Bartlett and Sweetman, respected authorities on naval and Marine Corps history, collaborate on a significantly updated version of The U.S. Marine Corps: An Illustrated History
. Owners of that volume need not shy away from this one. The illustrations in particular have been overhauled, incorporating many new photos and prints from unfamiliar sources. The text adds a final chapter perceptively analyzing the corps’s spectrum of contributions to the war on terror, from peacekeeping operations in Africa to pitched battles in Iraq and Afghanistan. The authors’ treatment of the two battles for Fallujah merit particular attention. Newcomers will find even more useful the initial chapter, a survey of marine forces since antiquity, and the body of the text, which surveys the U.S. Marines’ protean history. The book, and the Corps it celebrates, are best defined by a photo: this candid shot, taken during the battle for Okinawa, shows two men of the 29th Marines sleeping, an Okinawan orphan cuddled safely between them in their fighting hole. 145 b&w photos, 112 color illus., 30 maps. (Oct.)
