The Marines of Autumn: A Novel of the Korean War

Brady's work has a ringing of truth to it, from start to finish. Very nearly reading as if it's a piece of nonfiction, but for its strict focus on the story and the characters at hand, the work brings to life moments of humor, love, and misery, and does so with such attention to setting and attitude that the reader becomes something of a fly on the wall of Captain Verity's journey... and is just so horrified by it as they are thankful for Brady's crafting of such a narrative.

It took me some time to discover Brady, though I'd heard his name. When I thought of war literature, I thought of Norman Mailer and Tim O'Brien, and of All Quiet on the Western Front and a handful of others. Yet, there's something about The Marines of Autumn--a sort show more of authenticity that comes through in Brady's style--that I'm not sure I've quite seen elsewhere. There were moments here where I was reminded I was reading fiction, but more often than not, that wasn't how I felt at all.

Absolutely recommended. show less

The Marines of Autumn by James Brady was an engrossing story of the Korean War. By telling the story of one reserve Marine Captain, the author also was able to give a very accurate picture of the conflict and who the major players were. The story of Captain Verity was interesting on it own, although at times all the additional fact and figures, although enlightening, seemed to slow the story down. Captain Tom Verity had been born and raised in China, spoke many of that nation’s dialects like a native and although was on the reserved list due to the death of his wife, was eventually called up and sent to Korea in order to listen to the radio traffic and discern whether the Chinese were following up on their threats to cross the border show more and come to the aid of the North Koreans. General McArthur was on the verge of declaring a successful conclusion to the conflict as he believed the Chinese were bluffing. What actually happened, and Captain Verity was able to help discover, was that sixteen divisions of the Red Army were pouring into North Korea and forming up in the mountains above the Chosin Reservoir. The fact that MacArthur had split his forces and could not hold the Chinese back, as well as the sheer horror of the retreat pretty much finished the General’s career and put an end to his ambition to run for the Presidency of the U.S.A.

The Marines of Autumn was an interesting look at the conflict as seen through the eyes a Marine Captain. The author writes in a very direct and unemotional style. This, along with the story being padded by so much historical and political information as well as all the detailed military facts and figures made the book read much like nonfiction. However, this in no way took away from my enjoyment of the book and I learned a lot from these pages. show less

Even though I lived through the Korean War and studied it in history, I found I really didn't know anything about it until I read this book. This is a very powerful portrayal of what war can be like. I recommend this to boys who like war stories.

11. I like the book thought it was very well written and the charters were very thought out. On the down side it does get a little boring because it goes into every little detail about that part in the war or that gun or that style of sleeping bag it tends to drag on so parts of the book were very slow but most of it was good plot base.

I loved this book, especially the main character. In a way it reminded me of For Whom The Bell Tolls.

Haunting. Not all heroes are victorious. These unsung heroes illustrate the courage and commitment that keeps us free. Thanks to the Marines of Autumn!

Outstanding is the bast word I can think of to describe this book!

Brady is a true story teller