I really enjoyed this book. While my son was in bootcamp reading this book helped me understand what my son was going through while he was in the crucible. It also gives an look into a few past heros lives who gave their all for our country.

As a former Marine myself and now father of a Marine, I was interested in seeing what the crucible was all about. When I went through boot camp in 1982 there was no crucible. I purchased this book and read it as my son was going through the crucible. I found it to be a very informative book and a great insight as to what the crucible is all about. It chronicles the transformation of our young men and women into United States Marines.

James Woulfe nails this look at the culmination of Marine boot camp -The Crucible. The book follows a group through the training program. The book is an easy read but very insightful.

I just finished reading this book today, I am about to head on down to boot camp myself this summer and wanted to just get a little taste of what its going to be like in the crucible, this is a non-stop action packed book, it was so hard to put down, and usually I can't keep intrest in books. This told you the story of young men making their way to becoming a United States Marine. I recommend this for anyone who is joing or has joined or just anyone wanting to read an amazing book, it will give you a whole respect for what the USMC is all about.

Semper Fi

If you have an interest in Marine training, especially this very challenging drill that young men in boot camp must master to graduate, then this is a very informative read for you. I have a son who is a Marine and I wanted to understand the 13 week process that they go through in their training. By studying the training schedule and reading this book, I had more of an understanding of what he had gotten himself into. This is an incredibly grueling 52 hour "march" and training regimen--this Crucible. The author takes us through the very beginning of the march, what the recruits are thinking, feeling, their fatique, all the way to the long march back to bootcamp. We actually finally see a human side to the drill sargents, because they are participating in this as well. I really liked the way that the author took the reader from station to station and explained how each challenge was named for a particular Marine who had given his life and the valor behind the story. That is something you will not forget after reading this book. Another point is that there is so little contemporary material available concerning Marine training for readers such as myself, and this is so fresh and fairly easy to understand.

If you have an interest in Marine training, especially this very challenging drill that young men in boot camp must master to graduate, then this is a very informative read for you. I have a son who is a Marine and I wanted to understand the 13 week process that they go through in their training. By studying the training schedule and reading this book, I had more of an understanding of what he had gotten himself into. This is an incredibly grueling 52 hour "march" and training regimen--this Crucible. The author takes us through the very beginning of the march, what the recruits are thinking, feeling, their fatique, all the way to the long march back to bootcamp. We actually finally see a human side to the drill sargents, because they are participating in this as well. I really liked the way that the author took the reader from station to station and explained how each challenge was named for a particular Marine who had given his life and the valor behind the story. That is something you will not forget after reading this book. Another point is that there is so little contemporary material available concerning Marine training for readers such as myself, and this is so fresh and fairly easy to understand.

My youngest Son is currently in the Marines, and this book helped me understand what some of the things, he went thru at Camp Pendleton during the Crucible, must of felt like, that transformed him forever.

The Crucible is now done in the middle of Boot Camp, and the recruits become Marines the day before graduation, at a special pinning ceremony, after a motivational run.

I really felt like I was going through the exercise. A really great part of each obstacle, is the history behind the name it is given, and while reading many of the stories of heroism, associated with each obstacle, I swelled up with pride that my Dad (USMC Cpl Korea 52-54) had and my Son currently has the courage & commitment to our country.

My youngest Son is currently in the Marines, and this book helped me understand what some of the things, he went thru at Camp Pendleton during the Crucible, must of felt like, that transformed him forever.

The Crucible is now done in the middle of Boot Camp, and the recruits become Marines the day before graduation, at a special pinning ceremony, after a motivational run.

I really felt like I was going through the exercise. A really great part of each obstacle, is the history behind the name it is given, and while reading many of the stories of heroism, associated with each obstacle, I swelled up with pride that my Dad (USMC Cpl Korea 52-54) had and my Son currently has the courage & commitment to our country.

"Into the Crucible: The Making of a 21st Century Marine," by James B. Woulfe, is a fascinating nonfiction book that takes the reader into the Crucible, a component of U.S. Marine Corps training. Woulfe describes the Crucible as "a fifty-four-hour endurance course in which recruits conquer challenge after challenge in increasingly demanding conditions [. . .]. It features little food and sleep, plus forty miles of hiking." Emphasizing teamwork and leadership, the Crucible features a series of obstacles named after heroic Marines, most of them Medal of Honor recipients. In his brief foreword to the book Lt. Gen. Victor H. Krulak (USMC, ret.) describes the Crucible as "the classic culminating event of a rigorous revolution in the recruit's life."

Woulfe's narrative follows a group of recruits and their drill sergeant as the team works its way through the grueling rite of passage. As the squad passes through the stations they learn about the extraordinary heroism of the Marines after whom the obstacles are named. Woulfe describes the obstacles, which test both the recruits' physical abilities and problem solving skills, in intriguing detail. Woulfe weaves into the narrative much information about Marine Corps history. He writes about pioneering African-American Marines and the history of women in the Corps; he also covers Marine achievements in the Civil War, World War I, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts.

The author skillfully weaves a portrait of the Corps that brings together its past (in the history recounted) and its future (in the recruits). We learn about the backgrounds, personalities, and goals of the recruits. Woulfe vividly portrays the physical toll that the Crucible takes on these aspiring Marines. The book illuminates Marine esprit de corps, values, and heritage while revealing the complex process that transforms young men and women into Marines. I found this book to be both informative and inspiring. As an Army officer, I salute Woulfe for his work, and I salute the Marines whose stories he tells.

