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AMERICAN SPARTANS: The U.S. Marines: A Combat History From Iwo Jima to Iraq. By James A. Warren. Published by Free Press. 384 pages, with eight maps and 35 photos. Stock #0684872846. $23.40 MCA Members. $26 Nonmembers.
"American Spartans" relates 60 years of the 230-year history of the United States Marine Corps from Iwo Jima to Iraq. After reading the first 70 pages, it's clear that this book is an antithesis to the creed of Master Technical Sergeant Percy Webb, a pioneer public relations type from the early 1900s, who said, "I had the utmost faith in the service I was writing about and so I did not need to 'gild the lily.' " James Warren has written a tale of masterful cheerleading, but it becomes increasingly evident that the author does not "gild the lily."
"American Spartans" is not written in the gray areas of history. It is written in black and white, reciting the bad along with the good.
The Ribbon Creek Incident in 1956 is reported by telling what happened, how it happened...