Puller's Runner: A Work of Historical Fiction about Lieutenant General Lewis B. 'Chesty' Puller

by Nick Ragland, Joe Rouse

Overview

Lewis 'Chesty' Puller is the most famous and most decorated of all Marines. Michael Abbo is an average American kid who enlists in the Marine Corps just before Pearl Harbor. As he struggles to adapt, he unwillingly finds himself assigned to the duty of runner for Chesty Puller, a highly decorated jungle fighter from the 'Banana Wars.' Abbo is shocked by Chesty's harsh training methods and the horrors of the amphibious warfare of the Pacific, but survives World War II, finishes college, and becomes a newspaper reporter for The Chicago Tribune. He is called up from the Marine Reserves in 1950 to serve in Korea, and finds himself assigned once again to Chesty Puller. He serves well throughout the Inchon landing, the battle for Seoul, and into the hellish Chosin Reservoir, meanwhile gaining respect and awe for the once-enlisted man who takes great pride in 'leading from the front.' Abbo eventually returns to the Tribune, and covers Puller's forced retirement as well as his dramatic testimony in the court martial of a Marine drill instructor at Parris Island. For more info, check out www.pullersrunner.com

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761846086
Publisher:	Hamilton Books
Publication date:	08/16/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Nicholas Ragland graduated from Georgetown University in 1966. He served as a Marine in Vietnam during 1967-1968 as a platoon leader with C Company, 3rd Shore Party Battalion, and later as the supply officer of the 1st Battalion 12th Marines. He is currently the chairman of The Gorilla Glue Company and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Joseph Rouse graduated from Miami University (Ohio) in 1996, and received an M.A. in English from the University of Cincinnati in 2003. After a stint in the corporate world, he now teaches high school English in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 List of Maps
Chapter 2 Acknowledgements
Chapter 3 Organization of the 1st Marine Division
Chapter 4 Prologue: The New York Times
Chapter 5 Introduction
Chapter 6 Chapter 1: Training
Chapter 7 Chapter 2: Guadalcanal
Chapter 8 Chapter 3: New Britain
Chapter 9 Chapter 4: Peleliu
Chapter 10 Chapter 5: The Korean War
Chapter 11 Chapter 6: Inchon and Seoul
Chapter 12 Chapter 7: Chosin Reservoir
Chapter 13 Chapter 8: After Korea
Chapter 14 Chapter 9: Ribbon Creek
Chapter 15 Epilogue: The Death of a Marine Legend
Chapter 16 About the Authors

What People are Saying About This

Martha Puller Downs

Puller's Runner captures [my] father's brave and unselfish devotion to the country he loved and those who served with him. Oorah!

Editorial Reviews

Wow! Great story of courage and bravery."

Research Papers

Warfare has seldom seen the likes of Chesty Puller, and now we can experience the arc of this legendary leatherneck's eventful life, fully realized and vividly imagined by a pair of historical novelists who have clearly mastered the literature. From the malarial jungles of Guadalcanal to the subzero wastes of Chosin Reservoir, Puller's thrilling heroics spring to life upon the page.

Hampton Sides

Although Puller's Runner is historical fiction, readers will feel that they are right there and hearing a factual story. It should be especially meaningful for anyone who served in any of the areas where these events took place.... Puller's Runner is so well told, so comprehensive in its entirety that it seems that you are right there as "Chesty" Puller gives his runner the brief instructions and sends him out into the deep, dark night of the jungle full of the enemy or across a torn-up hill to deliver the message because other communication has been lost.... a great read!

The Manhattan Mercury - Glenn M. Busset

Everybody should read this book.

Kathryn Raaker

The authors have done a marvelous job of capturing the historical details and amazing story of our Corps' most famous and highly decorated Marine....Here's a book for the entire Chesty Puller cult as well as history buffs who enjoy their history wrapped in exciting prose. This is an educational and entertaining - even fun read - and it's a dandy example of how a historically based novel should be researched and written. Buy it! You'll love it!

Leatherneck Magazine

It's an incredible story of valor and discipline, well-told."

Doc Kirby

'Chesty' Puller was an offer in the Marine Corp and is the most decorated U.S. Marine in history. This book does a highly credible job of telling his story from the standpoint of a fictional 'runner'. .. It's well written and although a work of fiction, reads like a good biography.

Senior Scene

Puller's Runner captures [my] father's brave and unselfish devotion to the country he loved and those who served with him. Oorah!

Martha Puller Downs

'Chesty' Puller was an offer in the Marine Corp and is the most decorated U.S. Marine in history. This book does a highly credible job of telling his story from the standpoint of a fictional 'runner'. .. It's well written and although a work of fiction, reads like a good biography.

December 2009 Senior Scene

The authors have done a marvelous job of capturing the historical details and amazing story of our Corps' most famous and highly decorated Marine....Here's a book for the entire Chesty Puller cult as well as history buffs who enjoy their history wrapped in exciting prose. This is an educational and entertaining - even fun read - and it's a dandy example of how a historically based novel should be researched and written. Buy it! You'll love it!

March 2010 Leatherneck Magazine

Puller's Runner captures [my] father's brave and unselfish devotion to the country he loved and those who served with him. Oorah!--Martha Puller Downs

Everybody should read this book.--Kathryn Raaker, Cincinnati, Ohio radio program, Let's Just Talk, September 19, 2009

It's an incredible story of valor and discipline, well-told."--Doc Kirby, Book Bit, WTBF AM/FM November 11, 2009.

From the Publisher

Although Puller's Runner is historical fiction, readers will feel that they are right there and hearing a factual story. It should be especially meaningful for anyone who served in any of the areas where these events took place.... Puller's Runner is so well told, so comprehensive in its entirety that it seems that you are right there as "Chesty" Puller gives his runner the brief instructions and sends him out into the deep, dark night of the jungle full of the enemy or across a torn-up hill to deliver the message because other communication has been lost.... a great read!
— Glenn M. Busset, 29 Nov 2009

The Manhattan Mercury