Coral and Brass

I did not have the greatest expectations for this memoir, for I figured it would just list a series of combat events like most other such books. I was surprised to see how thoroughly the General covered all aspects of the Pacific war as far as he knew those events, but I was equally surprised at how he named names of the villains on our side of the aisle. I had no idea how the Navy bigwigs and the Army bigwigs felt such disdain for the Marines. These were the real blood and guts young men of the Pacific island hopping campaign, but were often dismissed as mere numbers. It was extremely frustrating to read how road blocks were thrown up before the General as he tried to formulate modern amphibious assault tactics. It was due to him (primarily) that the Marines came into their own, and the basic amphibious tactics we use today are a direct outgrowth of General Smith's foresight and intelligence. To read how the Navy often would husband their cannon rounds instead of continuing the pounding of Tarawa and Iwo Jima was very aggravating. The General had a real admiration of mutual respect for the submarine service, who he felt suffered the same lack of respect that the Marines did. The book was very well written and I hated for it to come to an end. Highly recommended.

Holland Smith was all Marine and his nickname, "Howlin’ Mad" Smith was earned. Smith fought the supply system for better landing boats and equipment, the navy for longer barrages and bombing attacks, and a bureaucracy that insisted his Marines were second class warriors and part of the US Navy.. Smith was a self-taught expert on amphibious warfare, taking the best information he could sift from the enemy, from his own training exercises and from the men who served under him. An extremely readable account of the march through the Japanese held islands to the incredibly difficult island of Iwo Jima where the enemy was deeply dug in and willing to die to the last man. Fascinating and well worth the time.

This book is a very special read as one of the most famous commanding officers of the US Marine Corps wrote it shortly after the Second World War was over.The book does a wonderful job of explaining the development of amphibious operations in face of the looming war with Japan. To some extent, some people saw the inevitability of this conflict. He also writes about the inter-service rivalry and how it affected the Marines.There is a lot of very good information about the pre-history of the war as well as what was going on in the Pacific. It would make an excellent primer for anyone interested in larger details of the war. In fact, this book is a great place to start if you are just now starting to ready seriously about history.The book is rather simply written and major concepts are underwhelming displayed with ease. For example, the author speaks of the invasion of Saipan with 800 amphibious vehicles landing tanks, tractors, and howitzers. In the next breath-taking sentence, he states they deployed 8,000 men in 20 minutes.While I am historically well versed in the topic of world war two history; I was stunned at the ability of the navy and marines to deploy so much so quickly. IIt was clearly stated in this one paragraph why the US won the war. We did what was not considered possible.This was not to say any invasion was easy. To the contrary, in fact; the Japanese were stout warriors committed to the cause and delivered hell and furry to the men making the landing. Saipan was no walk in the park by any means with over 2,500 casualties in the first twenty-four hours.This is just one example of the big picture provided first-hand within this book. The book reminds us our lasting legacy and the fact that after World War Two there would forever be a United States Marine Corps...and the world would know and respect them.If you enjoyed this book I would recommend reading "With the Old Breed," by EB Sledge as a first person perspective of the war, "Eagle Against the Sun: The American War with Japan," by Ronald Spector. I would also recommend one of my favorite personal accounts with, "South from Corregidor." Why that book was not made into an epic movie with Burt Lancaster or Robert Mitcham is a mystery to me.

I really enjoyed this book. As the architect for the Marine Corps' drive through the Pacific, even a by-the-numbers account from Smith would've been insightful. But this book did so much more. I've read many a disparaging and dismissive opinion about this man. That he was difficult to work with, a diva, and somebody who didn't respect the other service branches, After reading this book, I feel differently. In the climate of the times, with other service branches actually questioning the need for the Marine Corps, and the very real slights directed toward the Marines, I now understand. Rightfully so, figures like Nimitz, Spruance and Turner receive a lot of the accolades, while Howlin' Mad is often relegated to a lower level of recognition and credit. He was a demanding and brilliant pioneer of amphibious warfare, and somebody who loved the Marine Corps and demanded that it be respected and appreciated. And as you can see from this book, he was quite candid about situations that took place that were reported differently. Read this book.

A very interesting read a warrior to is fingertips

Great read

A bit of a moan fest that the Navy did not give him everything he wanted. Surprised such a one view officer made it to such high rank.

E' un classico esempio di generale combattente, alle prese con i problemi e le necessita' reali dei suoi uomini. Il Corpo dei Marines, pur godendo di enorme prestigio, era di fatto la cenerentola delle forze armate USA, schiacciato tra la sua dipendenza dalla Marina, per cui rappresentava una fastidiosa fonte di spese (tra navi da sbarco e appoggio agli sbarchi) e l'Esercito per cui rappresentava un "competitor" fastidioso, perche' spesso osannato dalle folle. Il risultato era che i Marines avevano mezzi e attrezzature spesso inadeguate per non dire di seconda scelta. Il libro racconta la vita di uno dei protagonisti della Guerra nel Pacifico descritta in forma schietta e informale, anche nei rapporti non sempre facili con gli alti gradi (i Brass del titolo)

j'ai l'histoire maintenant de ce général américain. le livre un peut trop sur ces plaintes que sur ces actions.