40 Thieves on Saipan, Joseph Tachovsky
40 Thieves on Saipan, Joseph Tachovsky
48 Rating(s)
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40 Thieves on Saipan
The Elite Marine Scout-Snipers in One of WWII's Bloodiest Battles

Author: Joseph Tachovsky, Cynthia Kraack

Narrator: Qarie Marshall

Unabridged: 9 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/30/2020

Synopsis

Behind enemy lines on the island of Saipan—where firing a gun could mean instant discovery and death—the 40 Thieves killed in silence during the grueling battle for Saipan, the ""D-Day"" of the Pacific. Now Joseph Tachovsky—whose father Frank was the commanding officer of the 40 Thieves, also called ""Tachovsky's Terrors""—joins with award-winning author Cynthia Kraack to transport listeners back to the brutal Battle of Saipan. Built on hours of personal interviews with WWII veterans, their personal papers, letters, and documentation from the National Archives, 40 Thieves on Saipan is an astonishing portrayal of elite World War II combat. It's also a rare glimpse into the lives of World War II Marines. The poorest equipped branch of the services at that time, Marines were notorious thieves. To improve their odds for victory against the Japanese, they found it necessary to improve their supply chains through “Marine Methods” —stealing. Being the elite of the Sixth Regiment, the Scout-Sniper Platoon excelled at the craft—earning them the nickname of the “40 Thieves” from their envious peers. Upon returning from a 1943 trip to the Pacific theater, Eleanor Roosevelt observed, “The Marines I have met around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marines.”

About Joseph Tachovsky

Joseph Tachovsky is a graduate of the Univerity of Minnesota. His father Frank Tachovsky was the commanding officer of the 40 Thieves of Saipan, who were also known as Tachovsky's Terrors.

About Cynthia Kraack

Cynthia Kraack is the author of five novels including The High Cost of Flowers, winner of both the Midwest Book Award in Contemporary Fiction and Literary Fiction. She completed her master's degree in literary fiction at the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Program in Creative Writing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a double major in history from Marquette University and a master’s degree in industrial relations and career counseling from the University of Minnesota.

About Qarie Marshall

Qarie Marshall has narrated over thirty series for the Discovery Channel and the BBC. He has also been a guest voice on Comedy Central's Drawn Together and has recorded BBC radio plays, the in-flight programming for Virgin Atlantic Airlines, over eighty video games for the PlayStation and Xbox, and numerous audiobooks. In 2007, he was made an Associate Artist of The Purple Rose Theatre.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul on July 14, 2020

The scenes and descriptions are vivid enough to make your heart race; the emotions and courage are palpable in the men and women at the center of 40 Thieves on Saipan. And this is especially true after you have lived among them, endured their selection and training regimens and sensed their apprehen......more

Goodreads review by Tasha on July 14, 2021

I'm very interested in the morbid reality of the battles on Saipan, but unfortunately, most of this book happens before these Marines even land on the island. If you want to know about the Marines themselves, I'm sure this book will be fine for you. Personally, I wanted to read first hand accounts......more

Goodreads review by Deb on January 11, 2021

I was totally caught up in this book and the marines whose lives it follows. The "40 Thieves" were an elite group of marine snipers whose mission was to help the U.S. military take control of the island of Saipan by going in behind enemy lines. Personal stories, letters and photos were collected in......more

Goodreads review by David on August 25, 2020

This is the story of a unit of Marines and their combat on Saipan. About half of the text is the formation and training of the Scout-Sniper unit and half combat. It was put together by the son of one of the participants from letters, diaries, and interviews with those men who survived to about 2011.......more

Goodreads review by Mike on March 13, 2025

Good book. A crazy group of courageous characters. They were all so brave but their experiences in the war really took a toll on them. Book was fairly well written, not great but the subject matter more than made up for it.......more

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