I spent 13 years as a Marine and at the time that the Crucible started I was an instructor at the School of Infantry. I did not think that the Crucible helped , in fact the Marines that I saw after the Crucible seemed to be weaker and they were whiners. Of course this does not apply to all but I think that Boot camp has gotten soft in the last couple years. The Marine Corps lets society dictate what we can and cannot do. Civilians need to stay out of the Military way of life. If they want to take part in our life than Enlist or get commisioned. I am not saying that I dont like this book, it may be a great book but the subject is not good. Semper Fi

First off - to the reviewer dated October 12, 2000 - sure you completed The Crucible in '97 and supervised it in '99 - A Marine wannabe, for sure. This is an EXCELLENT book that outlines The Crucible, the culmination of Marine Corps boot camp. Provides a detailed history of events that gives rational to the specific events or stations of the design of the Crucible. Also allows us to appreciate more the recruits who have earned the title "Marine." A must read for anyone who has a loved one in boot camp, earned the title of Marine, or future recruits. Easy reading, factual and very informative. Gives confirmation to the quote above the Welcome Doors of Parris Island: "Through These Portals Pass Prospect's For America's Finest Fighting Force - United States Marines." In light of the conflict going on in Iraq, people who review and make ridiculous comments (those who probably never even read the book!) should be thankful that men and women of the USMC and other prestigious branches of the military are laying their lives down everyday, so that they can sit in the comfort of their home and express their opinions freely, and without consequence. This is a great book for those interested in this particular phase of boot camp and with a brief overview, the (in an indroductive sense) history of the USMC. I highly recommend this!

(...)
I thought that the last book i read was sad, but this is sad. These people went through so much, it just inspires me to be a marine more and more. I still have years to wait though before i can even enlist, and im wanna get into the naval academy.

There are many books that look at the Marine Corps as a phenomenon, as a culture, as a training system, and as a psychology. There are many biographical and autobiographical surveys of those who make up the Corps past and present. However, this book is unique in looking at what has become known as the defining moment in the making of modern Marines -- the Crucible, a 54-hour rigourous test, an obstacle course to beat all obstacles courses, that recruits at the end of their basic training must pass in order to win the title of U.S. Marine.

This is the culmination, the capstone of the training. Author James B. Woulfe, now a captain in Marine Corps, who started out in the enlisted ranks in the 1980s, is assistant director of the Drill Instructor (DI) school at MCRD San Diego, the western training ground for Marines (recruits from east of the Mississippi go to Parris Island). Woulfe's book follows a dozen recruits and their DI through the stations of the Crucible.

In the Crucible, the body, mind and spirit of the recruit is tested. There are limits on food and rest designed to tax the recruits even more, as they work through the different trials of the Crucible. No one can make it through the Crucible alone -- most of the tests can only be done as a team; often members of the squad have to take a back-seat to their companions, sometimes dramatically (if a recruit has to pretend to be injured for the sake of the exercise, he is at the complete mercy of his squad's performance).

The Crucible has many stations, 32 combat exercises to complete in the 54-hour period. These challenges draw on the core values and chief skills developed during the previous weeks. As part of the indoctrination into the Marine Corps, the history of the Corps is written across the challenges. Eleven of the obstacles are named for Medal of Honour winners, with a twelfth named for another outstanding Marine; significantly, they are all enlisted/NCOs, not officers. The backbone of the Corps is the enlisted ranks, with sergeants at the top; there are more enlisted to officers by ratio in the Marine Corps than in any other service.

Woulfe begins with an introductory chapter that gives a very quick overview of the timeline of basic training as well as the emotions experienced through the eyes of several recruits. The beginning of the Crucible begins in the early morning hours, long before dawn, such that three days later the end of the Crucible will coincide with breakfast time, when survivors of the Crucible will eat their 'warriors' breakfast' as Marines.

Woulfe makes an important point throughout that while these are special men doing special things, they did not start out as being special other than that they opted to be Marines. The Marine Corps takes the average recruit and makes them something special -- Woulfe indicates that the Corps could take a bus-load of recruits heading to any of the services and turn them into Marines; still, it remains a success for the men who undergo this trial, one they are rightly proud of completing.

Through all of the grueling challenges, presented in good detail including the physical elements as well as the emotions of the men paritcipating, Woulfe carries the the narrative through at a brisk pace. The epilogue is moving, starting really with the final challenge, the climb of 'Mount Suribachi', the first pronouncement by the sergeant major of the recruits' transformation to Marines, and their final victory as men in the Corps. Truly inspiring!

This book walks you through a phase of a Marine's four year tour. One must remember that it is informative, yet at the same time it does not give an open eyed perspective on the Corps and what Marines experience during their next 45 months of the first four year tour. For that it's wise to look to "Stand By to Fall Out" by Chadz . These two books together will allow for a guided journy through the times that (for the new Marine) will be spent in the Corps and the times (for the salty Marine) that they have already served.

Now more than ever I see why the Marine Corps was so successful in Iraq. These guys are trained tough and the author explains that in this book. I bought and read this after I happened on Woulfe's other book Against All Enemies.