{"product_id":"9781682479193","title":"How the Few Became the Proud","description":"Author: Heather Venable\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781682479193\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Naval Institute Press\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 24 Feb 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 352 \u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e For more than half its existence, the U.S. Marine Corps and its members largely self-identified as soldiers. In the early decades, being a Marine did not yet mean something distinct, either to Marines or to the public at large. The Corps' peculiar position resulted in a sort of identity crisis: Being neither a land-based organization like the Army nor an entirely sea-based one like the Navy, the Corps' role overlapped with both institutions. While the Army and Navy easily could define their respective domains, Marines inherently shouldered a more varied array of land-and-sea responsibilities. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Author Heather Venable argues that, since the Marine Corps could not readily rally around a sole defining mission, it turned instead to an image to ensure its institutional survival. As Marine officers immersed themselves in the Corps' historical records, they initiated a process by which a maligned group of nineteenth-century naval policemen eventually would come to be regarded as elite warriors. Embracing their storied past, fin-de-siecle Marines began to justify their existence by invoking their traditions, celebrating their many martial engagements, and claiming to be the nation's oldest and proudest military branch. A new and enduring institutional persona emerged-that of a fighting force ultimately superior to soldiers and sailors. Although there are countless works on the Marine Corps, \u003ci\u003eHow the Few Became the Proud\u003c\/i\u003e is the first to explore the origin of the myths behind the mystique. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47924603256990,"sku":"ING-9781682479193","price":59.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781682479193.jpg?v=1782951369","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781682479193","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}