When again I hear with acceptance about the nobility of war or review historical conflicts as chess moves, it will be time to reread this book. It is a description of combat in the Vietnam war. I suppose it is also the story of the Marine officer who tells the story, and how he deals with what he experiences. It is difficult to read, and the question quickly arises, why read it? There are a number of good answers. It is very well written. The story of the battle is intriguing and holds your attention to the point of anxiety. The struggle of the young marine officer to understand violence and courage is described in detail and bears careful analysis (more than a comparison to the Parsifal legend). But for me the reason to read the book is contained in the chilling description of the decision-making process of the senior officers, where the gap between the paradigm of the soldiers as men to the soldiers as chess pieces is crossed. History tells us it that the paradigm of soldiers as chess pieces is affirmed increasingly up the chain of command. It is the most conscientious and humble of leaders (Lincoln), who keep the two paradigms.

Marlantes first received a National Merit Scholarship to attend Yale University and was then a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. His decorations in the Marines included the Navy Cross, two Navy Commendation Medals for Valor, two Purple Hearts and ten air medals. A point of relevance, he was awarded the Navy Cross for an action in Vietnam in which he, as company commander, led an assault on a North Vietnamese bunker complex on a hilltop.

This is a thought provoking book, well worth reading.