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MILITARY BOOKS

Robert W. Black

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Colonel Robert W. Black, USA (ret.) is a highly decorated U.S. Army Ranger Colonel, a member of the Ranger Hall of Fame and a Combat Veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War. Robert W. Black is the author of The Battalion: The Dramatic Story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion in World War II; Rangers in World War II; A Ranger Born; Rangers in Korea; and, Cavalry Raids of the Civil War.

 

According to the book description of The Battalion: The Dramatic Story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion in World War II, “With a centuries’ old warrior heritage, American Rangers endured the most difficult training that man could devise to overcome the most difficult challenges of the enemy and nature. For more than fourteen months, the volunteers that made up the 2nd Ranger Battalion had been finely honed for combat. Now, on June 6, 1944--D-Day--their battle would begin. The payoff was at hand. As the ramps of the landing craft went down, rockets on the sides of the ship fired ropes and grapnels skyward toward the cliff top. Some ropes fell short, men stepped into water that was over their heads and, loaded with equipment weighing over a hundred pounds, sank like stones. Sound and fury combined with fear and determination. Some men thought of the words they had heard each time they were tempted to complain: "You volunteered." Goes into exceptional detail on the D-Day assault of the gun positions at Pointe du Hoc, including how it almost ended in total failure. Unlike most books on the U.S. Army Rangers, this one also covers the many battles fought by the Rangers after D-Day and also lists the names of the Rangers who fought in the 2nd Battalion, including those who were casualties and those who were decorated for valor. Based on original documents and interviews with the surviving veterans by the author.”

 

According to the book description of Rangers in World War II, “From the deadly shores of North Africa to the invasion of Sicily to the fierce jungle hell of the Pacific, the contribution of the World War II Ranger Battalions far outweighed their numbers. They were ordinary men on an extraordinary mission, experiencing the full measure of the fear, exhaustion, and heroism of combat in nearly every major invasion of the war. Whether spearheading a landing force or scouting deep behind enemy lines, these highly motivated, highly trained volunteers led the way for other soldiers -- they were Rangers. With first-person interviews, in-depth research, and a complete appendix naming every Ranger known to have served, author Robert Black, a Ranger himself, has made the battles of WWII come to life through the struggles of the men who fought to win the greatest war the world has ever seen.”

 

According to the book description of Rangers in Korea, “A generation before Vietnam, the war for Korea raged. It was as rough and dirty a war as has ever been fought—a war small in history, but very large to the men who waged it.  In the Korean War, one group above all others distinguished itself, a small elite band who volunteered for action behind enemy lines. They were the men of the U. S. Army’s legendary Rangers. They succeeded in making the first combat jump in Ranger history, destroying enemy headquarters, and inflicting the first defeat on Communist Chinese forces while suffering a disproportionate number of casualties. This is their story, told here for the first time—based on military records, interviews with survivors, and the author’s personal experiences as an American Ranger in the Korean War.”

 

According to the book description of Cavalry Raids of the Civil War, “In war, the raid is the epitome of daring. Usually outnumbered, raiders launch surprise attacks behind enemy lines, taking prisoners, destroying communications, and seizing supplies. In the Civil War, these men marauded on horseback, stunning opponents with their speed and mobility. This book covers the adventurous and often dangerous exploits of the Union and Confederate cavalry officers who had a flair for plunging into the enemy's lair. Covers raids from J. E. B. Stuart's 1862 ride around McClellan's army to James Wilson's crushing raids in Alabama and Georgia in 1865.”


The Battalion: The Dramatic Story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion in World War II (Stackpole Military History S.)
Robert W. Black  More Info

Rangers in World War II
Robert W. Black  More Info

Rangers in Korea
Robert W. Black  More Info

A Ranger Born: A Memoir of Combat and Valor from Korea to Vietnam
Robert W. Black  More Info

Cavalry Raids of the Civil War (Stackpole Military History Series)
Robert W. Black  More Info

Publisher’s Weekly said of A Ranger Born, “There are two basic types of Vietnam War memoirs: embittered narratives written by those who see the war and their participation in it as a giant mistake, and gung-ho tales of derring-do by those who believe the conflict was a worthwhile endeavor. Black's effort falls squarely in the second category. A self-described "meat and potatoes guy," Black is a much-decorated, up-from-the-ranks retired army colonel who served honorably and well in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. His competently written memoir concentrates on his 1967-1968 Vietnam tour when he was a senior district adviser to the South Vietnamese Army in Long An Province southwest of Saigon. Black offers up a by-the-numbers account of his upbringing, his Korean War experience and his time in Vietnam, along with his ideas about why the American war effort floundered in Vietnam. He points accusatory fingers at "indecisive" American politicians for not allowing the U.S. military to wage all-out war against North Vietnam and at the American news media and antiwar movement for aiding and abetting the North Vietnamese and Vietcong. "Our own people were giving the enemy encouragement," Black complains. For many historians, these views (which are not uncommon among Black's peers) oversimplify matters. They do square, though, with a strain of patriotism in evidence since September 11.”

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