Anyone who believes combat is a visceral experience similar to that seen in the movie 300 needs to read this book. Mr Sledge's book is recommended reading for every enlisted Marine at the beginning of his career. I argue that it should be required reading for every elected representative before they vote to send Americans into combat.

This book is a personal memoir of a US Marine who was a member of a front line company (Company K, 3 battalion, 5th Marine Regiment) in two World War II Pacific theater campaigns. It is not about tactics, operations, or strategy, but about what life was like for for men in front line units in the Pacific, the dangers and the depravations they faced. This book is important because of the perspective it can give the reader.

Though its focus is almost entirely on one small band of men (the men of Company K), it provides the reader with important context for understanding the world. Most obviously it gives one a window into what it means to be solider and the "face of battle", how war brings out the best and the worst in human kind, how disease and stress can be as deadly as bullets and shell fragments, and how dehumanizing the whole experience can be. Reading this first hand account makes these statements more than cliches, it makes the personal cost of war tangible in a way third person accounts can not.

Although I suspect this wasn't the authors goal, the book also provides those of us in the post baby boom generations an important perspective that can help us make sense of the arc of history from World War I to 80's. During the World Wars hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people had similar experiences, it must have had a profound impact on how they approached the world, which in turn must of have shaped the inter War and post War periods. Before reading this account I wasn't able to really appreciate how World War I lead to an increase in nihilism or the pain Vietnam War protests must have caused some veterans. Without reading this (or a similar account) one can't have a full grasp on modern history.

Slege's account of his service in the Pacific is gritty, real and unflinching.This is a must have for any Pacific War library.

I am not an avid book reader and it usually takes me a long time to finish a book but I could not put this book down. It is written like the average person wrote it, I didn't have to look up any words in the dictionary which made it a very easy read. The story flowed seamlessly and was easy to follow along and visualize as you read. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know about or is curious about the reality of war.

With the Old Breed does for World War II's Pacific Theater what Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers does for the war's European Theater. The difference is that Eugene B. Sledge lived through the battles he describes in this outstanding memoir of modern war. Sledge's detailed, emotionally wrought descriptions of the horrors of the World War II battlefield are reminiscent of Norman Mailer's novel, The Naked and the Dead. His firsthand accounts of ferocious combat on Peleliu in the Caroline Islands and then on Okinawa leave the reader breathless.

Sledge's Marines of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (K/3/5) of the storied 1st Marine Division are as tough as they come. Their exploits are the stuff of legends, and through their incredible courage on Peleliu and Okinawa they honor the precious legacy of the many combat Marines to come before them.

The kill-or-be-killed actions of human beings essentially reduced to animals struggling for survival on a tiny coral atoll against a ruthless, fanatical and, yes, even suicidal enemy is difficult for most readers to stomach, much less comprehend. Yet, we find ourselves reading on if for no other reason than to root for the young enlisted Marines who shoulder the heaviest load in this fight. These remarkable Americans demonstrate yet again why they are collectively known as our country's Greatest Generation.

Sledge's portrayal of a vicious, man-on-man fight in the South West Pacific to wrest control of a chain of seemingly insignificant islands from the desperate yet determined Japanese is at once both haunting and captivating. One alternately feels revulsion at the atrocities committed on both sides and empathy for the young Marines struggling to survive. Many barely out of high school, these 18 and 19-year-olds are thrown relentlessly into the meat grinder that was part of Admiral Chester Nimitz's Island Hopping counteroffensive. They journey from the innocence of youth into an early manhood spent 'across the sights of a rifle' or kneeling behind a mortar tube.

We witness these young men participating in frontal assaults on Peleliu against an entrenched and well-equipped enemy whose capable use of machine guns and indirect fires (artillery and mortars) steadily reduces K/3/5's ranks. We see Marines desperate to dig fighting positions in virtually impenetrable coral rock... hugging the 'deck' as enemy artillery and mortar rounds bracket their positions.

The Marines' steady attacks are contrasted with their brief defensive stands at night. As darkness descends on the dug-in troops so do the Japanese. The Marines find themselves in frenetic, bare-fisted fights in foxholes against a crazed, marauding enemy with fire in his belly and a rifle with razor sharp 18-inch bayonet in his hands. As we attempt to grasp these men's hellish existence on Peleliu and their struggle to defy the odds and leave the island in one piece, we are left to contemplate the utter senselessness of war... and those shocking conditions that would reduce man to his basest instincts.

In addition to his account of the fight for Peleliu (referred to as the 'Peleliu Campaign'), Sledge relates his experiences during the fight for Okinawa ('the Okinawa Campaign').

The Okinawa Campaign oddly begins quietly as the invasion is largely uncontested. Remarkably, given the island's proximity to the Japanese mainland, the Marines initially do not encounter the same 'chaotic maelstrom' that they experienced on Peleliu. Instead, we readers are treated to descriptions of an idyllic, almost serene, Okinawan countryside and occasional encounters with a few friendly Okinawans.

