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Meghalsz, tengerész!
Félelmetesen kemény kiképzés, köznapi gondok, könnyű kalandok, forró szerelmek, hátborzongatóan véres csaták. Leon Μ. Uris könyve nem méltánytalanul szerepelt oly hosszú időn át a nyugati bestsellerlisták élén. Regénye az amerikai tengerészgyalogság második világháborús csendes-óceáni harcainak színterére kalauzolja el az olvasót. Hősei a 6.tengerészgyalogos ezred – gúnynevén a Nyalókás Hatodik – katonái olyan világban élnek, amelyről mindeddig kevés fogalmat alkothatott a magyar olvasó. Uris valósághű közelségbe hozza a tengerészgyalogosok mindennapjait. Művét joggal nevezték „kemény" regénynek. Pompásan szórakoztató, élvezetes olvasmány.
714 pages
First published June 1, 1953
138 people are currently reading
4312 people want to read
About the author
Leon Uris
87 books1,626 followersLeon Marcus Uris (August 3, 1924 - June 21, 2003) was an American novelist, known for his historical fiction and the deep research that went into his novels. His two bestselling books were Exodus, published in 1958, and Trinity, in 1976.
Leon Uris was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Jewish-American parents Wolf William and Anna (Blumberg) Uris. His father, a Polish-born immigrant, was a paperhanger, then a storekeeper. William spent a year in Palestine after World War I before entering the United States. He derived his surname from Yerushalmi, meaning "man of Jerusalem." (His brother Aron, Leon Uris' uncle, took the name Yerushalmi) "He was basically a failure," Uris later said of his father. "He went from failure to failure."
Uris attended schools in Norfolk, Virginia and Baltimore, but never graduated from high school, after having failed English three times. At age seventeen, while in his senior year of high school, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Uris enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific as a radioman (in combat) at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and New Zealand from 1942 through 1945. While recuperating from malaria in San Francisco, he met Betty Beck, a Marine sergeant; they married in 1945.
Coming out of the service, he worked for a newspaper, writing in his spare time. In 1950, Esquire magazine bought an article, and he began to devote himself to writing more seriously. Drawing on his experiences in Guadalcanal and Tarawa he produced the best-selling, Battle Cry, a novel depicting the toughness and courage of U.S. Marines in the Pacific. He then went to Warner Brothers in Hollywood helping to write the movie, which was extremely popular with the public, if not the critics. Later he went on to write The Angry Hills, a novel set in war-time Greece.
According to one source, in the early 1950's he was hired by an American public relations firm to go to Israel and "soak up the atmosphere and create a novel about it". That novel would be Exodus, which came out in 1958 and became his best known work. Others say that Uris, motivated by an intense interest in Israel, financed his own research for the novel by selling the film rights in advance to MGM and writing articles about the Sinai campaign. It is said that the book involved two years of research, and involved thousands of interviews. Exodus illustrated the history of Palestine from the late 19th century through the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. It was a worldwide best-seller, translated into a dozen languages, and was made into a feature film in 1960, starring Paul Newman, directed by Otto Preminger, as well as into a short-lived Broadway musical (12 previews, 19 performances) in 1971. Uris' novel Topaz was adapted for the screen and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Uris' subsequent works included: Mila 18, a story of the Warsaw ghetto uprising; Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin, which reveals the detailed work by British and American intelligence services in planning for the occupation and pacification of post WWII Germany; Trinity, an epic novel about Ireland's struggle for independence; QB VII, a novel about the role of a Polish doctor in a German concentration camp ; and The Haj, with insights into the history of the Middle East and the secret machinations of foreigners which have led to today's turmoil.
He also wrote the screenplays for Battle Cry and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Uris was married three times: to Betty Beck, with whom he had three children, from 1945 through their divorce in 1968; Margery Edwards in 1969, who died a year later, and Jill Peabody in 1970, with whom he had two children, and divorced in 1989.
Leon Uris died of renal failure at his Long Island home on Shelter Island, aged 78.
