About the Book
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 teamed up with author Bill Sloan to create an unforgettably immersive chronicle of horror and heroism.Made famous by the HBO miniseries The Pacific, McEnery's rifle company--the legendary K/3/5 of the First Marine Division--fought in some of the most ferocious battles of the Pacific. In arresting detail, the author takes us back to Guadalcanal, where the Americans turned the tide of war against the Japanese; Cape Gloucester, where 1,300 Marines were killed or wounded; and to bloody Peleliu, where McEnery assumed command of the company and helped speed the final defeat of the Japanese garrison. From his evocative recollections of hand-to-hand fighting and the loss of buddies in hellish fighting to his frank portraits of legends like Colonel Lewis "Chesty" Puller and General Douglas MacArthur, McEnery's gritty narrative is as valuable for its insights on a war increasingly lost to memory as it is terrifying and engrossing--a master work that no one interested in military history can afford to pass up.
About the Author :
Jim McEnery, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, enlisted in the Marines in 1940 and fought in three major campaigns in the Pacific. He now lives in Ocala, Florida.
Bill Sloan is renowned military historian and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Ultimate Battle and Brotherhood of Heroes. During his ten years as an investigative reporter and feature writer for the Dallas Times Herald, he covered many of the major events and personalities of the second half of the twentieth century and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Dallas, Texas. Bill Sloan is renowned military historian and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Ultimate Battle and Brotherhood of Heroes. During his ten years as an investigative reporter and feature writer for the Dallas Times Herald, he covered many of the major events and personalities of the second half of the twentieth century and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Dallas, Texas. A two-time Audie Award winner, veteran actor Robert Fass is equally at home in a wide variety of styles, genres, characters, and dialects. An eight-time Audie nominee with over 225 unabridged audiobooks to his credit, Robert has also earned multiple Earphones Awards. In addition, his work was listed among AudioFile's Best Audiobooks of the Year in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2018. Robert has given voice to modern and classic fiction writers alike, including Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck, Carlos Fuentes, Jeffrey Deaver, and Nele Neuhaus, plus bestselling nonfiction works in history, politics, health, journalism, philosophy, and business. A two-time Audie Award winner, veteran actor Robert Fass is equally at home in a wide variety of styles, genres, characters, and dialects. An eight-time Audie nominee with over 225 unabridged audiobooks to his credit, Robert has also earned multiple Earphones Awards. In addition, his work was listed among AudioFile's Best Audiobooks of the Year in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2018. Robert has given voice to modern and classic fiction writers alike, including Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck, Carlos Fuentes, Jeffrey Deaver, and Nele Neuhaus, plus bestselling nonfiction works in history, politics, health, journalism, philosophy, and business.
Review :
A thoroughly satisfying account of war in the South Pacific packed with fireworks, tragedy and horseplay.-- "Kirkus"
