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MWSA Review
Devil’s Den: Marines War in Lebanon 1983 tells the story of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines (1/8) sent on a peacekeeping mission in Beirut that turned into a war zone during their deployment. Author Lt. Col. David Brown, USMC (Ret.) does an excellent job setting the scene for readers and relaying the story through the lens of three enlisted Marines, a Navy corpsman, and other key figures who were part of the 1/8. Brown portrays the extraordinary courage of those on the ground in the middle of a confusing, difficult, dangerous, and deadly time.
The author excelled at character development, and particularly for his portrayal of Danny Joy. Readers will turn pages wondering what this young hero will do next and when he will ever stop proving he is an extraordinary human being. Many of the images provided by the men who were there, including Joy, provide an accurate glimpse into how the men lived in Beirut. The maps, historical photos, and graphics showed an intense level of research which the reader learns from placing the story in greater context.
Devil’s Den is an important work of literature capturing a period of time which some Americans may not know about or may have forgotten. This is a story that needed to be told, and the author did that well. This book is highly recommended for those who appreciate military history and the stories of the humans who bravely sacrificed for their country under unusual circumstances.
MWSA Review by Valerie Ormond (May 2021)
Author's Synopsis
Devil’s Den is a gripping story about a group of young, high-spirited, cocky, and sometimes rebellious US Marines and sailors sent by a reluctant commander in chief to the Middle East to assume a mission they hadn’t prepared for and didn’t understand.
Lebanon’s civil war was in its eighth year in May 1983 when they landed in Beirut as peacekeepers to join a multinational force. There, they faced brazened Muslim leaders, militia, soldiers, and terrorists who took full advantage of these combatants constrained by overly restrictive rules of engagement. Who were these men? Where did they come from? Why should they be concerned about their adventure to Beirut? Devil’s Den will take you to the gates of Hell with its explosive inferno. Neither the men who survived nor the reader will ever be the same.
ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-9845-8861-6, 978-1-9845-8860-9, 978-1-9845-8859-3
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 332