Chesty, Colonel Jon T. Hoffman, USMCR
Chesty, Colonel Jon T. Hoffman, USMCR
9 Rating(s)
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Chesty
The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, USMC

Author: Colonel Jon T. Hoffman, USMCR

Narrator: Sean Runnette

Unabridged: 23 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/05/2018

Synopsis

The Marine Corps is known for its heroes, and Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller has long been considered the greatest of them all. His assignments and activities covered an extraordinary spectrum of warfare. Puller mastered small unit guerrilla warfare as a lieutenant in Haiti in the 1920s, and at the end of his career commanded a division in Korea. In between, he chased Sandino in Nicaragua and fought at Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu.

With his bulldog face, barrel chest (which earned him the nickname Chesty), gruff voice, and common touch, Puller became—and has remained—the epitome of the Marine combat officer. At times Puller's actions have been called into question—at Peleliu, for instance, where, against a heavily fortified position, he lost more than half of his regiment. And then there is the saga of his son, who followed in Chesty's footsteps as a Marine officer only to suffer horrible wounds in Vietnam (his book, Fortunate Son, won the Pulitzer Prize).

Jon Hoffman has been given special access to Puller's personal papers as well as his personnel record. The result will unquestionably stand as the last word about Chesty Puller.

About Colonel Jon T. Hoffman, USMCR

Colonel Jon T. Hoffman is a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve and is currently serving on extended active duty as the deputy director of the Marine Corps History & Museums Division. He has spent more than fifteen years on active duty as an infantry officer and historian. He has a master's degree in military history from Ohio State and a law degree from Duke University. His first book, Once a Legend, a biography of Major General Merritt "Red Mike" Edson, won the Marine Corps' prize as the best book of the year. Lieutenant Colonel Hoffman lives in Virginia.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Barry on January 23, 2022

While Hoffman does a sensible exploration of Puller’s battlefield decisions, I think he focused too much attention on quotes describing other people’s admiration for Puller. The best takeaway from this book was the background story of the near constant evolution of the US Marine Corps into its curre......more

Goodreads review by Fredrick on July 12, 2018

LtGen Louis B. "Chesty" Puller is a near mythical legend in the United States Marine Corps. Col. Hoffman attempts to equate the legend with the real man. Both positive and negative attributes are explored. There is an extensive bibliography including many official records. This biography of a milita......more

Goodreads review by Thor on July 24, 2019

This is a book about a marine, written by a marine, for marines. That said it had much less bias than I was expecting. While the author does not go into great detail, he does not ignore the controversy that sounds Chesty, it also helps to dispel some of the myths that surround him. It works hard to......more

Goodreads review by Greg on April 11, 2022

Chesty was one brave marine. Very few officers are willing to be even close to the front lines. I learned many things from this book about Chesty. Not all of it was great, as any leader he had his flaws. Sad deal about his son.......more

Goodreads review by John on July 26, 2018

An interesting and at times poignant biography of a fascinating man. It seemed fair about giving the facts of what happened, but was still a clearly favorable book.......more

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