Utmost Savagery

From Publishers Weekly
Alexander, a retired Marine officer and established scholar, uses a broad spectrum of fresh Japanese and American sources to present a gripping narrative of one of the bloodiest battles of WWII in the Pacific theater. At Tarawa in the Kiribati (formerly Gilbert) islands, "uncommon valor was a common virtue" on both sides. But this account is more than battle history. Alexander interprets Tarawa as a military test bed, a validation of the concept of amphibious assault against defended positions. The Marines and the Navy made mistakes but learned from them. Without the experience gained at Tarawa, America's path across the central Pacific would have been longer and bloodier, according to the author. Tarawa was a psychological landmark as well. The savage, close-quarters fighting and high casualties helped solidify the grim determination in the U.S. to prevail over the Japanese. Illustrations. Military Book Club main selection. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Colonel Alexander brings to his outstanding account of the Battle of Tarawa in 1943 a Marine Corps career largely spent with the amphibious tractors whose ancestors had their first combat test at Tarawa. He makes plain that the assault on heavily defended Betio was strategically essential but included a number of tactical mistakes, such as too light a bombardment. The marines also had bad luck with the tides and faced a well-trained, well-fortified, equally determined opponent--their counterparts in the Japanese Naval Landing Force, Alexander's account of whom draws upon Japanese sources used adequately for the first time ever. At the cost of a thousand dead, the marines prevailed. It is a tribute to Alexander that the reader sweats out every hour of the battle as if the book were a novel. Alexander's surpasses every other existing account of the battle by a considerable margin. Roland Green


From Book News, Inc.
The Battle of Tarawa in November 1943 left 6,000 dead in an area the size of the Pentagon and its parking lots. Drawing on primary sources, new translations of Japanese documents, and interviews with survivors, the author describes the bloody conquest by the newly created Central Pacific Force, the first trial-by-fire of America's fledgling amphibious assault doctrine. Includes b&w photos and drawings. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.


Book Description
"The first complete and definitive account of the Battle of Tarawa."

--Maj. Gen. Mike Ryan, USMC (Ret.)

Navy Cross recipient

Green Beach, Tarawa

On November 20, l943, in the first trial by fire of America's fledgling amphibious assault doctrine, five thousand men stormed the beaches of Tarawa, a seemingly invincible Japanese island fortress barely the size of the Pentagon parking lots (three-hundred acres!). Before the first day ended, one third of the Marines who had crossed Tarawa's deadly reef under murderous fire were killed, wounded, or missing. In three days of fighting, four Americans would win the Medal of Honor. And six-thousand combatants would die.

Now, Col. Joseph Alexander, a combat Marine himself, presents the full story of Tarawa in all its horror and glory: the extreme risks, the horrific combat, and the heroic breakthroughs. Based on exhaustive research, never-before-published accounts from Marine survivors, and new evidence from Japanese sources, Colonel Alexander captures the grit, guts, and relentless courage of United States Marines overcoming outrageous odds to deliver victory for their country.

"Without a doubt the best narrative of the struggle ever produced."

--Richard B. Frank, Author of Guadalcanal

A MAIN SELECTION OF THE MILITARY BOOK CLUB

Winner of the 1995 General Wallace M. Greene, Jr., Award, awarded to the year's best nonfiction book pertinent to Marine Corps History

Winner of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Outstanding Writer of the Year, presented by the Navy League of the United States

Winner of the Roosevelt Naval History Prize, awarded by the Naval War College

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Bloody Conquest of Tarawa in November 1943 by the newly created Central Pacific Force was the first trial-by-fire of America's fledgling amphibious assault doctrine against a heavily fortified objective. Described by one of the survivors as "a time of utmost savagery," the incredibly violent battle lasted for three days and left 6,000 men dead in an area no bigger than the ground occupied by the Pentagon and its parking lots. This fresh account of the harrowing clash by Col. Joseph Alexander reflects years of research into primary sources, new translations of Japanese documents, and interviews with survivors. A Marine combat veteran himself, Colonel Alexander presents a masterful overview of the brutal engagement and clarifies its significance. The book portrays the battle's full flavor: the decisions, miscalculations, extreme risks, lost opportunities, breakthroughs, and breakdowns. As the battle rages, much of the narrative comes from the troops themselves - Japanese and American - often fighting for the same miserable knob of sand and coral. The Battle of Tarawa was war at its worst and best, and Colonel Alexander's honest presentation of the events assures a balanced and complete understanding of this turning point in the Pacific campaign.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Alexander, a retired Marine officer and established scholar, uses a broad spectrum of fresh Japanese and American sources to present a gripping narrative of one of the bloodiest battles of WWII in the Pacific theater. At Tarawa in the Kiribati (formerly Gilbert) islands, ``uncommon valor was a common virtue'' on both sides. But this account is more than battle history. Alexander interprets Tarawa as a military test bed, a validation of the concept of amphibious assault against defended positions. The Marines and the Navy made mistakes but learned from them. Without the experience gained at Tarawa, America's path across the central Pacific would have been longer and bloodier, according to the author. Tarawa was a psychological landmark as well. The savage, close-quarters fighting and high casualties helped solidify the grim determination in the U.S. to prevail over the Japanese. Illustrations. Military Book Club main selection. (Sept.)

BookList - Roland Green

Colonel Alexander brings to his outstanding account of the Battle of Tarawa in 1943 a Marine Corps career largely spent with the amphibious tractors whose ancestors had their first combat test at Tarawa. He makes plain that the assault on heavily defended Betio was strategically essential but included a number of tactical mistakes, such as too light a bombardment. The marines also had bad luck with the tides and faced a well-trained, well-fortified, equally determined opponent--their counterparts in the Japanese Naval Landing Force, Alexander's account of whom draws upon Japanese sources used adequately for the first time ever. At the cost of a thousand dead, the marines prevailed. It is a tribute to Alexander that the reader sweats out every hour of the battle as if the book were a novel. Alexander's surpasses every other existing account of the battle by a considerable margin.

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