First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps (Bluejacket Books)

I'm just reading it now. My wife read it and went on to read, with enthusiasm, his bio, "Brute." She says that the later is a great book. About a most impressive man.

Great condition, packed very nicely Thank you very much.

It's easy to lose sight of what your purpose is amidst all the chaos of military life, but every Marine should pursue the level of knowledge that Jim Mattis has acquired through reading. This is an amazing start to learn more of histroy of the Marine Corps. I've been out for 3 years, and was only in for 4. I was a lousy Marine compared to the hopes that I had starting out. If you find yourself looking to buy this book and you're in the or have been, do it. It will give you so much respect for the people who came before you and pride in the brotherhood that you're a part of.

“First to Fight” is probably not what you would expect and yet it is a very good book. It is sort of three books in one. The first story is about the post-WWII defense reorganization and attempts by some to eliminate the Marine Corps or fold it into one of the other service branches. It is important history and often interesting, but also a bit tedious at times. Gen. Krulak has a hard time hiding his feelings for then-General Eisenhower, and his push to leave all fighting on the ground to the Army. Gen. Krulak discusses the will of the people being reflected in the decisions of Congress to maintain the Marines as a separate fighting force. The middle part of the book was by far the most fun. I particularly enjoyed reading about the development of equipment and techniques for amphibious operations and close air support. I also liked seeing names like “Howlin’ Mad” Smith popping up in their pre-WWII roles. Lastly, the Vietnam chapters were highly readable but also sad. Gen. Krulak does an excellent job in providing the Marines' perspective on the Vietnam war.

"First to Fight" is not a big book, but it is dense, which is to say there is a lot of information packed into this small tome. You will be surprised to read how many of our leaders in the military and a president wanted to do away with the Marine Corps. I was impressed that Krulak gave a lot of credit throughout the book to people who helped the Corps, were innovative such as the design of the Higgins boat, and folks who were leaders. Generals don't always give credit to their underlings who had the ideas or made a program work. "Brute" will give you a tough but remarkable view of Victor Krulak. He was dedicated to the Corps and his own advancement. Victor Krulak lived through much of the important times in Marine Corps history. My impression is his family suffered because Krulak was gone all the time and tried to run the house as if it were an extension of the Corps. The guy was very, very smart and deserves immense credit for his achievements. His leadership, with the help of many others, may have saved the existence of the Corps.  First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps (Bluejacket Books) One of his sons became Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to learn about the US Marine Corps. It is a good overview of the history behind the USMC, and illustrates the mentality of Marines. It is good background for anyone who is a fan of military history and wants to better understand the differences in the way the Marine Corps fights (expeditionary) versus the Army (occupation). Or at least understanding where the line used to be. I further recommend the book for anyone in the Army trying to understand some of the growing pains as we seek to shift to more of an expeditionary force.Krulak does a masterful job of blending his own personal journey and experiences in with the Marine Corps' history. I intended to read this book slowly over the course of several weeks, but found that I was hesitant to put the book down at the end of each chapter and finished much sooner than I had planned.

I love this book. When it first came out, I passed it by in the book stores, thinking it was just another compilation of sea stories, but man as I ever wrong.I had the pleasure of serving under Capt. Charles Krulak, who eventually became Commandant, for a brief period of time and I used to work with a man who was "Brute" Krulak's personal chef, so the name was not entirely new to me.After having served four years in the Corps, including an abbreviated tour in Vietnam, I knew how the Corps was, but I had no idea how it really came to be the institution that it is, except of course, for the tales of glory I heard in Boot Camp.Anyone who has ever served in the Corps should read this book. Anyone who is thinking of joining the Corps should read this book. In fact, anyone who has any connection at all with anyone who has any connection at all with anyone who is in any way connected to the Marine Corps should read this book.

My mother married a Marine QMSgt. and had never been away from home in Lousiana. The first transfer they made was to theVirgin Islands. St Croix to be explicit and that was where I was born.That was the beginning of a rather unique life. So I was born and raised in the Marine Corps. Where my Dad went we went with him and I heard hints of so much that General Krulak wrote about and added to a lot that I had heard. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, laughed in parts of it and understood other parts better.This book might not interest people who have never lived in the ServiceWe lived in South Carolina, LA, Haiti, Hawaii and Calif. We were in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attackedI wouldn't trade lives with anyone. This book was a joy to read.Thank you Amazon!!