But the calm the Marines experience belies what awaits them in the deep and dangerous recesses of Okinawa's system of interconnected ridges and draws. Much to K/3/5's horror, on Okinawa the Japanese have perfected the defense in depth and interlocking fires that characterized their defensive tactics toward the end of the war. And they bring to bear all the might of an increasingly desperate empire intent on sealing off their homeland from the Allied onslaught.

The Japanese suck the Marines into kill zones and proceed to pick them apart through carefully targeted machine gun and rifle fire. As the casualties mount, the men of K/3/5 realize they will not have an easy time of it on Okinawa after all. The ensuing weeks find these men in a no man's land feeling Hell's fury as they face off against the bulk of the Japanese Thirty-Second Army.

We readers wonder how the men of K/3/5 keep their sanity and how they are willing to continue slogging through the mud and filth to engage their merciless Japanese adversary. What is even more jaw-dropping about Sledge's experiences and what leaves the reader absolutely awestruck is how these fine, young Americans manage to continue their frontal assaults against an enemy occupying all but impregnable defenses. Amazingly, many a young Marine rifleman leaves the relative security of his foxhole on Okinawa and runs full tilt into a hailstorm of bullets and shrapnel. And falling in behind that Marine is yet another Marine! Unbelievable!

While many are casualties on both Peleliu and Okinawa, it becomes obvious as one reads Sledge's story exactly how others somehow survive. Quite simply, they stay close to the 'Old Breed' - those combat-hardened, veteran Marines who have dedicated their lives to the Corps... some of whom cut their teeth at Belleau Wood in World War I... and many of whom fought on Guadalcanal, in Cape Gloucester (New Guinea) and in those many other battles in the Pacific that have inspired the legend that is the United States Marine Corps. Many of the 'Old Breed' form the vanguard of attacking Marines and set the example for the raw and inexperienced recruits.

We realize then that many of the new troops fight on because they yearn to join the select few - the genuine article, authentic U.S. Marines... and the very pride of the Corps. Men such as Captain Andrew A. ('Ack Ack') Haldane and Gunnery Sergeant Elmo M. Haney, veritable demigods among American fighting men, assume almost mythic proportions to the younger members of K/3/5. Sledge and those like him internalize USMC lore and aspire to be combat Marines who serve selflessly and valorously... and who reflect the finest traditions of the Corps.

As Sledge points out without a hint of humor, men like Haldane and Haney are not 'born of woman, but are issued to the Marine Corps.' To receive the approval of men like these is to finally join the ranks of the few, the proud...

Sledge nearly bursts with pride when he hears 'the simple, sincere personal remarks' of a veteran Marine after his (Sledge's) actions on Peleliu. The veteran Marine offers the following comments to his young comrade:

"But I kept my eye on you on Peleliu and by God you did OK; you did OK."

While the veteran's comments seem modest, Sledge goes on to say that he "carried those words in [his] heart with great pride and satisfaction ever since they were uttered."

With the Old Breed is an extraordinary tale of man at war and will forever remain one of the most authentic, vivid stories of an enlisted man's experiences on the front lines ever told. Sledge's writing is characterized by great depth of feeling, honesty, and clarity. The realism with which he depicts the battlefield enables the reader to practically experience for himself the sights, sounds, and even smells of battle.

With the Old Breed, however, is about much more than war and the depths of man's inhumanity. Throughout his memoir, Sledge liberally sprinkles humorous anecdotes and subtle musings on the bonds that form between men fighting for survival while exposed to the nightmarish conditions of modern combat. So, With the Old Breed offers a deeply meaningful and enduring commentary about devotion to duty, loyalty, and brotherhood.

Ultimately, though, Sledge's message is really much deeper even than that. As horrifying as his experiences were on Peleliu and Okinawa and despite his decrying war as "brutish, inglorious, and a terrible waste", Sledge acknowledges that we as Americans are sometimes called to sacrifice for our country and for those many freedoms we hold dear.

Freedom is not free!

As The Old Breed is fond of saying, "If the country is good enough to live in, it's good enough to fight for."

A Classic!

With the Old Breed does for World War II's Pacific Theater what Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers does for the war's European Theater. The difference is that Eugene B. Sledge lived through the battles he describes in this outstanding memoir of modern war. Sledge's detailed, emotionally wrought descriptions of the horrors of the World War II battlefield are reminiscent of Norman Mailer's novel, The Naked and the Dead. His firsthand accounts of ferocious combat on Peleliu in the Caroline Islands and then on Okinawa leave the reader breathless.

Sledge's Marines of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines of the storied 1st Marine Division are as tough as they come. Their exploits are the stuff of legends, and through their actions on Peleliu and Okinawa they honor the precious legacy of the many combat Marines to come before them.

