Not for war story casuals but for veterans of military history is this battle-by-battle, battalion-by-battalion account of the Marines' progress across the Pacific. From the capture of Guadalcanal, which stopped the Japanese drive to the southeast, to Tarawa, the costly ""pride of a nation,"" and on to Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Marines perfected the technique of amphibious attack and died bravely in the process. The men count for as much as the method here, but what counts most is the Marines as a service. Mr. Asprey was there, but he eschews heroics; it's straight factual presentation of what happened and why.