Leon Uris's papers can be found at the Ransom Center, University of Texas in Austin. The collection includes all of Uris's novels, with the exception of The Haj and Mitla Pass, as well as manus
Leon Uris was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Jewish-American parents Wolf William and Anna (Blumberg) Uris. His father, a Polish-born immigrant, was a paperhanger, then a storekeeper. William spent a year in Palestine after World War I before entering the United States. He derived his surname from Yerushalmi, meaning "man of Jerusalem." (His brother Aron, Leon Uris' uncle, took the name Yerushalmi) "He was basically a failure," Uris later said of his father. "He went from failure to failure."
Uris attended schools in Norfolk, Virginia and Baltimore, but never graduated from high school, after having failed English three times. At age seventeen, while in his senior year of high school, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Uris enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific as a radioman (in combat) at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and New Zealand from 1942 through 1945. While recuperating from malaria in San Francisco, he met Betty Beck, a Marine sergeant; they married in 1945.
Coming out of the service, he worked for a newspaper, writing in his spare time. In 1950, Esquire magazine bought an article, and he began to devote himself to writing more seriously. Drawing on his experiences in Guadalcanal and Tarawa he produced the best-selling, Battle Cry, a novel depicting the toughness and courage of U.S. Marines in the Pacific. He then went to Warner Brothers in Hollywood helping to write the movie, which was extremely popular with the public, if not the critics. Later he went on to write The Angry Hills, a novel set in war-time Greece.
According to one source, in the early 1950's he was hired by an American public relations firm to go to Israel and "soak up the atmosphere and create a novel about it". That novel would be Exodus, which came out in 1958 and became his best known work. Others say that Uris, motivated by an intense interest in Israel, financed his own research for the novel by selling the film rights in advance to MGM and writing articles about the Sinai campaign. It is said that the book involved two years of research, and involved thousands of interviews. Exodus illustrated the history of Palestine from the late 19th century through the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. It was a worldwide best-seller, translated into a dozen languages, and was made into a feature film in 1960, starring Paul Newman, directed by Otto Preminger, as well as into a short-lived Broadway musical (12 previews, 19 performances) in 1971. Uris' novel Topaz was adapted for the screen and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Uris' subsequent works included: Mila 18, a story of the Warsaw ghetto uprising; Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin, which reveals the detailed work by British and American intelligence services in planning for the occupation and pacification of post WWII Germany; Trinity, an epic novel about Ireland's struggle for independence; QB VII, a novel about the role of a Polish doctor in a German concentration camp ; and The Haj, with insights into the history of the Middle East and the secret machinations of foreigners which have led to today's turmoil.
He also wrote the screenplays for Battle Cry and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Uris was married three times: to Betty Beck, with whom he had three children, from 1945 through their divorce in 1968; Margery Edwards in 1969, who died a year later, and Jill Peabody in 1970, with whom he had two children, and divorced in 1989.
Leon Uris died of renal failure at his Long Island home on Shelter Island, aged 78.
Leon Uris's papers can be found at the Ransom Center, University of Texas in Austin. The collection includes all of Uris's novels, with the exception of The Haj and Mitla Pass, as well as manus
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
October 16, 2007
This is one book that I keep coming back to; my copy is in tatters from multiple readings. The story follows a group of young men that enlist in the Marine Corps in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, through to the middle of the 1944. This was Leon Uris's first novel, and while it certainly will not rank as one of the classic novels of literature, it is fast paced, with engaging characters.
January 18, 2010
This book is a personal favorite of mine. I read in first back in the 1970's and have read it several times since.
With so many reviews, there is little new I can say that many fans of this book have not already said. I really like the diversity of characters--studious Marion; All-American Boy Danny' street tough Joe Gomez and anothers. I really like the different varities of scenes--there is both humor and tragedy. Yes, some the scenes are a bit unevern, but this WAS a first novel.
I like the way Uris shows how a large group of men from som many different ways of life--who might never have connected but for the war--come to depend on one another.