The kill-or-be-killed actions of human beings essentially reduced to animals struggling for survival on a tiny coral atoll against a ruthless, fanatical and, yes, even suicidal enemy is difficult for most readers to stomach, much less comprehend. Yet, we find ourselves reading on if for no other reason than to root for the young enlisted Marines who shoulder the heaviest load in this fight. These remarkable Americans demonstrate yet again why they are collectively known as our country's Greatest Generation.

Sledge's portrayal of a vicious, man-on-man fight in the South West Pacific to wrest control of a chain of seemingly insignificant islands from the desperate yet determined Japanese is at once both haunting and captivating. One alternately feels revulsion at the atrocities committed on both sides and empathy for the young Marines struggling to survive. Many barely out of high school, these 18- and 19-year-olds are thrown relentlessly into the meat grinder that was part of Admiral Chester Nimitz's Island Hopping counteroffensive. They journey from the innocence of youth into an early manhood spent 'across the sights of a rifle' or kneeling behind a mortar tube.

We witness these young men participating in frontal assaults on Peleliu against an entrenched and well-equipped enemy whose capable use of machine guns and indirect fires (artillery and mortars) steadily reduces the Marines' ranks. We see Marines desperate to dig fighting positions in virtually impenetrable coral rock... hugging the 'deck' as enemy artillery and mortar rounds bracket their positions.

The Marines' attacks are contrasted with their brief defensive stands at night. As darkness descends on the dug-in troops so do the Japanese. The Marines find themselves in frenetic, bare-fisted fights in foxholes against a crazed, marauding enemy with fire in his belly and a rifle with razor sharp 18-inch bayonet in his hands. As we attempt to grasp these men's hellish existence on Peleliu and their struggle to defy the odds and leave the island in one piece, we are left to contemplate the senselessness of war... and those shocking conditions that would reduce man to his basest instincts.

In addition to his account of the fight for Peleliu (referred to as the 'Peleliu Campaign'), Sledge relates his experiences during the fight for Okinawa ('the Okinawa Campaign').

The Okinawa Campaign oddly begins quietly as the invasion is largely uncontested. Remarkably, given the island's proximity to the Japanese mainland, the Marines do not encounter the same 'chaotic maelstrom' that they experienced on Peleliu. Instead, we readers are treated to descriptions of an idyllic, almost surreal, Okinawan countryside and encounters with a few friendly Okinawans.

But the calm the Marines experience belies what awaits them in the deep and dangerous recesses of Okinawa's interconnected ridge systems. Much to K/3/5's horror, the Japanese have perfected the defense in depth and interlocking fires that characterized their defensive tactics toward the end of the war. And they bring to bear all the might of an increasingly desperate empire intent on sealing off their homeland from the Allied onslaught.

The Japanese suck the Marines into kill zones and proceed to pick them apart through carefully targeted machine gun and rifle fire. As the casualties mount, the men of K/3/5 realize they will not have an easy time of it on Okinawa after all. The ensuing weeks find these men in a no man's land feeling Hell's fury as they face off against the bulk of the Japanese Thirty-Second Army.

We readers wonder how the Marines keep their sanity and how they are willing to continue slogging through the mud and filth to engage their merciless Japanese adversary. What is even more jaw-dropping about Sledge's experiences and what leaves the reader absolutely awestruck is how these fine, young Americans manage to continue their frontal assaults against an enemy occupying all but impregnable defenses. Amazingly, many a young Marine leaves the relative security of his foxhole on Okinawa and runs full tilt into rifle and machine gun fire. And falling in behind that Marine is another Marine! Unbelievable!

While many are casualties on both Peleliu and Okinawa, it becomes obvious as one reads Sledge's story exactly how others somehow survive. Quite simply, they stay close to the 'Old Breed' - those combat-hardened, veteran Marines who have dedicated their lives to the Corps... some of whom cut their teeth at Belleau Wood in World War I... and many of whom fought on Guadalcanal, in Cape Gloucester (New Guinea) and in those many battles in the Pacific that have inspired the legends of the United States Marine Corps. Many of the 'Old Breed' form the vanguard of attacking Marines and set the example for the raw and inexperienced recruits.

We realize then that many of the new troops fight on because they yearn to join the select few - the genuine article, authentic U.S. Marine... and the pride of the Corps. Men such as Captain Andrew A. ('Ack Ack') Haldane and Gunnery Sergeant Elmo M. Haney, veritable demigods among American fighting men, assume almost mythic proportions to the younger troops. Sledge and those like him internalize USMC lore and aspire to be combat Marines who serve with courage... in the finest traditions of the Corps.

As Sledge points out without even a hint of humor, men like Haldane and Haney are not 'born of woman, but are issued to the Marine Corps.' To receive the approbation of men like these is to finally join the ranks of the few, the proud...

And to let them down would be to dishonor their memory.

