by Joseph Col Alexander
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Product Description
"The first complete and definitive account of the Battle of Tarawa."
--Maj. Gen. Mike Ryan, USMC (Ret.)
Navy Cross recipient
Green Beach, Tarawa
On November 20, l943, in the first trial by fire of America's fledgling amphibious assault doctrine, five thousand men stormed the beaches of Tarawa, a seemingly invincible Japanese island fortress barely the size of the Pentagon parking lots (three-hundred acres!). Before the first day ended, one third of the Marines who had crossed Tarawa's deadly reef under murderous fire were killed, wounded, or missing. In three days of fighting, four Americans would win the Medal of Honor. And six-thousand combatants would die.
Now, Col. Joseph Alexander, a combat Marine himself, presents the full story of Tarawa in all its horror and glory: the extreme risks, the horrific combat, and the heroic breakthroughs. Based on exhaustive research, never-before-published accounts from Marine survivors, and new evidence from Japanese sources, Colonel Alexander captures the grit, guts, and relentless courage of United States Marines overcoming outrageous odds to deliver victory for their country.
"Without a doubt the best narrative of the struggle ever produced."
--Richard B. Frank, Author of Guadalcanal
A MAIN SELECTION OF THE MILITARY BOOK CLUB
Winner of the 1995 General Wallace M. Greene, Jr., Award, awarded to the year's best nonfiction book pertinent to Marine Corps History
Winner of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Outstanding Writer of the Year, presented by the Navy League of the United States
Winner of the Roosevelt Naval History Prize, awarded by the Naval War College
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 No Sugar-Coating, 2008-11-11
The 2943 invasion of Tarawa was a horror story. The freakish tides, the islands fortifications and a number of other factors made the Marines first major attack on the Gilbert Islands a blood bath.
It is not a happy tale but it is told well and contains lessons that soldier and civilians alike would do well to remember.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
An indispensable addition to World War II military history shelves, 2008-09-05
An award-winning historical account written by marine combat veteran and award-winning military historian Joseph H. Alexander, Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa is a close look at one of the deadliest battles of the Pacific Theater during World War II. First published in 1995, and now available in a new paperback edition, Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa tells of America's struggling amphibious assault on a seemingly invulnerable Japanese island fortress of scarcely three hundred acres. Six thousand men died, yet lessons were learned from their sacrifice; Alexander puts forth a persuasive argument that without the hard-won strategic wisdom garnered at Tarawa, the larger amphibious victories that followed at Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa might never have happened. Utmost Savagery remains an indispensable addition to World War II military history shelves.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Tarawa First Step, 2008-06-28
This is a must read for the Marine historian. Gives a great overview and detail of the battle and the those who fought there.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Re: Clinical, 2008-05-20
I am a Marine Corps wife and I enjoyed reading Utmost Savagery immensely. The combination of history from both sides added a wonderful dimension. After finishing the book and reading through all of Col. Alexander's notes and references I was amazed- this book could have been so much longer! He did a wonderful job consolidating everything and making this account so readable. And he also goes so far as to recommend further reading on Tarawa.
And to you Tom Winberry (writer of original comment- Clinical) Did you even read the front cover? If you had read it you would have known that it was not written by an ARMY historian. It obviously states that this author is a MARINE. There is a difference. Being merely a wife of a Marine I am amused that you would say this is written for historians and soldiers.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Tarawa, 2008-03-26
A very good book and a very important one to read to get a good grasp on the Pacific theater of WWII. Doesn't quite put you there but it is a historical accounting and therefore not meant to read like a thriller. I would suggest augmenting your understanding of this horrific battle by reading the books the author references. I especially enjoyed "Strong Men Armed."
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