In one scene, L Q Jones has a fever of 103. Told he has malaria and is going to the rear, he says"....we're working our assess off down there. If I go, it makes more load for them to carry..."
From the scenes where the men cover for each other at boot camp, to the scenes where they care for each other when sick of malaria--you really get of feel of how these individuals becae part of brave group of fighters.
With so many reviews, there is little new I can say that many fans of this book have not already said. I really like the diversity of characters--studious Marion; All-American Boy Danny' street tough Joe Gomez and anothers. I really like the different varities of scenes--there is both humor and tragedy. Yes, some the scenes are a bit unevern, but this WAS a first novel.
I like the way Uris shows how a large group of men from som many different ways of life--who might never have connected but for the war--come to depend on one another.
In one scene, L Q Jones has a fever of 103. Told he has malaria and is going to the rear, he says"....we're working our assess off down there. If I go, it makes more load for them to carry..."
From the scenes where the men cover for each other at boot camp, to the scenes where they care for each other when sick of malaria--you really get of feel of how these individuals becae part of brave group of fighters.
June 25, 2009
This book is for the Marine Corps what "Tales of the South Pacific" was for the Navy: a great tale of the organization's finest hour told through the experiences of those who lived it. The characters are quirky and authentic, representing a partial cross-section of America at large, and they are pleasingly sympathetic. The narrator Mac is an archetype, a tough, dedicated, professional warrior with surprising wisdom and insight and a deep, melancholy appreciation for the separation between himself and his boys, who bring too much of their civilian baggage to the fight, but yet have something to return to after they finish it. The narrative spans three major campaigns in the Pacific and catalogues the development of the Communications Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment through initial training, the sudden drastic changes of missions and equipment during wartime, and skillfully interweaves the personal stories of each character as it is relevant. It is an inspiring and sometimes tragic story of (arguably) America's proudest fighting force and the dedicated, courageous, and vulnerable men who filled it's ranks. Capturing well both the horror and violence of conflict and the unsurpassed comradeship, sacrifice, and bravery of those who fight, this book tallies the cost of freedom and influence and yet, in doing so, presents the reward thereof. This is, in my opinion, Leon Uris' best book, and a must-read for those who would attempt to understand the proud, spartan ethos of the Unoted States Marine Corps.
November 12, 2012
I LOVE this book. I first discovered it over 25 years ago and I still keep going back to it to read it again. It is the only book that I have ever finished and then turned back to the first page to start all over again. I love the way you get to know the characters, how each one has his story and how each one lives or dies. It is incredibly sad when one of the characters you love dies but that is the way of war. The book also has an fabulous feel good factor but it always makes me cry. "Home is the sailor, home from the sea and the hunter home from the hill" the last lines taken from "Requiem" by Robert Louis Stevenson are particularly poignant. Its a war story, its unlike any book I have read before and as a young woman to now a middle aged woman I would definitely recommend it.
May 13, 2025
No limericks today. Just a few words. This is a really awesome war book. The style is similar to James Jones. You get that mad sadness and humor blended together, the kind only people who have lived through battle can appreciate.
Cheers,
Igor
Cheers,
Igor
August 31, 2017
This book is a thorough, fictionalized narrative of the life of a Marine, from the decisions made by brave men to enlist, all through boot camp, all through the apprehensions and graphic details of various battles in the Pacific during WWII. I was impressed with the details of the human relationships between the men, their girlfriends and wives all over the place, and the everlasting bond that is created by the toughness of the Marines. At nearly 700 pages, not all of it is page-turning action, and the writing is a bit dated at times (1953 publication), but man oh man did I learn a lot about Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Saipan and the men and women who suffered so greatly so that freedom for the rest of us is preserved.
January 19, 2014
Leon Uris joined the Marines at age 17 and fought on Guadalcanal and Tarawa. My own father served on the USS Neville (APA-9) as a Master Electrician from 1943 - 1945. He says he didn't see any action, but I don't believe him. The ship carried the boys to and from Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan: the battles that are depicted in Battle Cry, Uris' first novel. It is written quite well for a first novel and from it strong emotions exploded in this reader. I laughed. I cried. I got angry. I got happy. By the end, I was almost exhausted.