Sledge nearly bursts with pride when he hears 'the simple, sincere personal remarks' of a veteran Marine after his actions on Peleliu. The veteran Marine offers the following comments to his young comrade:

"But I kept my eye on you on Peleliu and by God you did OK; you did OK."

While the veteran's comments seem modest, Sledge goes on to say that he "carried those words in [his] heart with great pride and satisfaction ever since they were uttered."

With the Old Breed is an extraordinary tale of man at war and will forever remain one of the most popular accounts of an enlisted man's experiences on the front lines. Sledge's writing is characterized by great depth of feeling, honesty, and clarity. The realism with which he depicts the battlefield enables the reader to practically experience for himself the sights, sounds, and even smells of battle.

With the Old Breed, however, is about much more than war and the depths of man's inhumanity. Throughout this memoir, Sledge liberally sprinkles humorous anecdotes and subtle musings on the bonds that form between men exposed to the nightmarish conditions of modern combat. So, it is about devotion, loyalty, and brotherhood.

But, Sledge's message in the end is really even deeper than that. As horrifying as his experiences were and despite his decrying war as "brutish, inglorious, and a terrible waste", he recognizes that we as Americans are often called to sacrifice for our country... and for what is moral, right and just.

As apparently The Old Breed is fond of saying, "If the country is good enough to live in, it's good enough to fight for."

A Classic!

In his telling of his experience in some of the most intense battles of WWII in the Pacific, Eugene Sledge takes you into the foxhole for an incredible journey through two battles fought by US Marines. Between the equatorial heat, cement hard coral landscape, intense relentless enemy fire, dead and rotting enemy bodies baking in the sun, bad K rations for food that is made worse by the smell of gunpowder, sweat, human waste and rotting bodies, and the 75% chance you will either be killed or wounded, you somehow can't leave his side as the reader or it would somehow be dishonorable. Through Sledge's storytelling you grasp a real sense of what "team", "core" and "band of brothers" mean to a Marine. It is the absolute best recount of war that I have ever read. We as the next generation of "free" Americans owe it to the men and women who fought for our freedom to read this book.

As a WWII history buff I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see combat from a combat Marines perspective. GREAT!

Having seen Ken Burns films on WWII and his mention of this book, I decided
to read it. I was not disappointed. Ordinarily I don't like works like this
but Sledge handled his on-the-ground experiences in the Pacific with simplicity
but with elequence. I was very impressed with the book, moved and sometimes
shattered by the bravery and determination of our troups. It makes for
exciting reading, if you're inclined to know what war was like then, and
probably what war is still like for men and women on the ground now. Read it!
You won't be disappointed.

I really can't say anything better than has already been said in the previous reviews. This is a horrific, and at the same time, fascinating read. Sledge tells it like it was and holds nothing back. The descriptions of the blasted battlefields full of dead is something you won't forget. His descriptions of the fighting conditions will make you thankful for dry clothes, hot coffee and fresh socks every day after reading this. Should be required reading in schools today - an important gift from someone who lived in the horror of war.

I recently read this book for the second time. As others have noted, this is by far the best American memoir of the Pacific Theater. While Sledge's narrative style is straightforward and plain, there is a sensitivity to the work that is not found in other American war memoirs. Sledge was a good Marine, and understood that Japanese brutality had to be answered in kind: he had absolutely no compunction about killing the Japanese and often expresses an extreme hatred towards them. His descriptions of what he witnessed are often horrific--the picture he paints of "Maggot Ridge" on Okinawa is nothing short of a hellscape. And yet a central theme in the book is that in the midst of all the brutality of Peleliu and Okinawa, one had to try to maintain at least a modicum of sensitivity and human compassion. That, I believe, is what makes this such a remarkable record of the war.
I had the privilege of talking to Dr. Sledge about a decade ago, and he was a true gentleman--courteous, kind, and very generous with his time. Indeed, my overwhelming impression was that he was a very gentle person. Perhaps that is why his memoir is so haunting.

In simple powerful prose, E.B. Sledge recounts the horrors of the war in the Pacific in his memoir With The Old Breed. Dr. Sledge, who was a professor of biology at the University of Montevallo in Alabama for almost fifty years, wrote his book for his wife and children so they could understand what he had endured in combat. His wife realized the importance of his book and convinced him to publish it. It is considered to be the best memoir written by an enlisted man from World War II, and some have even put it in the same cannon of literature as The Red Badage of Courage and All Quiet on the Western Front. It is equaled only by the memoirs of President U.S. Grant.
A native of Mobile Al, Sledge served in the Marines from 1943 to 1946. After boot camp in Claifornia, he was shipped to the Pacific. In his memoir, he admits that as his ship was nearing Peleliu, he was so frightened that he was afraid that he would lose control of his bladder and then the other men would know he was a coward. One of the biggest miseries faced by the men was the filth they were forced to live in during combat. Drinking water was too precious to use for bathing and brushing teeth and Dr.Sledge said it brothered everyone he knew.It is an important part of the stress suffered by the men on the battledfield that has not been given much attention by historians or even discussed in memoirs written by veterans. While he watched men die around him, Dr. Sledge survived the war. He was only twenty-two when the war ended but he would never be the same again. There is a picture of Dr. Sledge at the end of the book that was taken in 1946 after he had returned from duty in China. It is of a handsome man in full dress uniform with eyes that are much too sad and old for one so young. As World War II fades into history and passes into legend and myth, first-hand accounts like E.B. Sledge's are vital to understanding the sacrifices made by millions in defeating one of the greatest foes in human history.

