Welcome To Hell: Three And a Half Months of Marine Corps Boot Camp

by Patrick Turley

"Welcome to Hell," the drill instructor announced to the small crowd of young men staring at him apprehensively, his words charging the atmosphere with a foreboding intensity. Three and one half months of hellish and seemingly outrageous demands would be made of those who would endure the journey through the fires of boot camp. These young men would find a pride in themselves that would last forever. Those survivors of boot camp training often look back, with a smile and even a laugh, at what they endured from the DI. Patrick Turley, driven to enlist by the events of 9/11, captures these anxious times perfectly in vivid detail establishing an emotional bond with the reader throughout his journey from man to Marine, and John Patrick Shanley said it only as a former Marine and Pulitzer Prize winner "It's great to have gone to Marine Corps boot camp. It's terrible to be in Marine Corps boot camp. It's fun to read about Marine Corps boot camp."

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction

232 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Patrick Turley was honorably discharged at the rank of Sergeant from the Marine Corps in Nov, 2006 after five years of service. He currently resides with his daughter Taylor in Jacksonville, FL. Patrick discovered his love for writing at an early age, having written his first novella at fourteen years old and continuing to work on his own unique voice. He is currently working on the mystery/thriller genre and returning to Penn State to follow more closely in his father's footsteps. His free time is split between his daughter, lovely girlfriend, trying to stay active, and taking the NFL entirely too seriously.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent a lot of years in the Marine Corps, but the most memorable portion was the 12 weeks of Basic Training, or Boot Camp. It may be the most memorable period of my life, and it is a period that changed me forever. Patrick Turley has written an immensely readable and affecting story of his own time in the hell of Marine Corps boot camp, and though our experiences there were decades apart, and many things were different, his story resonates intensely with me as I remember with fresh clarity the ordeal, the horror, the exhaustion, and the growing esprit de corps that changed me from a boy into a man. Turley's story is very personal and that lifts it above mere description. It's well worth reading.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book showed what boot camp is like but I thought the author was an arrogant dick.

[Jerry Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the 2 stars says it all really - "it was OK". I am fascinated by the military partly because I have tremendous admiration for what soldiers go through and their dedication. I know that I would struggle to get through the training that they are put through and would have done so throughout my life. So I am always interested to read about what such training entails.

Unfortunately I didn't find this account particularly enthralling and it left me a little disappointed. Largely I think this is because it is somewhat disjointed as an account. I came away without really feeling I understood the structure of a boot camp, why they went through what they endured, how the various elements came together. I hate to say this, but I even found the training descriptions in Marcus Luttrell's otherwise dreadful book "Lone Survivor" to be better in this regard.

Having said that, I vastly prefer Turley's style and approach. It is far more modest and as a result he appears to be more than human and a genuinely regular guy who became a marine despite very difficult personal circumstances including family tragedy half way through his training.

Also, the editing of this book is poor with typos and grammatical errors that add to the feeling that the book is disjointed and this is a shame.

We should all be grateful to our soldiers - this book reminds me again that excellent soldiers don't always make excellent authors. This is by no means a bad book and I am glad I read it, but it didn't enlighten me in the ways I had hoped it would.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a good test case for my desire to separate what I think of the person from what I think of the book, even in memoir writing. He sounds like a great guy--loyal to his friends and family, ridonkulously tough enough to finish Marine boot camp after having been set back by needing to go home to be with his family when his Dad dies suddenly, patriotic....

On the other hand, being a great guy doesn't make you a great writer. Does not really have a way with words, and the editing/organization was poor. Non-exciting flashbacks to his life before boot camp are tossed in at random, mostly involving getting drunk and having aimless conversations. Brief recollections of boot camp from other Marines are included in a final chapter but don't add much unless you somehow thought he was the only one who got yelled at the whole time. Lyrics of Marine songs are reprinted at length.

Biggest issue I had with the book is that he takes what seems inherently interesting, an extreme experience most readers won't have had, and makes it tedious. Another day, another difficult physical challenge conducted while having demeaning statements screamed at you. The details blur together before long.

In the unlikely event you see this review, Mr. Turley, I'm sorry. You da man, but at least for me this wasn't the book.

[Andrei Ghiurau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very good, it had thought me a lot about Marines and there training. They had endured a lot of stuff throughout those 3 months, i really don't think i could go through half of the things they had been through. They would have to wake up at 4 a.m. every day and also go days and days without sleeping to prepare them for war. personally I love my sleep and couldn't go a day without it. Overall this book was great it informed of boot camp and the marines and thought a lot about them. This made have much greater respect for the marines and the hardships they deal with in boot camp. I agree with the title it literally does sound like hell.

[Zan Lederer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was completely amazing in my opinion. Its about how Patrick Turley becomes a Marine. You will not be able to put this book down for one second especially if you like army/war. Right when you think that Patrick is not having a bad time but a good one something horrible would happen. There is not one moment where you are not interested in what is going to happen next. I gave this book review of 4 stars because its a really good book. But i also ' give it a 5 star because i think that he didn't give enough information about what was so hard in the Bootcamp and what they did beside push ups and pull ups

[Devin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, and some parts made me wince, others made me laugh, and it gave me a good look into Marine Corps Boot Camp from the perspective of someone who's been there, and made me feel like I was going through it with him. The only reason it's not getting 4 stars was the incessant grammatical errors! Double periods, random commas or lack thereof, and quotation marks facing the wrong way or nonexistent. That, above anything, will keep me from getting into a good book. Too bad they didn't have an editor--or if they did, that editor was an epic fail at their job.

[N.D. Richman · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some people in this world you'd love to meet, and Patrick Turley is one of them. I bought this book because I was interested in a behind the scenes look at a Marine Corps Boot Camp, and boy did I learn what goes on behind the scenes. And though the information was fascinating in itself, I enjoyed this book most because of the author. He seems to be the kind of guy you'd love to have a beer with. This is Patrick's first book and I think his writing will go very well for him. I look forward to his next book.

[John Rogoz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Turley does a good job of communicating life as a recruit in the Marine Corps boot camp. It is a quick read, but I believe to a fault. It would have been a much better book with greater details in certain parts. Somewhat tough to follow if you have limited understanding of jargon used by individuals in this setting. The unique perspective Turley communicates because of his personal circumstances does make the book a bit more interesting and unpredictable.

[John Galt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly how I remember it

Great details that took me back 22 years and made me lol with nostalgia. Boot Camp was one of the best experiences of my life. Amazing considering that during Boot Camp I was certain it was the worst. Turley does a great job of taking you through Boot Camp through his words.