St. Mary, Danny, Mac, Huxley, the Injun, the lumberjack, the feather merchant, the professor, Burney, Ziltch, Seabags, Levin, Speedy, L.Q., and the rest of "Huxley's Whores" will stay with me for quite a while. Battle Cry is their story. A group of misfits - boys really - who volunteered for the Marines who at the end were men of glory and courage. Some made it, some did not. Their stories of home and what drove them as a "gyrene" was very compelling. The boys of the 6th Marines lived and loved hard because each to a man knew that the "Whores" were not promised tomorrow. A Japanese bullet may have his name on it.
I still have a love/hate relationship with their CO, Sam Huxley. He finally got what he wanted, and his battalion paid a heavy price for his prize - Saipan. I loved Forrester, Marion (Mary), Mac and a few other characters. I know them so well that they are like family to me. They and their stories will stay with me in my heart for a very long time.
St. Mary, Danny, Mac, Huxley, the Injun, the lumberjack, the feather merchant, the professor, Burney, Ziltch, Seabags, Levin, Speedy, L.Q., and the rest of "Huxley's Whores" will stay with me for quite a while. Battle Cry is their story. A group of misfits - boys really - who volunteered for the Marines who at the end were men of glory and courage. Some made it, some did not. Their stories of home and what drove them as a "gyrene" was very compelling. The boys of the 6th Marines lived and loved hard because each to a man knew that the "Whores" were not promised tomorrow. A Japanese bullet may have his name on it.
I still have a love/hate relationship with their CO, Sam Huxley. He finally got what he wanted, and his battalion paid a heavy price for his prize - Saipan. I loved Forrester, Marion (Mary), Mac and a few other characters. I know them so well that they are like family to me. They and their stories will stay with me in my heart for a very long time.
August 26, 2009
I served 8 years in the Marine Corps. I read this book while I was a Marine option Navy ROTC midshipman, it was the propaganda the doctor ordered. A little on the melodramatic when it comes to the romance (yeah, there are chicks in this book), I loved this book! Granted, I bought into the Esprit de Corps from a very young age, but Uris is a good writer and even my wife read and liked it (I made her when we were dating. It was sort of her test like in "Diner" :-)). I would follow up this book with:
The Great Santini (I read it in 13 hours and laughed outloud through the entire book)
Fields of Fire
A Sense of Honor
A Country Such As This
P.S. I've been shocked in the last 5-10 years by the politcal leanings of both Uris and Webb. Very disappointing, but their books have been inspirations since I was in college.
The Great Santini (I read it in 13 hours and laughed outloud through the entire book)
Fields of Fire
A Sense of Honor
A Country Such As This
P.S. I've been shocked in the last 5-10 years by the politcal leanings of both Uris and Webb. Very disappointing, but their books have been inspirations since I was in college.
May 9, 2025
🏝️ One of Uris’s early novels is a grim and gritty book about WW2 in the Pacific Islands. I read it as a teen. It’s always hard seeing all kinds of people you’d love to meet, from whatever side, lost to war 🪖
June 18, 2017
Classic war story; so revered and respected it was often issued to cadets in military training schools and ROTC programs. Approved by the US military. Of course, you can take that two ways. And you should.
Its remarkable precisely for its staid, underlying blandness and tight-lipped aspect; the airless quality; the lack of all the normal and messy psychology; the omission of doubt and mistrust that we know happens in real life. Its a book which is written.. 'by-the-book'. At least that's what I recall. All the characters in the story do what they're supposed to do without a quaver. Very patriotic; made a 'fine' and 'noble' movie about man's capacity for self-sacrifice.
Well. Good novel for its day --when the USA was the world's savior--but I hope we've grown out of all this rah-rah b.s.
