Unknown Valor (MacCullum) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Martha MacCallum has written a magnificent history, at once a sweeping and fresh account of one of the most dramatic chapters in our past—and an intimate portrait of all that’s best and most heroic in the American spirit
Sohrab Ahmari


Martha is magnificent and so is this book. This is a story of love and military battle told with clarity and heart.
Peggy Noonan


If you want your faith in America restored, you simply must read this book.
Marc Thiessen


Martha MacCallum has written a wonderful book on the bravery and sacrifices of those who "island-hopped" from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima. Part family memoir, part personal history of small-town America at war, and part chronicle of Marine amphibious landings from 1942 to 1945, Unknown Valor is a beautifully written and stirring reminder to present generations that much of what we now take for granted was given to us by the sacrifices of those whom we must never forget.
Victor Davis Hanson


Unknown Valor is at once so gripping and moving about the war in the Pacific that I lost several nights sleep, refusing to go to bed until I’d read it all. The book blends fascinating details of Martha MacCallum's family’s personal story and sacrifice, and the touching moments of hope and family life add a special flavor to the story. Even though we all know how the war ends, what we gain from the book is a deeper appreciation for the scope and scale of the patriotism, dreams, and heartache that lived on. Unknown Valor is a triumph.
Dana Perino


Martha MacCallum’s Unknown Valor is an elegantly written and deeply researched history of how the U.S. Army and Marines won the Pacific theater island-hopping campaign in the Second World War. The sheer heroism of these American fighters on the battlefield is staggering. Every page soars with gritty realism and patriotic perseverance. A powerful saga about the greatest generation!
Douglas Brinkley