It took me over fifteen years to read this book. During my sophomore year in college "With the Old Breed" was listed as required reading in my modern US history course. As I remember it, the "Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie" was also required, and when I read that cover-to-cover only to discover that just one question on the mid-term addressed that book, I decided to blow off reading the memoir of WWII Marine private Eugene Sledge. In hindsight, I'm glad I did. The guilt of having not read the book (not to mention my shock and consternation to find many questions about the memoir on the final) kept it on my bookshelf and a volume that I resolved to read eventually.

Thus, I had the opportunity to read this unforgettable story in my mid-30s, with all of the "wisdom" had I gained in the intervening decade-and-a-half, and in the midst of another American war, rather than as a naïve 19-year-old in the fat-and-happy post-Cold War years.

Simply put, this memoir is mesmerizing. In the introduction to the paperback volume by the incomparable Paul Fussell, Sledge's writing is described as so honest, so unadorned that it allows the reader to peer into the horrors of modern combat like looking through a pane of glass. Fussell is absolutely correct.

What makes this memoir so powerful and unique is the mixed perspective that Sledge brings to his experience in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division in the Pacific Theater in 1945. On the one hand, Sledge is undeniably anti-war. The experience of combat described by Sledge is horrifying and an utter waste. Never once does Sledge contend that the Marines are engaged in a necessary and just war against an Imperial Japan that attacked his country and committed unspeakable atrocities against fellow Americans, as well as innumerable others. His commentary is reminiscent of Michael Shays' "Achilles in Vietnam," a brilliant and original take on the effects of close order combat. Sledge and his fellow Marines in the Pacific could care less about the surrender of Nazi Germany or the death of Franklin Roosevelt in the spring of 1945. All that matters is Company K and what their next assignment will be. The most critical question on their minds is whether or not to drop their gear when given a break on a forced march or keep it on in the event that the break is cut short.

On the other hand, for all of the terror and waste of combat, Sledge is clearly a proud Marine, a man who in the twilight of his life still signs his letters "Semper Fi." He praises his drill instructor for the hardships he was forced to endure as, he claims, it saved his life when he was confronted with the nightmare of modern war on Pelileu and Okinawa. Sledge's descriptions of his experiences in the Pacific, especially in Okinawa, are unsettling. The putrid smell of rotting flesh, the constant rain, lack of sleep, maggots and flies in the millions, Japanese shelling and nighttime infiltrations, psychiatric breakdowns of fellow Marines, it reads like an additional level of Dante's Inferno.

The penultimate paragraph of the memoir sums up the themes best:

"War is brutish, inglorious, and a terrible waste. Combat leaves an indelible mark on those who are forced to endure it. The only redeeming factors were my comrades' incredible bravery and their devotion to each other. Marine Corps training taught us to kill efficiently and to try to survive. But it also taught us loyalty to each other - and love. That esprit de corps sustained us."

God bless the United States Marine Corps.

Sledge describes the ferocity and hatred and horror of the Pacific war on Peleliu and Okinawa. What he has to say is very consistent with the experiences of veterans that I have known concerning the unrelenting toughness and brutality of Japanese soldiery they encountered. Where pertinent, he inserts interesting remarks about command relationships, lists specific units involved, and describes enemy equipment. His is one of the few books to mention psychological casualties and possible ways for men to cope when thrust into the inferno. His book is unique in convincingly describing the emotional enormities of getting shot at. His observations include many "pearls" about functioning in combat. The work also forms a bulwark against the kumbaya generated lately about the war against the Japanese in those days. It is an important account and one of the best reads in military history.

Excellent first hand account of the battles on two pacific islands during WWII.I could not put the book down.

My grandfather was an infantryman in Germany in WWII and in trying to gain insight into his service, I read several books on the war in Europe. Later I picked up a copy of this book seeking comparisons between the war against Germany and the struggle against Japan.

I'm glad I did because this outstanding book is hard to put down. Sledge is graphic and truthful of his experiences in a truly hellish war. But what struck me as being a bit different than some other similar books is that "Sledgehammer" as he was called, does not use any profanity or embellish anything at all. He doesn't need to.

He is instead very humble and matter-of-fact, realizing that the truth is more than enough to draw you into the carnage, brutality and the waste. His message is that yes "war is hell" and a tragic waste of good men, some of whom were still just as much boys as soldiers.

