Hero of the Pacific: The Life of Marine Legend John Basilone

By James Brady

From New York Times bestselling author James Brady-the story of Marine legend John Basilone, one of three main characters in HBO's The Pacific

Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone was a Marine legend who received the Medal of Honor for holding off 3,000 Japanese on Guadalcanal and the Navy Cross posthumously for his bravery on Iwo Jima. This is the story of how a young man from Raritan, New Jersey, became one of America's biggest World War II heroes.

• Profiles one of three main characters in HBO's The Pacific, the successful sequel to the popular mini-series Band of Brothers
• "A carefully reported, briskly written book . . . that could go a long way toward correcting . . . historical oversight." –The Los Angeles Times
• Sorts through the differing accounts of Basilone's life and exploits, including what he did on Iwo Jima and how he died
• The final book by James Brady, the Korean War veteran and well-known columnist and author of books that include Why Marines Fight and an autobiography, The Coldest War, a Pulitzer Prize finalist

An incredible story masterfully told, Hero of the Pacific will appeal to anyone with an interest in World War II and military history as well as fans of HBO's The Pacific.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Dec 4, 2009
• ISBN: 9780470535554

James Brady

James Brady commanded a rifle platoon during the Korean War and was awarded the Bronze Star for valor. He captured these experiences in his books The Scariest Place in the World, The Marine, his New York Times bestselling novels Warning of War and The Marines of Autumn, and in his highly praised memoir The Coldest War. His weekly columns for Parade magazine and Forbes.com were considered must-reads by millions. He lived in Manhattan and East Hampton, New York.

Reviews for Hero of the Pacific

[rbeffa_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is an odd book. I read this biography of Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone in order to gain more insight into the Guadalcanal battle in the Pacific. I did gain some insight. What Brady discovered in researching this book is that the story of John Basilone has a great many discrepancies. Seems like some other readers of the book got annoyed with the author for pointing out time and again all the things that aren't right (as well as what seems OK). The middle part of the book was pretty much a bore for me, redeemed by the short but informative section of Iwo Jima. After finishing this we get an idea of who John Basilone was but not really a good picture, and I don't think some of the "truth" will be known. I'm not trying to be mysterious with that statement. Overall the book could have been written a little better.

[chris_el-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Overall a little disjointed. The author will get going in narrative and then break off to tell you why the book by his family got something wrong. There are gaps in what the author can find out in parts of Basilone's life because he didn't write things in his diary and if he wrote home his letters have been lost.

Basilone the man was interesting and his story is worthy of remembrance. I just hope this isn't the definitive version of his life. He married a fellow Marine and they were together for around 6 months before he shipped out a second time. After his death she never re-married. Always saying once you have had the best how could she settle for less?

[shannonkearns · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

with some better editing this book might have been okay.i'm not sure what the deal is: the author died right after the completion of the book so i think that might have something to do with it. i also feel like the book might have been rushed out in order to be ready before HBO starts airing their mini-series. whatever the reason, the book seriously needed work.it was repetitive, jumped from time period to time period, and was short on facts. over and over the author con...morewith some better editing this book might have been okay.i'm not sure what the deal is: the author died right after the completion of the book so i think that might have something to do with it. i also feel like the book might have been rushed out in order to be ready before HBO starts airing their mini-series. whatever the reason, the book seriously needed work.it was repetitive, jumped from time period to time period, and was short on facts. over and over the author concluded that we would just never know what really happened.a very frustrating read about someone who does seem to be an interesting guy and have an interesting story.