Robert Leckie (author)
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| Robert Leckie | |
|---|---|
| December 18, 1920 – December 24, 2001 (aged 81) | |
| Place of birth | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1942 - |
| Unit | 2nd Battalion 1st Marines |
| Battles/wars | World War II *Battle of Guadalcanal *Battle of Cape Gloucester *Battle of Peleliu |
| Awards | Purple Heart |
Robert Leckie (December 18, 1920 – December 24, 2001) was an American author of popular books on the military history of the United States. As a young man, he served in the 1st Marine Division during World War II. His experiences as a machine gunner and intelligence scout during the Battle of Guadalcanal and later campaigns are said to have greatly influenced his writing.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Leckie was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 18, 1920 to an Irish Catholic family of eight children. He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. He began his professional writing career, before World War II, at age 16 as a sports writer for The Record of Hackensack in Hackensack.[1]
In 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.[1] He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in the 1st Marine Division. He participated in every major 1st Marine Division campaign except Okinawa.[1]
Following World War II, Leckie worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the Buffalo Courier Express, the New York Journal American, the New York Daily News and The Star-Ledger.[1] His first and best-selling book, Helmet for My Pillow, a personal war memoir, was published in 1957.[2] Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Desert Storm (1991).[3][4]
In April 2007, it was announced that Leckie's war memoirs, Helmet for My Pillow, along with Eugene B. Sledge's book With the Old Breed, would form the basis for the HBO series The Pacific, the successor to Band of Brothers.[5]
[edit] Books
[edit] Military history
- Conflict: The History of the Korean War, 1950-53. Da Capo Press. 1996 [1962 Putnam]. ISBN 0306807165.
- Strong men armed: the United States Marines against Japan.. Perseus Publishing. 1997 [1962 Random House]. ISBN 9780306807855. OCLC 1140336.
- Challenge for the Pacific; Guadalcanal, the turning point of the war. Doubleday. 1965. OCLC 1295146.
- The battle for Iwo Jima. Random House. 1967.
- Challenge for the Pacific: The Bloody Six-Month Battle of Guadalcanal. Doubleday & Company. 1968. (Paperback ISBN 0-306-80911-7.
- Great American battles. Random House. 1968. "Summary: A review of America’s major wars, from the French and Indian War to the War in Korea, with emphasis on eleven important battles: Quebec, Trenton, New Orleans, Mexico City, Chancellorsville, Appomattox, Santiago, Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Normandy, and Pusan-Inchon."[6]
- The Wars of America. Harper Collins. 1998 [1968]. ISBN 0-7858-0914-7.
- Delivered From Evil: The Saga of World War II. Harper & Row. 1987. (HarperPerennial Paperback ISBN 0-06-091535-8). ISBN 0060158123.
- None Died in Vain: The Saga of the Civil War. HarperPerrenial. 1990. (Paperback ISBN 0-06-092116-1). ISBN 0-06-016280-5.
- The General. I Books. April 2, 2002 [1991]. ISBN 0-7434-4461-2.
- George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution. Harper Collins. 1992. (Paperback ISBN 0-06-092215-X). ISBN 0-06-016289-9. http://www.harpercollins.ca/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=006092215X&tc=cx.
- From Sea to Shining Sea: From the War of 1812 to the Mexican-American War, the Saga of America's Expansion. HarperPerrenial. 1994. (Paperback ISBN 0-06-092254-0). ISBN 0-06-016802-1.
- Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II. Viking Press. 1995. ISBN 0-670-84716-X.
- The Wars of America: From 1600 to 1900. Harper Collins. 1998. (Paperback ISBN 0-06-092409-8). ISBN 0-06-012571-3.
- A Few Acres of Snow: The Saga of the French and Indian Wars. Wiley & Son. 2000. (Paperback ISBN 0-471-39020-8). ISBN 0-471-24690-5. http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471390208.html.
[edit] Fiction
- Marines!. Bantam Books. 1960. Fiction.
[edit] Other
- Lord, What a Family!. Random House. 1958. Autobiography.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Leckie Biography, All Media Guide.
- ^ Booknotes, Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II, Transcript of Interview with Robert Leckie, 3 September 1995
- ^ Interview with Brian Lamb, 1995.
- ^ Library of Congress author search.
- ^ Martindale 2007.
- ^ "Full Record of Great American battles (1968; Lemkie, Robert)". Library of Congress Online Catalog. http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- "Leckie, Robert — Books and Biography". All Media Guide LLC. http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/book_person?id=ZujRMsAE&p_id=182150&view=bio. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
- Leckie, Robert. Interview with Brian Lamb. Booknotes: 'The Last Battle of World War II' by Robert Leckie. C-SPAN. September 3, 1995. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
- "Simple search - author - "Leckie, Robert"". Library of Congress. http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search%5FArg=Leckie&Search%5FCode=NAME%5F&CNT=25&PID=21711&BROWSE=8&HC=45&SID=1. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
- Martindale, Stone (July 26, 2007). "'Band of Brothers' producers cast 'The Pacific' series on HBO". Monsters & Critics. http://smallscreen.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1335209.php/Band_of_Brothers_producers_cast_The_Pacific_series_on_HBO. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
