Men of War: The American Soldier in Combat at Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima

In the grand tradition of John Keeganrsquos enduring classic The Face of Battle comes a searing unforgettable chronicle of war through the eyes of the American soldiers who fought in three of our most iconic battles Bunker Hill Gettysburg and Iwo Jima This is not a book about how great generals won their battles nor is it a study in grand strategy Men of War is instead a riveting visceral and astonishingly original look at ordinary soldiers under fire Drawing on an immense range of firsthand sources from the battlefield Alexander Rose begins by re-creating the lost and alien world of eighteenth-century warfare at Bunker Hill the bloodiest clash of the War of Independencemdashand reveals why the American militiamen were so lethally effective against the oncoming waves of British troops Then focusing on Gettysburg Rose describes a typical Civil War infantry action vividly explaining what Union and Confederate soldiers experienced before during and after combat Finally he shows how in the Marine Corps hurled itself with the greatest possible violence at the island of Iwo Jima where nearly a third of all Marines killed in World War II would die As Rose demonstrates the most important factor in any battle is the human one At Bunker Hill Gettysburg and Iwo Jima the American soldier as much as any general proved decisive To an unprecedented degree Men of War brings home the reality of combat and just as important its aftermath in the form of the psychological and medical effects on veterans As such the book makes a critical contribution to military history by narrowing the colossal gulf between the popular understanding of wars and the experiences of the soldiers who fight themPraise for Men of War ldquoA worthy successor to The Face of Battle telling the stories of three famous American battles that were fought in three very different technological eras This is indeed war up-close as those who fought it lived itmdashand survived it if they could Men of War is deeply researched beautifully written It is military history at its bestrdquomdashThe Wall Street JournalldquoA highly recommended addition to the literature of military history Rose builds up a detailed picture of each of these battles sparing few gritty details and romanticizing almost nothing He writes vividly and memorably with a good eye for the telling detail or anecdote as well as big-picture perspectivesrdquomdashKirkus Reviewsstarred review ldquoRosersquos grim unadorned yet immensely readable look at battle is a dose of what real war is like and a good balance to the more common sanitized military history farerdquomdashPublishers WeeklyldquoA brilliant riveting unique book Men of War does for the American soldier what John Keeganrsquos The Face of Battle did for the British soldier He captures vividly the emotions and conditions of combatmdashthe terror and the boredom the barbarity and the magnanimitymdashhelping readers understand the realities known to those who have earned membership in that most treasured of fraternities the brotherhood of the close fight Men of War will be a classicrdquomdashGeneral David H Petraeus US Army Retired ldquoIf you want to know the meaning of war at the sharp end this is the book to readrdquomdashJames McPherson Pulitzer Prizendashwinning author of The War That Forged a Nation ldquoA gripping tapestry of three of the most iconic battles in US historyrdquomdashRobert L OrsquoConnell author of Fierce Patriot.