Boot by Daniel Da Cruz Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Boot
Book Review: OUTDATED! HIDDEN AGENDA!
Summary: 2 Stars
I went through boot camp at MCRD San Diego (Oct '74-Jan '75) so I know something about the subject matter.
As other reviewers have mentioned, this book is badly outdated (written in 1987, twenty years ago). The "Crucible," the defining modern USMC boot camp experience, isn't described in this since it was introduced afterwards. And one reviewer assured us that in 2002, when he was in boot camp, swearing at the recruits was very much in vogue among Drill Instructors - so that's another divergence between real life and this book.
"Boot" is only partially about USMC boot camp. It's really about the idiocy of the SOP the D.I.'s must adhere to. Or used to adhere to back in 1987. Or partially adhered to. Whatever. At any rate, this book is not really about what it claims to be about. And reading it is a bummer.
I see a number of young reviewers here... if you are considering the Marines (good for you) and are naturally curious about boot camp, don't settle for outdated scuttlebutt! Go to marines.com and get the latest information. (All the more so since, right now, Marines are getting involved in real combat in Iraq.)
I'd give this book one star, but what the heck? It's about the Marines.
Semper Fi!
Book Review: Phenomenal Book
Summary: 5 Stars
Da Cruz does a great job of recreating the essence of boot camp. Not only does he give an unbiased opinion of how boot camp in the Marine Corps is, but he also compares the boot camp of the year with his own experience. Da Cruz also throws in the occasional history lesson in each chapter. It's a great book that will keep you entertained from beginning to end. I highly recommend this book if you want some quality reading.Book Review: Promise - not delivered
Summary: 1 Stars
For a book that is purportedly about the U.S. Marines Boot Camp and what it takes to get through the "88 toughest days", this book was a severe disappointment. While the book attempts to explain what goes on during boot camp, it is severly out of date and spends way too much time on the author's complaints about how politically correct and soft boot camp is these days and not enough on explaining what is going on at boot camp or how the recruits themselves feel about it.
The book is supposedly organized in chronological fashion with a detailed week by week view of what the recruits are going through. Unforunately, the explanations are more about the origins of some of the drill and not so much about what they try to accomplish. For instance, the most detailed explanation is provided of what takes place during the week that the recruits spend on mess duty! Now, the book is also severly out of date having been written over 20 years ago and many of the practices and training that are explained in the book were revised and changed. So, perhaps a major re-write should take place, or, another enterprising author should do a good job of this?
Since the book supposedly follows one specific platoon, I was hoping to read more about the 60 people who were in that platoon and how they viewed their experiences. Again unfortunately, the author gives very short shrift to that as he gives us only a small taste of how the recruits viewed life. Rather, there is much more detail and attention focused on how bad the life of the Drill Instructors is.
My major complaint about the book is that the author continuously harps about how soft Boot Camp has become; how politically correct everybody is etc. So, we are treated to several repetitions of the fact that DI's are not allowed to curse at or in front of the recruits and lots of moans about the fact that filling out paperwork is more important than training Marines. Another frequent complaint is that there is a definite quota established for recruits washing out with the explicit assumption that this causes some people to become Marines who should not. It was interesting for me to note, though, that while he tells us how easy it is for the Marines to release these recruits, he also tells us - and in the same chapters! - about how many chances each recruit is given to get through Boot Camp! So, is it easy to get out or not?
Another chapter is devoted solely to describing in brief terms how much more difficult other countries's training is than the current Marine environment. This is misleading to an extreme as some of his examples are those countries special forces rather than standard forces, but no matter, it is simply another opportunity for a rant about how current Marines are not all they are cracked up to be. Of particular gall to me was that the author makes the unsubstantiated claim that all this political correctness was directly responsible for the deaths of 251 Marines in Beirut - he actually blames the Generals and Congressmen and the soft training for that debacle.
In summary, this book was a complete disappointment in that it did not deliver on its promises to show the reader what Marine recruit training is like instead preferring to focus on the author's attitude of "I was a better Marine than all these softies!" Too bad.
Book Review: Provided helpful first-hand information about USMC Boot Camp
Summary: 4 Stars
My son gave this book to me just before he left for Parris Island last October. Since he weighed in at 1.46kg at birth, his departure raised havoc with my emotions.I read this book week by week, so I would know more about what our son was experiencing. Of course, it may have made me worry more - but I think not. Da Cruz made the book interesting and it was quite an eye opener. We are very proud of our son and even more so after learning more about USMC Boot Camp. Thanks to Daniel Da Cruz I made it through the 13 weeks with flying colors.
Book Review: Read before hitting MCRD
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book in 1991 before I left for bootcamp, and it helped immensely. Some of it may be dated, but if you're going to ship out, read it. This book will give you a headstart and prepare you for the demanding drill instructors that you will face. Semper Fi.