From Makin to Bougainville: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War

Hoffman, Jon T., 1955-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8

Word count: 159K words
Chapters: 16

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.From Makin to Bougainville: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War by Jon T. HoffmanAuthor: Hoffman, Jon T., 1955-,Language: English, Class: D731: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: World War II (1939-1945), Release Date: Apr 27, 2015

Editor's review

Written by Jon T. Hoffman, this book recounts the combat history of the U.S. Marine Raiders from Makin Atoll to Bougainville during World War II. Unlike conventional divisional histories, it focuses on the formation, training, and repeated raids of this special operations unit, presenting the tactics and limitations of small elite forces in the Pacific theater. Alongside the narrative of operations, the author addresses the Raiders' organizational adjustments and command relationships, helping readers understand the place of special operations within the broader war. As a public-domain e-book, it is relatively compact and well suited as supplementary reading for a Pacific War topic. It is best read within the overall context of island campaigns, avoiding isolated overemphasis on the role of raids.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Military readers interested in special operations and elite unit histories
Enthusiasts studying amphibious reconnaissance and raiding in the Pacific War
Readers who know the outlines of the Pacific War and wish to explore a specific topic in depth
Students needing reference material on Marine Raider operations

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking full campaign narratives and grand strategic analysis
General readers uninterested in military organization and operation codenames
Beginners new to WWII history who need a systematic general history first

Reading tips

First understand the position of Makin, Bougainville, and other locations in the Pacific theater, then proceed to the accounts of specific operations
Read in order of operations and note how each raid's objectives, forces, and outcomes correspond
Compare with histories of Guadalcanal and other campaigns to understand how Raider operations coordinated with main forces
After finishing, review changes in Raider organization and missions to form an overall picture of the unit's development

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How does this book differ from a general history of the Pacific War?

The difference lies in its focus. A general history covers the overall campaign and strategic decisions, while this book concentrates on one unit—the Marine Raiders—from formation through repeated raids, making it a specialized military history. It is best used after reading a general history to deepen understanding of special operations.

Does the book include the author's personal combat experience?

Sources identify the author as Jon T. Hoffman, and the book is a military history narrative, not a personal memoir. Its content centers on Raider operations and unit evolution; readers should not expect first-person battlefield accounts.

What background should readers have before reading?

It is advisable to first grasp the basic timeline of the Pacific War and the general pattern of island campaigns, and to understand the basic distinction between Marine and Army units. Readers unfamiliar with organization and unit designations may wish to read relevant terminology notes before the main text.

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About the author

Hoffman, Jon T., 1955- Author · American · 1955

Jon T. Hoffman (born 1955) is an American military historian who has long worked on historical research and writing within the U.S. Marine Corps system. Public information about him is limited; what can be confirmed is his role as a Marine Corps historian, with a focus on expeditionary operations and military history. The library holds one of his works, From Makin to Bougainville: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War, which examines the operations of Marine Raider units in the Pacific theater of World War II and belongs to the genre of campaign history. Judging by his subject matter, he tends to approach history through specific campaigns and units, tracing the course of operations and their historical context. Such works are generally aimed at readers of military history and offer a focused reference for the study of special operations in the Pacific War.