Its remarkable precisely for its staid, underlying blandness and tight-lipped aspect; the airless quality; the lack of all the normal and messy psychology; the omission of doubt and mistrust that we know happens in real life. Its a book which is written.. 'by-the-book'. At least that's what I recall. All the characters in the story do what they're supposed to do without a quaver. Very patriotic; made a 'fine' and 'noble' movie about man's capacity for self-sacrifice.
Well. Good novel for its day --when the USA was the world's savior--but I hope we've grown out of all this rah-rah b.s.
October 24, 2009
Another book I read years ago. Uris' take on a group of Marines from enlistment through the war (WWII). The men come from vastly different backgrounds and grow into a coherent unit. The book begins at the beginning of the war when America's armed forces were small and under equiped with only a small core of experinced troops. (this was true of Army, Navy, and Marines). The narrator is an experinced old time Marine sargent who leads the men through growth and battles.
September 7, 2010
My dad insisted I read this book. He said it was his favorite book when he was younger. One of the few books he's read over and over and over again.
It was engrossing and enveloping story following some Marines from boot camp to the islands of Tarawa and Saipan. You follow the Marines through the hell of boot camp, through their courtships, and through the hell of combat. A sensitive and realistic portrait not just of war, but of the relations between Marines.
It was engrossing and enveloping story following some Marines from boot camp to the islands of Tarawa and Saipan. You follow the Marines through the hell of boot camp, through their courtships, and through the hell of combat. A sensitive and realistic portrait not just of war, but of the relations between Marines.
May 16, 2018
Did not finish -- no combat till the very end, terrible writing, sentimental characters, dated attitudes on just about everything. This guy makes Herman Wouk look like William Faulkner!
June 16, 2009
Pulling on his own experience as a Marine in WW II, Leon Uris--known for his epic novels such as Exodus, Trinity, Mila 18--tells the story of the US Marines who fought in the South Pacific--the officers, the grunts, the street-wise toughs, the guys from everytown USA. It's got humor, guts, glory, and heart break. There are some scenes from bootcamp that will have you laughing till you cry. And some of the battle scenes will have you crying. Been too many years, I need to go back and re-read this.
June 16, 2007
Here is a ripping good storyteller doing what many authors have tried to do but usually not as well: Making the connection between being a soldier and being human.
August 19, 2019
Leon Uris does not age well. I managed to get though all 692 pages!
January 25, 2024
This is the kind of war story that will long be memorable because of its snappy, original dialogue and poignant interpersonal relationships as well as unforgettable tales of comradeship under impossible circumstances.
The book gives you a glimpse into the lives of a fictional marine division of radiomen. You see their progress from boot camp to the jungles of Guadalcanal and Tarawa. The plot is slow only in a couple of places, and so well written is this I couldn’t find anywhere where I yearned for significant cuts in the length.
You see disparate men brought together to form a genuinely cohesive unit that will break only in death, and then not even that for those who survive. This is the touching story of a bunch of young Americans who loved each other and sacrificed all they had for one another. The concept of esprit de corps is very much alive and well here.
Uris captures everything that matters most. I laughed long and loudly when they would burst out in ribald songs. You see their interpersonal relationships come to life, and you cheer for all of them. You’ll nearly weep for the ones who didn’t make it home.
The author references the battleship on which my dad served, which adds hugely to my personal enjoyment of the story. Unlike some of the softer more artificial more sanitized World War II military stories, this one gazes unblinkingly at death and every other horror a war can fling at its participants. The author even examines the role of prejudice and racism among the men, and the conclusion of that is hugely satisfactory.
I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never read anything from this author before, and I must now remedy that. This is well worth your personal investment. It’s one of those rare books that change how you think about and understand the world. Most books are laughably forgettable within days. Not so this one.
The book gives you a glimpse into the lives of a fictional marine division of radiomen. You see their progress from boot camp to the jungles of Guadalcanal and Tarawa. The plot is slow only in a couple of places, and so well written is this I couldn’t find anywhere where I yearned for significant cuts in the length.
You see disparate men brought together to form a genuinely cohesive unit that will break only in death, and then not even that for those who survive. This is the touching story of a bunch of young Americans who loved each other and sacrificed all they had for one another. The concept of esprit de corps is very much alive and well here.
