Twenty hard-hitting and true tales chronicle the making of the modern U.S. Marine Corps legend, from the desperate landings at Guadalcanal in 1942 to the tragic 1983 bombing of USMC headquarters in Beirut. Excerpted from the author's previous books on the Marine Corps, as well as from a number of articles he wrote for Leatherneck and other magazines, this collection is sure to prove itself an inspiring read for U.S. Marines past and present, friends and families of Marines, and military history buffs who want to look at war from the bottom up.