Leathernecks: An Illustrated History of the United States Marine Corps - Hardcover

Leatherneck is a military slang term for a member of the United States Marine Corps. The term refers to the high leather collar on the Marine Corps uniform designed to protect the neck from a sword blow during battle. The dress blue uniform still bears a high stock collar today. This book combines a lively, well-researched narrative with a generous selection of illustrations, many in color, and numerous maps to provide a topically and chronologically balanced history of the U.S. Marine Corps from its inception to the present day. The combination of a wealth of art, a substantial text, and a balanced perspective make the work unique in the literature of the Corps. Many of its illustrations have never before been published or have appeared only in black and white. The history of the Marine Corps is one of the greatest military success stories of all time. The books details how and why a force that throughout the first century of its existence seldom exceeded the strength of an infantry regiment eventually attained a strength greater than that of many armies and developed what is arguably the world's most potent military mystique. Because the history of any institution is the product of the actions of the individuals who comprise it, we have included cameos of some of the individuals who made exceptional contributions to the Corps' rich heritage.

Merrill L. Bartlett served as an officer in the Marine Corps for twenty years, with final assignment at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned three awards for excellence in teaching history. He is the author, coauthor, editor, or coeditor of seven books on naval history, and he has published more than a hundred essays, encyclopedia entries, forewords to books, and book reviews. He lives on Vashon Island, WA. Jack Sweetman is the author, coauthor, translator, editor or coeditor of ten books and many shorter pieces in the field of naval and military history. He served as a company commander in the U.S. Army and was a Ford Fellow at Emory University, where he earned his Ph. D. For many years contributing editor of Naval History magazine, he is a recipient of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He lives in Orlando, FL.