Kyle Harrison
to-read
With the Old Breed
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa
- Author
- E. B. Sledge
- Published
- 1981
- Pages
- 326
- Recommended
- Once
Why it’s on the list: Sledge’s memoir of two Pacific campaigns as an enlisted Marine — the flat, unheroic account that became the standard for what infantry combat was actually like.
Where I saw it: In the reply thread to @typesfast’s question, “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025) — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved to his Apple Note “Books To Read”; the full set of replies lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet). It was listed there as “With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge”.
Connections
- World War II — The war.
- War — What the book refuses to romanticise.
- Biography — The form: first-person memoir.
- What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.