Robert Leckie (author)

Infobox Military Person
name= Robert Leckie
born= birth date|1920|12|18
died= death date and age|2001|12|24|1920|12|18
placeofbirth= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|United States United States of America
branch=United States Marine Corps
serviceyears= 1942 -
rank=
commands=
unit= 2nd Battalion 1st Marines
battles= World War II *Battle of Guadalcanal *Battle of Cape Gloucester *Battle of Peleliu
awards=Purple Heart
laterwork=

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 outlook.

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.Leckie Biograpy, All Media Guide.]

In 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. 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 the Okinawa.

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". His first book, "Helmet for My Pillow", a war memoir, was published in 1957. Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Desert Storm (1991).Interview with Brian Lamb, 1995.] Library of Congress author search.]

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". Martindale 2007.]

Writing style, reviews

Leckie used a direct style in describing context and battle actions. He has been criticized by some historians as lacking rigor, since he uses almost no footnotes.Fact|date=December 2007 He has also been described as "politically incorrect", for his portrayal of the United States' wartime enemies and Native Americans.Fact|date=December 2007

Books

Military history

*cite book
year=1957
title=Helmet for My Pillow
publisher=Random House
oclc=2538164
lccn=57010028

*cite book
year=1960
title=March to Glory
publisher=World Publishing Co.
oclc=2851705
lccn=60011454 On the Korean War.

*cite book
origyear=1962 Putnam
publisher=Da Capo Press
year=1996
isbn=0306807165
title=Conflict: The History of the Korean War, 1950-53"
lccn=62010975 (1962 edition)
lccn=96015600 (1996 edition)

*cite book
origyear=1962 Random House
year=1997
lccn=61012182
title=Strong men armed: the United States Marines against Japan.
publisher=Perseus Publishing
isbn=9780306807855
oclc=1140336

*cite book
year=1965
title=Challenge for the Pacific; Guadalcanal, the turning point of the war
publisher=Doubleday
oclc=1295146
lccn=65013985

*cite book
year=1967
title=The battle for Iwo Jima
publisher=Random House
lccn=67020386

*cite book
year=1968
title=Challenge for the Pacific: The Bloody Six-Month Battle of Guadalcanal
publisher=Doubleday & Company
id=(Paperback ISBN 0-306-80911-7

*cite book
lccn=68023671
year=1968
title=Great American battles
publisher=Random House "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."cite web|accessdate=2007-12-22 |url=http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First
title= Full Record of "Great American battles" (1968; Lemkie, Robert) |work=Library of Congress Online Catalog]
*cite book
origyear=1968
title=The Wars of America
publisher=Harper Collins
year=1998
isbn=0-7858-0914-7

*cite book
year=1987
title=Delivered From Evil: The Saga of World War II"
publisher=Harper & Row
isbn=0060158123
lccn=86046305
id=(HarperPerennial Paperback ISBN 0-06-091535-8)

*cite book
year=1990
title=None Died in Vain: The Saga of the Civil War
publisher=HarperPerrenial
isbn=0-06-016280-5
id=(Paperback ISBN 0-06-092116-1)

*cite book
origyear=1991
title=The General
publisher=I Books
date=April 2, 2002
isbn=0-7434-4461-2

*cite book
year=1992
title=George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution
publisher=Harper Collins
isbn=0-06-016289-9
id= (Paperback ISBN 0-06-092215-X)
url=http://www.harpercollins.ca/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=006092215X&tc=cx

*cite book
year=1994
title=From Sea to Shining Sea: From the War of 1812 to the Mexican-American War, the Saga of America's Expansion
publisher=HarperPerrenial
isbn=0-06-016802-1
id=(Paperback ISBN 0-06-092254-0)

*cite book
year=1995
title=Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II
publisher=Viking Press
isbn=0-670-84716-X

*cite book
year=1998
title=The Wars of America: From 1600 to 1900
publisher=Harper Collins
isbn=0-06-012571-3
id=(Paperback ISBN 0-06-092409-8)

*cite book
year=2000
title=A Few Acres of Snow: The Saga of the French and Indian Wars
publisher=Wiley & Son
isbn=0-471-24690-5
id= (Paperback ISBN 0-471-39020-8)
url=http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471390208.html

Fiction

*cite book
year=1960
lccn=60012809
title=Marines!
publisher=Bantam Books Fiction.

Other

*cite book
year=1958
title=Lord, What a Family!
publisher=Random House Autobiography.

Notes

ee also

References

*cite web
accessdate = 2007-12-22
url = http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/book_person?id=ZujRMsAE&p_id=182150&view=bio
title = Leckie, Robert — Books and Biography
publisher = All Media Guide LLC
*cite interview
accessdate = 2007-12-22
url = http://www.booknotes.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1267
last = Leckie
first = Robert
interviewer = Brian Lamb
title = Booknotes: 'The Last Battle of World War II' by Robert Leckie
program = C-SPAN
date = September 3, 1995
*cite web
accessdate=2007-12-22 |url=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
title=Simple search - author - "Leckie, Robert"
publisher=Library of Congress
*cite web
url=http://smallscreen.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1335209.php/Band_of_Brothers_producers_cast_The_Pacific_series_on_HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-22
title = 'Band of Brothers' producers cast 'The Pacific' series on HBO
author = Martindale, Stone
date = July 26, 2007
publisher = Monsters & Critics