Hell in the Pacific, Bill Sloan
Hell in the Pacific, Bill Sloan
List: $17.99 | Sale: $12.59
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Hell in the Pacific
A Marine Rifleman's Journey from Guadalcanal to Peleliu

Author: Bill Sloan, Jim McEnery

Narrator: Robert Fass

Unabridged: 8 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/05/2012


Synopsis

In what may be the last memoir to be published by a living veteran of the pivotal invasion of Guadalcanal, which occurred almost seventy years ago, Marine Jim McEnery has teamed up with author Bill Sloan to create an unforgettably immersive chronicle of horror and heroism.

Made famous by the HBO miniseries The Pacific, McEnery's rifle company—the legendary K/3/5 of the First Marine Division—fought in some of the most ferocious battles of the Pacific. In arresting detail, the author takes us back to Guadalcanal, where the Americans turned the tide of war against the Japanese; Cape Gloucester, where 1,300 Marines were killed or wounded; and to bloody Peleliu, where McEnery assumed command of the company and helped speed the final defeat of the Japanese garrison. From his evocative recollections of hand-to-hand fighting and the loss of buddies in hellish fighting to his frank portraits of legends like Colonel Lewis "Chesty" Puller and General Douglas MacArthur, McEnery's gritty narrative is as valuable for its insights on a war increasingly lost to memory as it is terrifying and engrossing—a master work that no one interested in military history can afford to pass up.

About Bill Sloan

Bill Sloan is renowned military historian and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Ultimate Battle and Brotherhood of Heroes. During his ten years as an investigative reporter and feature writer for the Dallas Times Herald, he covered many of the major events and personalities of the second half of the twentieth century and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Dallas, Texas.


Reviews

This is an excellent account of a Marine rifleman's account of the campaigns on Guadalcanal though Peleliu during World War II. It is told in an easy format from an enlisted man's viewpoint. The work is about the day to day struggles of enlisted men instead of high ranking officers. If I was still t......more

Goodreads review by Steve

This is a first hand account of Jim "Mac" McEnery's combat experiences with the 1st Marine Division on Gualdalcanal, New Britain, and Pelelieu. The actual listed author of the book is Bill Sloan. Sloan appears to flesh out McEnery's reflections with accounts of the various campaigns as reported by ot......more

Goodreads review by Peter

Not even close to "with the old breed". A blend of personal observation, as recalled decades later, with commentary on history that he could never have known at the time. The personal observation was not particularly trenchant either.......more

Goodreads review by Jeannie

"There are no atheist's in a fox hole." The bravery witnessed in this extraordinary book about the sacrifices, horrors, and heroism of war will never be forgotten. I know I won't forget it. Marine Sgt. Jim McEnery had many friends who fought beside him and many of them died. He and his Marine buddie......more

Goodreads review by Cameron

While I enjoyed this book I found it a little strange. It is the first ghost written biography I have read. It was obvious that it was not a strictly first hand account with a number of "dues ex machina" moments fleshing out battles with information and anecdotes that Jim McEnery could not have had a......more