September 27, 2009

Guadalcanal Diary




Guadalcanal Diary is the diary of Richard Tregaskis, a news correspondent landed with the Marines on the Japanese stronghold of Guadalcanal. Richard’s diary tells the story of the brave Marines who fought and died trying to capture the small but crucial island in one of the most decisive battles of WW2.
My favorite part of the book is........actually, I don’t have a favorite part. I believe that a book should be so well written that a reader’s favorite part should be the whole book. This was certainly the case with Guadalcanal Diary. One part of the book that had a tremendous impact on me was when Richard and another Marine walked up a hill and saw below them hundreds of dead Japanese and Marines. The sight was so horrifying that he threw up on the Marine. This scene really woke me up to the horrors of war.
On the Internet, I found out that Guadalcanal Diary was so well received in the U.S that it is now required reading for all USMC officer candidates because it spoke very highly of the camaraderie amongst the Marines. In 1943, Guadalcanal Diary was made into a movie of the same name.

1 comment:

Michael said...

Yes, it is a powerful book. I was not aware it was required reading for all Marine Corps members. Hmm....I wonder if other professions should have must read literature?