Monday, February 23, 2009

An afternoon at the bookstore



My favorite books store is Half Price Books in Collage Station. Because the city is the home of Texas A&M there is always a wide selection of military history. I found some real jewels today and only spent around $19.

Chesty, by Col. Jon T. Hoffman is about one of the most famous Marines of all time Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Puller. He worked his way up from a private to become a general. In the process he bacame a legend in the Marine Corps. Upon hearing that the Marines were surrounded at the Chosin Reservoir, he told the Marines under his command that we had the enemy right were we wanted them. We could shoot in any direction to kill them.

The Reminiscences of a Marine is by Maj. Gen. John A Lejeune whose family was moved from Nova Scotia to Louisiana where he was home schooled by his mother until he enrolled at LSU. In 1884 at age 17, he got an appointment to the Naval Acadamy in Annapolis. He spent the next 45 years in the service becoming the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The Marines East Coast base bears his name--Camp Lejuene. He was an early proponent of amphibious warfare.

Devil Dogs, Fighting Marines of World War I is by George B. Clark. The Germans gave the Marines that nick name because of the fericious way they fought. One of the great Marine Corps quotes comes from action in France as the Marines were joining some French units who were preparing to retreat. A Marine said "Retreat hell! We just got here." They stood their ground and defeated the German advance.

The other book jumps to the US invasion of Afghanistan. First In, An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan is by Gary Schroen.

It may take me a few months to wade through these four, but I think it will be an enjoyable time.

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