Marine Machine

Marine Machine by William Mares. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780385027571.

The Making of the United States Marine. "Devil dogs, Leathernecks, Gyrenes -- whatever name they go by, the U.S. Marines are unique. And nowhere is that uniqueness more evident than at Parris Island, South Carolina, where all new recruits undergo the most important step in their transformation into Marines -- the ten weeks of pure hell known as Boot Camp. This is a vivid chronicle of that indelible experience as seen by a young professional photographer who once shared it. Fascinated by his own reminiscences of life in the Corps, William mares returned to Parris Island determined to understand the method in the apparent madness by which all trainees are mercilessly harassed and demeaned. With pen and camera he followed a 75-man platoon through every aspect of basic training, a world of intense mental and physical suffering dominated by a man who is teacher-priest-guard-father-mother hen, and for the recruits, sadistic jailer -- the Drill Instructor. What he came away with is a dramatically realistic portrait of the making of a Marine, an often brutal, de-humanizing process that nevertheless succeeds better than any yet devised in producing men, disciplined to obey orders for the swift performance of their duties and the protection each man in the Corps."