For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith

Published by the Naval Institute Press in 2007, this book received a review in Publisher’s Weekly, a five star rating on Amazon by over 30 reviewers and was awarded the Colonel Joseph Alexander Award by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation for a distinguished book of biographical or autobiographical literature about a Marine. 

More than a biography about a distinguished American, this is the story of a man of character who saved the lives of thousands of Marines during the Korean War because he was willing to jeopardize his own personal interests for the greater good. 

Although this life is laid in the 20th Century, it is a parable for what is going on today in our modern times.  A perusal of this book will give the reader hope that there are people who put principle above person and are willing to sacrifice themselves in the pursuit of that principle. 

Reviews:

From the military centric web site Task and Purpose:

“Secretary of Defense, Gen. James Mattis is not only one of the most respected service members of all time, but he is arguably one of the most intelligent as well. His personal library has over 6,000 books that includes everything from Roman philosophy to the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. As the humble epitome of what a great leader should aspire to be, Mattis has a suggested reading list that he believes everyone in a leadership role should read in order to become a more effective leader.” For Country and Corps is on that reading list. 

Gail Shisler has written what will surely be considered the definitive biography on the life and times of General Oliver Pl Smith, USMC. Shisler’s lively and highly readable history has revealed Smith to have been one of the more important and complex figures in Marine Corps history, yet to this day he remains fairly anonymous to many historians. Shisler’s biography should be required reading for all students of Korean War history. Dr. Charles P Neimeyer, Director, USMC History

Shisler has written a readable, carefully researched, well documented and balanced (if sympathetic) biography of a man whose life is well worth knowing. In so doing she has joined a small group of “amateur” historians who have in recent years matched or exceeded the standards set by “professionals.” Donald Chisholm, Professor of Joint Military Operations at the Naval War College

….a first-rate biography well balanced, based on rich and plentiful sources and gracefully written. Town and Country

Whether it be the four-star general himself or his granddaughter-biographer, there is something about the Oliver Prince Smith breed that is profoundly admirable, even fascinating. One was a formidable fighter; the other a brilliant writer. The Leatherneck Magazine