Veteran's Day approaches, and on Nov 1 Playaway releases Utmost Savagery: the Three Days of Tarawa by Col. Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (retired). This book is considered the definitive account of the first major amphibious assault landing of WWII -- "Operation Galvanic," the battle for the Japanese stronghold on Betio island in the Tarawa atoll (part of the Gilbert Island chain) in November 1943.
Though horrifically bloody, the operation was an indispensable prelude to later amphibious operations -- at Normandy in 1944 and in the Pacific Theater right up until VJ Day.
Since its publication in 1995, Utmost Savagery has been included in the reading list of the U.S. Marine Commandant's Professional Reading Program. This is the first audio version of the work, and it was produced by Playaway as part of our ongoing effort to provide all four branches of the U.S. military with relevant content in a high-quality, portable, simple and immediate format.
For those not familiar with the details of the war in the Pacific, the book offers an eye-opening account of the unprecedented scale and brutality of the fighting and the incredible valor, heroism, and sacrifice of the participants. It's not just for "war buffs" but for any serious student of the 20th Century.
After you listen to Utmost Savagery you should take a look at With The Marines at Tarawa -- a 20-minute documentary film about the battle released in 1944 and mentioned in the book. It's a fascinating document on many levels. A skillfully constructed propaganda piece that accentuates the positive, the film also broke new ground by using actual combat footage, and it presented the American public with a far more graphic depiction of war than had ever before been seen. It won the Academy Award for best documentary in 1945 and had a considerable effect on public opinion.
The entire film can be streamed or downloaded for free from the Internet Archive. Just go to:
http://archive.org/details/WiththeMarinesatTarawa
It can also be streamed via YouTube in two parts:
Part 1
