The Root: The marines in beruit

Praise for The Root

“Illustrates Washington’s exceptional resistance to accepting the facts that contradict its preconceived views. . . . It’s time that we learn from our mistakes and never again put our people in situations we do not understand. A first step is to read how our effort in Beirut turned from a noble cause into having our troops pinned down in an escalating civil war we did not understand.” —Colonel Thomas X Hammes, USMC (Ret.), author of The Sling and the Stone

It’s a fine book . . . a fascinating record of the life of a military unit . . . “ —New York Times

“Hammel has grippingly reconstructed a story that was often obscured as it unfolded.” —Los Angeles Times

“Hammel’s detailed account of individual rescue efforts is intensely graphic. . . . It is first-hand and realistic. It is not sensationalized or trivialized.” —New York Tribune

“Eric Hammel’s well-written book . . . strikes a deep emotional chord . . .” —Naval Institute Proceedings

“(The Root is) a book about the violence of combat, a first-hand account of death and danger, fear, pain and survival. . . . ” —Baltimore Sun

“A disturbingly accurate portrait…well-researched (and) well-crafted. . . .” —Kirkus Reviews

“This is a moving book which tells a story that needs to be told.” —San Diego Union 

Praise for Chosin

"Hammel's book is full of accounts of the stuff that legends are made from. It is a cliffhanger of a story, and he tells it master­fully. Readers should be warned: Just as in the campaign itself, where there was no rear echelon and everyone was a combatant, so too, if you go into Yudam-ni with the Marines you had better be prepared to be with them all the way on to Hungnam and freedom."

 ——Sea Power Magazine

"This is a view over the foxhole's rim. It concentrates on the superlative effort, suffering and courage of the young enlisted Marines, sailors and soldiers who glared at the quilted-uniformed enemy and refused to be stared down ... a factual, revealing and penetrating look at war at its worst and men at their best."

 ——The San Diego Union

"The author's weaving of men, crises, and numbing cold leaves the reader in awe of this feat of arms in which soldiers and Marines fought an epic struggle to survive. . . . Hammel's book is highly recommended."

 ——Infantry Magazine

PRAISE FOR KHE SANH: Siege in the Clouds and Eric Hammel

A harrowing, gut-level record of the Vietnam War’s Khe Sanh Campaign . . . a vivid, day-by-day log. . . . Hammel conveys the ironies as well as the horrors of the protracted engagement. 

——Kirkus Reviews

A remarkably accurate account of a crucial 77-day battle . . . Khe Sanh: Siege in the Clouds is retold as an oral history by the men who fought in it, which gives the account not only a vividness and immediacy but a human perspective so many other war analyses are missing. 

——Playboy

The author sets the stage for this epic battle, but then turns the narrative over to the vivid accounts of nearly 100 individuals who survived. The accounts cover all the bases—from privates in foxholes, to cooks, chaplains, and the commanding generals. . . . A masterful telling of history. 

——Air Force Magazine

The story of the thankless siege is told in this vivid oral history by nearly 100 articulate survivors, mostly U.S. Marines, who convey the frustration experienced by men trained for aggressive mobile warfare forced for the most part to huddle inside a crowded perimeter. 

——Publishers Weekly

Hammel’s book captures the full flavor of day-to-day life and death that was Khe Sanh. 

——Marine Corps Gazette

Hammel’s ability to reveal both the immediacy and the humanity of war without judgment or bias makes all his books both readable and scholarly. With Khe Sanh: Siege in the Clouds, he elevates the standards of oral history as well. ——San Francisco Chronicle

Critical Acclaim for The American Aces Speak Series

The Marine Corps Aviation Association Yellow Sheetsays: “The recounting of each story is done in the pilot’s own words. This is a powerful technique that draws readers into the action and introduces them to the world of the fighter pilot”

The American Fighter Aces Bulletin says: “Some of [the] episodes are well-known; others have never been written before. But each account delivers something intensely personal about the Pacific Air War.”

The Library Journal says: “No PR hype or dry-as-dust prose here. Hammel allows his flyers to tell their stories in their own way . . . Exciting stuff aviation and World War II buffs will love.”

Book Page says: “For those who have an interest in World War II, or those who simply like to read of drama in the skies, Eric Hammel’s [Aces Against Japan]is recommended reading. It is a must for any historian’s bookshelf.”

WWII Aviation Booklist says: “Hammel provides a veritable feast of aviation combat narrative. As always in this series, the entries [in Aces at War] have been carefully selected to provide the most entertaining ride possible for his readers. Easily the best series available on air combat! Get them all!”

Praise for Ambush Valley

“Ambush Valley recounts the heroic performance in the summer of 1967 of the 3d Battalion, 26th Marines . . . as it defended the U.S. combat base on a hill called Con Thien. . . . [It] is a fresh, highly personalized, and vivid narrative focusing on one “theater” of the Vietnam War from the perspective of those who fought there.”

 ——Sea Power

“Another of Hammel's harrowing eyewitness accounts of a Vietnam War campaign that remains a puzzling episode in a bitterly debated conflict. . . . [The] firsthand recollections afford a vivid, inspiring record of bloody set-piece battles . . . ”

 ——Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Guadalcanal: Starvation Island and Eric Hammel

“A comprehensive history of the Guadalcanal Campaign . . . [and] a well‑balanced account. Well written and fast moving.” —Marine Corps Gazette

“Hammel has written the most comprehensive popular ac­count to date . . . and exposes controversial aspects often passed over,” —Publishers Weekly

“Hammel takes the reader behind the scenes and details how decisions were made . . . and how they impacted on the troops carrying them out. He tells the story in a very human way.” —Leatherneck Magazine

“A splendid record of this decisive campaign. Hammel offers a wealth of fresh material drawn from archival records and the recollections of 100‑odd surviving participants. . . . A praise­worthy contribution to Guadalcanal lore.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Hammel’s ability to reveal both the immediacy and the hu­manity of war without judgment or bias makes all his books both readable and scholarly. —San Francisco Chronicle