The Battle History of the U.S. Marines

"The Battle History of the U.S. Marines" is the only single-volume, definitive combat history of the United States Marines, covering more than two centuries of battles in the air and on land and sea--literally "from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli," from Suribachi to Somalia. It presents graphic narratives of such epic engagements as Belleau Wood, Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Saipan, Okinawa, the Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, and many more.

You will meet the Marine sharpshooters in the "fighting tops" of our young country's legendary frigates, as they took on the British navy during the American revolution; discover the exploits of Marine pilots in the "Banana Wars," in the skies over the Pacific during World War II, and later over Korea and Vietnam; and share the tension and terror of stalking the enemy on a Marine patrol in the jungles of the Pacific islands and Southeast Asia.

An award-winning military historian and a retired Marine colonel, Joseph H. Alexander served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He tells the Marine combat story in a no-holds-barred narrative, with dozens of sidebars full of fascinating vignettes and Marine lore accompanied by nearly one hundred rare combat photographs and vivid sketches and numerous maps.