A U.S. Marine who served two combat tours in Iraq, an actor on "The Wire," and son of novelist Frederick Busch reflects on his childhood in rural New York, his experiences as a Marine, and the nature of mortality.

This riveting memoir is the first book written by a female Marine about the war in Iraq and one of the only books written by a woman who has experienced combat firsthand. Deploying to Iraq in 2003, Jane Blair's aerial reconnaissance unit was assigned to travel ahead of and alongside combat units throughout the initial phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Throughout her deployment, Jane kept a journal of her and her fellow lieutenants' combat experiences,...

This compelling account offers the story of the courageous mission of the Marines of Fox Company who found themselves surrounded and greatly outnumbered by Chinese forces near Chosin Reservoir in North Korea during the Korean War. In subzero weather, these heroic marines fought to secure the Toktong Pass while fending off Chinese troops for five nights. This is the story of those brave men and the major losses they suffered in their desperate struggle...

"When General James Mattis took command of the First Division in 2000, he took for their motto a paraphrase of Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla: "No better friend, no worse enemy." In 2003, General James N. Mattis shared a "Message to All Hands," to his soldiers. He shared with them the importance of the mission, the goal to act with honor, and ended with the motto he brought to his division from a paraphrase of Roman general Lucius Cornelius...

"A Marine officer's story of coming of age and coming to terms with femininity through a deployment relationship and its aftermath."--

"A groundbreaking journey tracing America's forgotten path to global power-and how its legacies shape our world today-told through the extraordinary life of a complicated Marine. Smedley Butler was the most celebrated warfighter of his time. Bestselling books were written about him. Hollywood adored him. Wherever the flag went, "The Fighting Quaker" went-serving in nearly every major overseas conflict from the Spanish War of 1898 until the eve of...

"Cates knew that he and his small band of Marines were in a desperate spot. Before handing the note over to a runner, he added three words that would resound through Marine Corps history: I WILL HOLD. From the moment he first joined the Marine Reserves of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, Clifton B. Cates was determined to make his mark as a leader. Little did he know what he would accomplish in his legendary career. Not as well-known...

"A raw, unflinching, and inspirational memoir by a former United States Marine Captain describing her journey from dutiful daughter of immigrants to wide-eyed recruit to radical activist dedicated to effecting historic policy reform in the military. After a lifetime of buckling to the demands of her strict Indian parents, Anuradha Bhagwati abandons her grad school career at Harvard University to join the Marines. It's the fiercest, most violent, most...

"From a decorated Marine war veteran and National Book Award Finalist, an astonishing reckoning with the nature of combat and the human cost of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Toward the beginning of [this book], Elliot Ackerman sits in a refugee camp in southern Turkey, across the table from a man named Abu Hassar, who fought for al-Qaeda in Iraq and whose connections to the Islamic State are murky. At first, Ackerman pretends to have been...

"A unique joint memoir by a U.S. Marine and a conflict photographer, whose unlikely friendship helped both heal their war-wounded bodies and souls War tears people apart, but it can also bring them together. Through the unpredictability of war and its aftermath, a decorated Marine sergeant and a world-trotting war photographer became friends, their bond forged as they patrolled together through the dusty alleyways of Helmand province and camped side...