Uris captures everything that matters most. I laughed long and loudly when they would burst out in ribald songs. You see their interpersonal relationships come to life, and you cheer for all of them. You’ll nearly weep for the ones who didn’t make it home.
The author references the battleship on which my dad served, which adds hugely to my personal enjoyment of the story. Unlike some of the softer more artificial more sanitized World War II military stories, this one gazes unblinkingly at death and every other horror a war can fling at its participants. The author even examines the role of prejudice and racism among the men, and the conclusion of that is hugely satisfactory.
I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never read anything from this author before, and I must now remedy that. This is well worth your personal investment. It’s one of those rare books that change how you think about and understand the world. Most books are laughably forgettable within days. Not so this one.
December 16, 2021
A hoary classic from 1953. I read it in high school and it made me want to join the Marines; I had second thoughts but I'm sure some non-negligible percentage of U.S. Marines over the past half-century or more can trace their path back to this book.
Not that it can be accused of glamorizing war; it's pretty frank about the awfulness of infantry combat in the Pacific. What it is is an epic, and that's why I've re-read it a couple of times. It traces the path of a handful of callow teenage boys and young men from their enlistment just after Pearl Harbor, full of enthusiasm, to their homecoming (those who survive) three years or so later, jaded and weary. Based on Leon Uris's service with the Second Marine Division, it is a hero's journey rooted in a brutal reality of which the author had personal experience.
It's by no means a mere military adventure; most of the book is taken up with the personal development of the central characters as they progress from green recruits to hardened veterans. The division serves on Guadalcanal, Tarawa and, in a climactic bloodbath, Saipan. Long stretches in New Zealand between campaigns provide opportunities for poignant glimpses of peace and doomed romances. Boys becoming men discover what they really value and how much they can take.
If there's some clunky prose and some dated social attitudes, the book is still ultimately quite moving. There's no bugle blowing or ostentatious patriotism, just an attempt to tell the story of boys who went to war and what it did to them.
Not that it can be accused of glamorizing war; it's pretty frank about the awfulness of infantry combat in the Pacific. What it is is an epic, and that's why I've re-read it a couple of times. It traces the path of a handful of callow teenage boys and young men from their enlistment just after Pearl Harbor, full of enthusiasm, to their homecoming (those who survive) three years or so later, jaded and weary. Based on Leon Uris's service with the Second Marine Division, it is a hero's journey rooted in a brutal reality of which the author had personal experience.
It's by no means a mere military adventure; most of the book is taken up with the personal development of the central characters as they progress from green recruits to hardened veterans. The division serves on Guadalcanal, Tarawa and, in a climactic bloodbath, Saipan. Long stretches in New Zealand between campaigns provide opportunities for poignant glimpses of peace and doomed romances. Boys becoming men discover what they really value and how much they can take.
If there's some clunky prose and some dated social attitudes, the book is still ultimately quite moving. There's no bugle blowing or ostentatious patriotism, just an attempt to tell the story of boys who went to war and what it did to them.
July 12, 2025
Pesante, è sicuramente la prima parola che viene da dire se penso a questo libro. Ovviamente si tratta di un libro che narra episodi di guerra e non puoi aspettarti altro. Però avrei preferito che il libro avesse la forma che inizia ad assumere nell'ultimo quarto, quando tutto il sentimentalismo viene lasciato alle spalle per dare spazio alla brutalità, freddezza e perfidia della guerra. Per carità, forse senza questa costruzione o evoluzione, il tutto mi sarebbe arrivato diversamente, però per più di metà lettura mi sembrava che il libro oltre a raccontare, volesse vendere copie. In ogni caso resta una buona lettura su un argomento che prima non avevo mai affrontato
August 11, 2022
Just saw the movie again today and remembered I had read this book. Both the movie and the book are great and from people I know who served they get the people as best as they can. This book is sort of uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time
March 20, 2021
I have had this book on my self for some time. Finely, I decided to tackle it. An incredible read. The ending brought tears to my eyes!
