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Strong Men Armed
- The United States Marines Against Japan
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Written by Robert Leckie, whose wartime exploits are featured in the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg HBO miniseries The Pacific, Strong Men Armed is the perennial bestselling classic account of the U.S. Marines' relentless drive through the Pacific during World War II.
As scout and machine-gunner for the First Marine Division, Leckie fought in all its engagements until his wounding at Peleliu. In Strong Men Armed, Leckie uses firsthand experience and impeccable research to re-create the nightmarish battles of the Pacific campaign---from Guadalcanal to Okinawa---as ships, men, and guns moved over vast distances to fight an enemy that was willing to defend to its last man. Here is the whole sweeping epic of the Marines who battled---and won---on the bloody beaches at Guadalcanal, the unforgiving reefs at Tarawa, the rain-soaked mud of New Britain, the dark gray soil and deadly caves of Mount Suribachi, and the muddy slopes of Shuri Castle on Okinawa. It is a masterful narrative by a writer the New York Times praised as possessing the "rare gift of capturing all that is human in the most inhuman of man's activities."Critic Reviews
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What listeners say about Strong Men Armed
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- j
- 12-10-13
The best book on the subject
Where does Strong Men Armed rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
All of Robert Leckie's books on the subject are fascinating but for me this one ranks the highest. It's comprehensive in the journey through the Pacific conflict and tells the story through the eye of the fighting men. It is very disturbing and very moving but for readers of military history, no one puts you so directly into the experience of the soldiers who made that history. (I would love to read an equivalent from the Japanese perspective.)
24 people found this helpful
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- william
- 07-31-17
A must get!!!
I have listened to this book at least 10 times in a 3 year period. Very detailed without becoming monotonous. The narrator was awesome. Being a retired United States Coast Guard veteran, I was able to pick out one mistake. My service received its first Medal of Honor at Guadalcanal by Douglas Munroe, not Donald Munroe. Other than that, spot on, captivating book.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall
- J. R. Stubbs
- 12-03-10
Great story
Outstanding overview of the Marines in WWII. It covered all significant actions in vivid detail yet provided great strategic overview. Highly recommended
16 people found this helpful
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- Brendan O'Connor
- 10-14-19
War in the Pacific
I have read many books, but none so well done and none so organized in each step how the Marines and Navy fought the army of Japan,etc.
I want the youth to read this book because it gives great insight to what young men had to face...All those boys who threw their bodies on bombs to save their buddies is only one example of bravery, plus their knew many were not coming home is outlined in this book.
3 people found this helpful
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- Alan J. Rastellini
- 06-08-16
Best USMC pov of WW2
I thought it would be a story told from the pov of the author but it was so much more. A complete 'salty' recap of the marines battling their way across the pacific.
3 people found this helpful
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- Frank Carroll
- 01-25-21
Leckie is a brilliant soldier historian
Leckie’s books are among the very best combat memoirs and war histories. He was there.
Johnny Heller does a fair job but his lack of research results in numerous faux pas. He calls a B A R a bar. He says Minda-NAY-oh instead of Minda-NOW. He says Tah-RAH-wah for TAR-ah-wah. He gets officers names wrong and common terms wrong. But it’s still great history if you already know.
2 people found this helpful
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- robert
- 10-21-19
Great read
A gripping telling of the Marines, Sailors, and Airmen deathly and bloody fighting across the Pacific Islands, against the capable and cruel Japanese.
The American and Allied victory is the reason the national language of the U.S. is English and not Japanese.
2 people found this helpful
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- jobyf
- 06-11-19
I was very Disappointed with this book.
I've read several of Robert Leckie's books. This was the first disappointing read/listen. I was upset by the constant callous tallying of dead and wounded. These are important numbers to understand when reading about war. The way Leckie presented the numbers almost made me stop listening to the book a dozen times.
2 people found this helpful
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- Charles
- 11-18-12
Strong Men Armed.
This is another Good Book of WW ll. If you like History and WW ll this is a must Book for you. I found it to be very interesting and would recommend it to anyone.
5 people found this helpful
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- Soni
- 01-19-22
a history book
the narrator was good but not a personal account nothing like Helmet for a Pillow
1 person found this helpful
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- Lii Veskimägi
- 02-13-21
One of the very best of kind!
Really liked this book. One of the very best I have heard. Good story and the reader did a great job as well.
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- LET
- 08-14-17
Strong men armed part 2
This was a well written and interesting book covering different areas of the conflict which have not been written about by other authors.