These guys were trained to kill. There was no choice either, you killed or were in turn killed yourself. After terrible months enduring the crippling heat, disease, incredibly rugged terrain, a fanatical and brutal enemy, the constant sickening stench of death and seeing their friends slaughtered, they finally prevailed.

You'd think then they would be sent somewhere to recover from the living hell that was Peleliu and Okinawa...maybe to Hawaii for some much-deserved rest. But instead they were ordered to bury the rotting, maggot infested enemy dead! It's an unbelievable story.

Sledge's book will give you the most sincere appreciation for the men who have given so much so we can enjoy the freedoms we all take for granted. In reading it, I realized the war on both enemies was equally as terrible as can be imagined.

For a perspective on the war against Germany I'd recommend "You can't get much closer than this" by A.Z. Adkins and "Taught to kill" by John Babcock. Both of the above are also truly outstanding books.

The next time you are having a bad day and need a little perspective in life, pick up a book like "With The Old Breed" and re-set your prioritys and values a bit.

In so doing take a look at the obituries in your local paper and you realize there aren't many of these great men left. My grandfather has been gone for years and Sledge passed on in 2001.

For many, it's too late to say "thank you".

One of the most compelling books I've ever read on World War II. A very personal and accessible window into the hell that is war, and the unique hell that was Peleliu and Okinawa. An absolute must read - should be placed alongside classics such as The Red Badge of Courage, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Killer Angels and The Longest Day.

An amazing view of the war in the Pacific. It's horrific, not in the language but in the details of life on the front line. Digging a fox hole though a battlefield graveyard, yuck!

And I'm currently reading "Ship of Ghosts, The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of her Survivors" and in that book the Admiral complains that the men have been driven to their limits by a 21 hr on watch detail with only coffee and ham sandwichs for meals! The marines of the 5th would have killed for a ham sandwich and stone cold coffee! Weeks in the mud & rain, not a measly 21 hrs on watch! I guess it's all based on your perspective, still though they come off sounding like whiners.

Another good reason to read this book is as an uplifting perspective on your own life. How good you really have it, even living under a bridge in a cardboard box would be better than the hell holes those fox holes were.

What also comes through loud and clear is that while there is no pity for the soldiers he kills, there is respect. And in someways this is an anti war book. No one dies in glory for their country in this story. And with the ratio of deaths of the Japanese vs the Americans, it's amazing that they held on to the last man.

The other clear message, is that this war was won by killing the enemy one at a time. Yeah occasionally they shelled some group of soldiers but most of them died with a last single bullet finding it's mark. What a dirty business.

If you read only half the book you have read the book. It is a day-to-day, battle-to-battle account of part of WWII in the Pacific. The raw and valorous emotions and acts in the face of fear are graphically shocking, deeply depressing and, except for some behaviorable mishaps, proudly honorable.

This is almost a diary--yes, the author forbiddenly took notes--that carries you into battle, causes you to flinch, and fills you with empathy for the survivors of these hellish battles and grief for the honorable dead.

The pattern of the book tends to unfold repetitiously and predictably. Nevertheless, the writing style draws the reader along at a fast pace. The print is tiny, so bump that 300 pages to 600 for some other books. The only real negative I have of the book is that most of the pictures could have been left out since they are either so poorly reproduced or very war-time generic.

After seeing E.B.Sledge on the History Channel's 'Hell in the Pacific', I was taken by his straightforward and honest approach to the extremely unsavory task of war.

I was saddened to learn Mr. Sledge passed away in 2001.

If you are interested in war history his book is very well written and easy to follow. I read 'Helmet for my Pillow' by Robert Leckie as well.
Mr. Leckie's book is also very good but written with a lot of obscure words which made it a little harder to follow. Perhaps just a sign of the times when his book was written as opposed to Mr. Sledge's book which was written in the early 1980's.

Mr. Sledge's book, like Mr. Leckie's, does not use foul language, but Mr. Sledge's book spares no graphic detail otherwise. Mr. Leckie's book usually refers to the horror of war but only gives a few graphic examples.

Not that gore determines the quality of a book but it is easier to empathize with Mr. Sledge's daily existance.

Also, after hearing Mr. Sledge speak and his southern drawl, I could visualize him speaking the words he wrote in his no nonsense approach.

'With the Old Breed' is an excellent book and needs to be read by any WWII historian.

My father (now 92) fought at both Pelileu and Okinawa, as did the author Eugene Sledge. Despite the fact that his generation rarely talks about WWII, he was thrilled to get this book and read it straight through.
It's not only accurate, it is very moving. A great insider's look at two of the worst battles in the Pacific.

Omigosh. As a former Marine, even though I never saw combat, Mr. Sledge made me feel right at home. I was amazed to see the similarities between WWII Marines and my Viet Nam-era peers. It took me back to my time and I know he was telling it like it was.