April 9, 2019
Another outstanding debut novel by an author two generations my senior. I fell in love with Leon Uris books because of "Battle Cry." He captured the spirit and camaraderie of the Marine Corps, the toughness, the crudeness, and ultimately the humanity and pathos of men who were thrown together from all walks of life as complete strangers and turned into a cohesive unit where each man was willing to die for the others and the honor of the unit.
The book is not perfect. Uris head hops with no warning. He seems to gloss over some scenes that I think should have been fleshed out and dwells for too long on seemingly unimportant details, but it all works in the end. I found myself stopping and starting to figure out who said what. But he wrote so many poignant scenes that choked me up or twinged my heart with sadness or admiration. Even though the book is long, it's tightly edited because the squad goes through so much together emotionally, physically, and time-wise.
If you haven't read the works of Leon Uris, this is a great book with which to start. I read it in my college days and immediately connected with this book and many others he wrote. This re-read was immensely satisfying.
The book is not perfect. Uris head hops with no warning. He seems to gloss over some scenes that I think should have been fleshed out and dwells for too long on seemingly unimportant details, but it all works in the end. I found myself stopping and starting to figure out who said what. But he wrote so many poignant scenes that choked me up or twinged my heart with sadness or admiration. Even though the book is long, it's tightly edited because the squad goes through so much together emotionally, physically, and time-wise.
If you haven't read the works of Leon Uris, this is a great book with which to start. I read it in my college days and immediately connected with this book and many others he wrote. This re-read was immensely satisfying.
September 8, 2019
Fictionalized recounting of the 6th Marine Regiment in World War II, Pacific Theater.
Why I started this book: One of the professional reading titles on my list... the only way that I can get thru it is steady progress each month.
Why I finished it: Good thing that this was an audio. Maudlin, melodramatic, profane, and cliched. Except that since this was first written in 1953, it might just be where the Marine World War II cliches came from. Americans from all walks of life coming together to be Marines and to fight for America.
Why I started this book: One of the professional reading titles on my list... the only way that I can get thru it is steady progress each month.
Why I finished it: Good thing that this was an audio. Maudlin, melodramatic, profane, and cliched. Except that since this was first written in 1953, it might just be where the Marine World War II cliches came from. Americans from all walks of life coming together to be Marines and to fight for America.
May 18, 2017
This book was my introduction to Leon Uris as a teenager. It spawned my interest in WW II and military fiction. It was also one of the first truly adult books I read. After nearly 40 years it was interesting to revisit this book. As an adult I found it simpler and more straight forward than I remembered and not quite as emotional. Regardless it was a great walk down memory lane enjoying this title again.
October 4, 2009
I started off forcing myself through the first 100 pages, the next almost three hundred, I took breaks to look up the information I was trying to absorb. It went from a two star to a five star book over the four days it took me to read. Not many books can make me laugh, cry, and learn, all within 476 pages.
June 17, 2015
A good look at the great war.
A very good look at what war is really about. Japan and Germany were very tough to fight, we won the war but it took a great toll on our Military. This was a good book and should be read by the younger generation today, because they have no idea what a real war is.
A very good look at what war is really about. Japan and Germany were very tough to fight, we won the war but it took a great toll on our Military. This was a good book and should be read by the younger generation today, because they have no idea what a real war is.
May 17, 2011
I read this book on the train when I was on my way to basic training. I was surprised by how accurate the book was when describing training. I "relived the book" several times during basic training (and I was in the Air Force).
April 27, 2018
Wish I hadn't seen the movie first. Book seemed longer overall than necessary, with more vignettes into the personal lives and concerns of the individual characters. The book is about 50% boot camp, 40% stationed in New Zealand, and 10% actual combat. Not the thrilling war story I was expecting.
October 23, 2015
great read as juvenile fiction, especially for general glorification of war and militarism. Its descriptions of how the "old breed" of the USMC were trained is the only thing that stuck with me.
March 31, 2021
Love this book. You really get into the characters.
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