My main quibble with this book is that there is no table of contents for the maps. Perhaps this is because there are only two maps but each appears twice. Also, and this is a common problem with books, the maps fail to depict many of the place names mentioned in the text.

The editing or proofreading is almost flawless. All I found wrong was that on page 274 "rebounded" should have been "redounded." Also there is an odd reference to a "Cpl I” (i.e., Corporal, he uses these type abbreviations throughout). The index doesn't list such a person or anyone relevant whose last name starts with that letter; nor was there anyone named Eye.

The author criticizes Carlson but never expresses a personal opinion about him; he leaves it to the reader to draw these inferences. What's clear is that Carlson had a short career in WWII and his active involvement on the battlefield was over by the end of 1942. He retired soon after the war ended and died in 1947 so the only record he left behind is in his official reports. His accomplishments were overshadowed by place names like Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa and his innovations and tactics were not applicable to those titanic battles.

Still, I was long curious about Carlson's Marine Raiders and now I know the full story. I am glad this book was written and that I have read it. The bottom line is that Carlson was a maverick and his career suffered accordingly. Once President Roosevelt's son James aka "Jimmy" was no longer assigned to the Raiders, Carlson's star faded quickly. ( )