I've read so many books about various wars, including the Pacific Theater in WWII. I've also read several histories of the Marine Corps. This was the first book I've ever read that told it plainly from the grunt's point of view. I couldn't put it down.

With the typical book about the War, you see the campaigns, the strategies, the successes and failures; but they're all at the highest level. All those books left me asking questions about the details of how things are accomplished.

For example, one can talk all day about the strategy of island hopping, what the strategy of both combatants at Okinawa was, how many troops were involved, etc. But I've always wondered about the many details of making the thing work. How did the ammunition get into the rifleman's hands? How did they get their food? What about personal sanitation when bullets are flying over your head? How and when were units rotated in and out?

While the individual grunt doesn't see the intricacies of the entire chain of supply, he is involved in carrying the ammo to his unit. He does care about eating. And he must take care of himself.

This book provided a point of view that really helped me to understand these and so many other things that heighten my understanding of what it must have been like to be a ground combat Marine in WWII (or any war, for that matter).

I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Hearing Eugene Sledge's words during Ken Burns' "The War" really put the hook in me. This book is the best personal account of combat experience I've read. His eloquent and direct style gives the reader a sense of the effect that the horror of war has on combatants. Anyone interested in military history and how war affects those closest to it will find Sledge's book enthralling.

This is the best war memoir I have ever read. I was drawn to E.B. Sledge's "voice" during the viewing of Ken Burns' mesmerizing documentary on WW II. I checked his book out from the library in both audio and print version, listened to it all the way through, then read it. I wanted to loan it to my grandson (19) so I bought a copy. Grandson loved it too and son-in-law gets it next. I liked it for all the same reasons others have mentioned: Sledge's clear, direct style (one hesitates even to use the word "style," the book flows so organically), his decency and courage, his honesty (he gives his "worst of thoughts the worst of words"), his abhorrence of the necessity of this or any war. The desolation of knowing your government has deemed you "expendable."

I wish I could have thanked this man. He passed away in 2001.

The young Marine just tells it as it was, without author-ego or posturing or glorification or self-justification. He opens for us a window into the hell that is war.

Sledge has detailedWith the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa the war in the Pacific at a level I have not seen before. His attention to detail and lack of sanitation of the day-to-day events of these two campaigns defines the dirty truth of combat. If you can't stomach the blood and guts of warfare in the trenches, don't pick up this book. This will certainly get your attention. It did mine.

One of the most powerful books I have read on the Pacific war. This is the gunsight view of the war written by a very gifted writer.

This book delivers exactly what the reviewers say: it's not a grand overview of the war. It's only what one soldier saw through his eyes in two vicious campaigns. A young idealistic soldier heads to combat and 6 months later he is attempting to salvage gold teeth from a Japanese corpse before he comes to his senses. But plenty of other's don't. The brutality of war is vividly brought home here: the atrocities on both sides, the fear of constant bombardment by heavy guns, the friendly fire killings as well as one accidental discharge killing a best friend in the company. The survival rates here are so low it's amazing more soldiers didn't lose their minds. What this book covered that I have never seen before is the horrible conditions in the battlefield which he provides such as the stench of rotting dead bodies for days. In addition to describing this so well he also adds details of basic human bodily waste while tied to a foxhole which you must now live in for days in the rain and mud of Okinawa or the heat and coral of Pelilui allowing no ability to bury this waste. Covered for the first time are descriptions of moving equipment and supplies to the front line as well as the deadly stretcher duty of wounded soldiers with bullets flying. Maybe the most terrifying story is an open field crossing with Japanese machine guns at the end setting up a killing zone allowing about a 50% survival rate but with no other choice.

In summary this is just a powerful story that needs to be read. It's neither sexy nor filled with Patriotic fervor. It's about soldiers in the worst possible conditions and the 20 feet in front of them that will determine whether they survive. And it's absolutely a chilling, must read.

This is a great book and a must read if you are inetrested in WWII history. Straight talk about the conditions for a Marine private.

I purchased this book after watching "The War" on PBS. The author Eugene Sledge is one of the people featured in this film. This book is like none other I have ever read on WWII. It is so down to earth and very moving at times. Eugene graphically brings to the reader so much detail of war, some of which I have never heard of before. This book isn't about strategies,politics,or leadership. It is about one young marine who wrote down his personal experiences,feelings,and hopes. It helps you understand what the individual soldier went threw while fighting on islands like Peleliu,Okinawa,Iwo Jima,and the like. I am so glad he turned his memoirs into this book.

This is one of the best books, of any genre, that I have ever read. What a profound new respect I have for combat veterans. With crisp, unadorned prose, Sledge describes what it was like to be a Marine in the Pacific during WWII so vividly, that on more than one occasion, I found myself hunkered down in the chair, my shoulders tight and my teeth clenched. If reading about the battles on Peleliu and Okinawa can make me that tense, I cannot begin to fathom how the Marines and soldiers actually in the fights did not crack up. And, in Sledge's honest telling, many did. Unlike a lot of books where ALL Americans were noble and heroic, Sledge does not pull any punches. His description of a Marine in a fox hole who loses it one night and can't be made to shut up is haunting. I imagine many scenes in the book will stay with me.

