Roger B. (BELRog) reviewed China Marine: An Infantryman's Life After World War II on + 11 more book reviews
As others have written, this is not as well written as the author's famous first book. It's a collection of snapshots, in chronological order, with some reflections on them from the perspective of 40 years later.
Still, I'm glad I read it. It provided a glimpse of closure from his horrible experiences. It also gave what I suspect is one of very few Western accounts of Beijing in 1946, just after WW II.
The TV series, The Pacific (Steven Spielberg), contained a few episodes from this book, when Sledge got back to the U.S. As with the other books used for the TV series, its version differs in small ways from what was in the book. The TV series transposed episodes and even minor characters.
An example from China Marine is Sledge's effort to register at a local college after the war. In both the book and TV, the registrar he talks to is very pretty. But in the book, he gives a whole little speech, while in the TV series he just snarls at her "Yeah, the Marines only taught me to kill Japs. And I'm real good at it!"
Still, I'm glad I read it. It provided a glimpse of closure from his horrible experiences. It also gave what I suspect is one of very few Western accounts of Beijing in 1946, just after WW II.
The TV series, The Pacific (Steven Spielberg), contained a few episodes from this book, when Sledge got back to the U.S. As with the other books used for the TV series, its version differs in small ways from what was in the book. The TV series transposed episodes and even minor characters.
An example from China Marine is Sledge's effort to register at a local college after the war. In both the book and TV, the registrar he talks to is very pretty. But in the book, he gives a whole little speech, while in the TV series he just snarls at her "Yeah, the Marines only taught me to kill Japs. And I'm real good at it!"
