AN ALL-VOLUNTEER ARMED FORCES (TURNING AWAY THOSE NOT UP TO THE JOB AND GENERALS HAPPY WITHOUT A DRAFT) LIBERALS ARE STILL STOKING THE SAME FEARS!
In conclusion, I had the impression Ricks is not all that different from modern day journalists who hold a dim view of America's traditional institutions and they believe (but will not say it explicitly) that the core of American institutions were always wrotten and need to be constantly REMADE IN THE LIBERAL IMAGE.
Liberals and socialists ARE NOT NECESSARILY PACIFISTS. THEY WOULD LOVE TO HAVE POWER OVER THE MILITARY TO DO THEIR SOCIAL ENGINEERING.
Liberals almost cannot help themselves with regard to seeing a looming disaster in America even amongst witnessing an institution that helped make America free, good, and brave.
Rating:
Summary: The Way it Is
Review: Being a former U.S. Marine, I believe that this book is one of the best that has been written on the subject of daily recruit life in today's Marine Corps. The portrayal of the good, the bad, and the ugly makes this book highly believable if not 100% accurate. From my own experiences, I can testify to the validity of this book and beseech all who are interested in learning what today's Marine Corps Recruit Training is really like, to buy and enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Three month review
Review: Thomas Ricks' "Making the Corps" is a fascinating but also frustrating book. On the fascinating side, it's a human interest exploration of what it means to make it through book camp. Ricks follows the recruits of Platoon 3086 through their basic training ordeal, recounting the daily routine in the life of the average grunt recruit. That part of the story is pretty familiar to most everyone--to those of us who went through basic training ourselves, and also to those who've never been in the military but who have seen the million-and-one Hollywood movies with boot camp scenes in them. Familiar as the story is, however, Ricks telling of it is gripping. He's a good writer, and knows how to capture a reader's interest. The frustrating aspect of the book is the fact that Ricks never asks, much less answers, any of the very obvious and crucial questions his account naturally suggests. Had he done so, his book would've been more than merely a journalist's story about boot camp. It would've been a real contribution to our understanding of American culture. For make no mistake about it: the very existence of the Corps is a prism through which to observe and learn things about America that go far beyond just the military. Let me cite just two examples of where Ricks fails to reflect on what he's witnessing. On pp. 116-119, Ricks describes a typical Sunday morning chapel call. All of us remember them; they were routine. Some of us took them seriously, most of us probably didn't. We were just relieved for the break. Now, in the Parris Island chapel, there's a stained glass window, described by Ricks, which depicts "a Marine flamethrower, his weapon's flames billowing out in a red, organce, and yellow mass." This, to say the least, is disconcerting: in chapel, a place of worship, peace, and meditation, you've got a scene of horrible carnage (a flame-thrower, for God's sake!) enshrined. This passage in Ricks' book is a symbol for the strange dilemma that any religious military person has to face: how can the demands of the job be reconciled with faith? It's a dilemma that ripples across the entire country, especially these day now that we're in a new shooting war, and it needs to be explored. But Ricks neither reflects on it himself nor invites any of the boots he's following to do so. It's as if he doesn't even catch the incongruity. Second example. Starting on page 200, Ricks argues that the Corps, anxious to create traditions that will build loyalty (semper fi, guys) and morale, along the way creates a strong sense of anti-Americanism in its recruits. Marines, Ricks says, are being trained as "American samurai in the way they think of themselves and in the way they relate to their nation. Like the Japanese, the ... Marines, when looking at America see a society weakened by selfishness, indiscipline, and fragmentation." (201) The upshot (as Ricks himself acknowledges) is that the Corps, dedicated to the protection of American culture, is instilling in its recruits a deep contempt for American culture. How weird is that? But instead of exploring this weirdness by asking the predictable questions--What is there about American culture that the Corps finds so offensive? How protected are we if the protectors we train disdain us? How is it that military values (or at least the Corps') are so out of step with civilian ones?--Ricks moves blithely on. It's as if his loyalty to the Corps prevents him from criticizing it in any way. But why would criticism be disloyal? Has there ever been a jarhead who hasn't criticized the Corps? So read Ricks' book, but ask the questions he doesn't. They're important, and past and current Marines are the ones best qualified to ask them. "Semper fi" doesn't mean dumbing down.
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