My brother is getting a copy of this for his birthday. Highly recommended - even if you think you don't like "war stories." If you're human, this is worth reading.

if you want to read what it was like to be a "grunt" slogging through the WWII Pacific island battles, this is the book for you. Sledge was a grunt and proud to be a grunt. He did not know the bigger schemes. He was not responsible for decisive group moves - he did what he was told and hoped and hoped to get out alive. From some one who experienced something that I never will, a very good read. I found it hard to put this down.
I'm very grateful to Mr. Sledge for his efforts both during the war and in the telling of it.

I was first aware of this book when it was published (without little or no fanfare) in 1981. A few years later, Sledge was interviewed by Studs Terkel for his Pulitzer Prize account, "The Good War." Since then, his book gathered steam. Paul Fussell singled it out in his book "Wartime," and John Keegan said in his book "The Second World War," that the book was "haunting." Now the book is regarded as a classic and rightly so. I read it in 1995 and while Sledge's prose may not be as polished as a professional writer, it's his total honesty the keeps you going. To me, this was the best kind of writing, it's written from the gut. It also seems like a personal excorcism, a way to purge the demons and tell people of what he saw and what we, our country lost in this war.
Ken Burns was right to select Sledge for his documentary, "The War." Though the extracts they use makes Sledge seem bitter. Reading the book it seemed to me that he was proud of his service, but haunted by the terrible things he was forced to endure.
Also, read for what Sledge doesn't say. His friend Sam Phillips (also in Burns' "The War,") said, "We never took a prisoner." Sledge says the same thing. One can only assume the worst in a war where life was regarded so cheaply.
This book should be required reading for Political leaders who are so callous to send young men to war so quickly over so little.

Watching the varios retrospectives shown during the 50h anniversary of the end of WWII was fascinating,but what delighted me was seeing Eugene Sledge on televlsion and getting to see what he looked like and what his voice sounded like.I'd read his book several times and it was great actually seeing him.As the cliche goes, I felt like I knew him. I assume that he's passed away because he wasn't on camera during Ken Burns' new documentary, The War,and I felt a real sense of sadness and loss when I realized that he was being discussed but wasn't being interviewed-which made me assume that death had finally caught up with him.Damned shame.He authored one of the finest American memiors of a fighting man.He brilliantly conveyed the pride and excitement that he and his fellow Marines felt on finally "making the team"and he just as brilliantly conveyed the horror and disgust that a thinking man must feel sitting in a hole in the ground surrounded by rotting bodies and human excrement,waiting for an incomprehensible foe who was eager to die in battle.RIP Eugene. Thanks for what you did for your country.

I watched much of The War this weekend on PBS. Ken Burns leans heavily on Eugene Sledge's account of war, and that tells me that Burns at least knows genius writing when he reads it.

Sledge may be the best writer from the 20th century that most people have never heard of. His language is harrowing and detailed and does not spare any details about the chaos and misery and ineffable singular experience that is war. I truly believe that he lived through Peleliu and Okinawa, so he could compile his writings and share them with the world. How else can you explain the same person living through two of the nastiest battles of the 20th century?

Buy this book. Share it with everyone you know.

This book is about combat. Nothing more. It is horrifying. It is well written. It is too well written. If you read this book, you will understand combat. Not "war", but combat. That's Mr. Sledge's goal. He wants the rest of us to understand the horror of combat. This is the best book on combat by an American combat veteran. The only combat book that is better is "The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer, a German soldier on the Russian front during WWII. Both of these books will make you cry like a baby. Read them back to back & I promise that you will have nightmares.

This book was a pleasure to read. Not that I find pleasure in the horrors of war, I do not, but this book is so well written. I gets into the real nitty-gritties of every day life at war fighting a fearsome enemy. This book was the first book to ever give me a real glimpse of the totality of war on the foot soldier. There are many great books on WW2 out there, this definetly has to be one of the best! GET THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!!! you wont regret it.

I read the old copy of this twice. Imagine my surprise when my son sent me a blown up photo of the cover and I am staring at my father aiming his weapon as I remember him when he was young! He fought at Okinawa and out of his entire battalion only he and five others came back (& wounded at that). When I was little after the War, and Daddy was drinking, he used to describe some of war's horrors to my mother and his friends when he thought I wasn't listening. He would talk about a man named Sledge who was nicknamed, "Sledgehammer." Although my father kept his sense of humor about some of war's crazy happenings, he never recovered fully and drank when it became too much. He lost all of his buddies in battle. When Daddy died in 1981, I thought, "Well, he is with them, now." Sledge's accounts exactly match my father's from the late 1940s.