The Old Breed... The Complete Story Revealed

A Father, A Son, and How WWII in the Pacific Shaped Their Lives

Published by Knox Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

LIST PRICE ₹912.00

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About The Book

As Seen on The Black Rifle Coffee Podcast

Forty years after the publication of Eugene Sledge’s memoir With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa comes The Old Breed… The Complete Story Revealed by Eugene’s son, Henry, adding new material and immeasurable depth to his father’s story.

The Old Breed… The Complete Story Revealed brings to life an abundance of new material from the original manuscript of Eugene Sledge’s classic memoir With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. By interspersing his own personal anecdotes throughout, Henry Sledge takes his father’s work and gives it newfound context, sharing memories of conversations between father and son. The result is a flowing narrative that portrays an intimate look at a WWII veteran and his struggles to adapt to civilian life following the war.

About The Author

Henry Sledge is the son of acclaimed author Eugene B. Sledge, who is known for With the Old Breed and China Marine. Growing up, he witnessed firsthand the creation and lasting impact of his father’s memoir, and through their conversations about the Pacific War, developed a lifelong passion for World War II history.

Henry is the author of The Old Breed… The Complete Story Revealed, a companion to his father’s work. His writing has appeared in World War II Magazine, Naval History Magazine, and Valor. He has cohosted and appeared on numerous podcasts, including the Jocko Podcast, and has been featured in documentaries and historical programming with HBO, Fox Nation, History Channel, and American Heroes Channel. His speaking engagements include American Veterans Center, the Society for Military History, The Citadel, the International WWII Conference in New Orleans, and the Library of Congress. He holds a BA from Auburn University (1988) and lives with his family in Birmingham, Alabama.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Knox Press (June 3, 2025)
  • Length: 432 pages
  • ISBN13: 9798888458495

Raves and Reviews

“In the most true and simple words, understand this: Eugene Sledge is a legend.”

– Tom Hanks

“Henry Sledge has taken the greatest war memoir ever written under his skillful editorial wing and made it brand new again, revealing previously unpublished passages and adding his own fascinating recollections of his father, Eugene Sledge. Highly recommended!”

– John C. McManus

“This is a remarkable piece of work by the son of the legendary E.B. Sledge that knits together beautifully the unpublished chapters of the war classic With the Old Breed with the author’s own memory of how his father struggled to reintegrate into civilian life after returning from the Pacific in 1945. A brilliant and important book…. it’s superb.”

– Saul David

“Profoundly moving. The brutal realities of fighting in the Pacific in World War II and all the privations that accompanied the violence are even more starkly revealed in these previously unpublished writings by Eugene Sledge, expertly woven together by the son who grew up with the long shadow of that terrible conflict. Together, father and son reveal not only more of the young man who fought so courageously in the Pacific, but also of the husband, father, and scientist he became. It is by turns shocking, upsetting and wistful but also charts the complex process Eugene Sledge underwent of writing his iconic memoir, With The Old Breed. There is catharsis here too in this deeply thoughtful and wonderful book—one that lingers in the mind long after the last page has been turned.”

– James Holland, author of Cassino 44

“We Marines were blessed with the writings of E.B. Sledge. He eloquently captured the battlefield environment many of us experienced throughout our Corps’ history. His son Henry has added to his father’s legacy with this superb book. From his father’s papers and his shared stories with Henry, we have been given another great Sledge work!”

– General Anthony C. Zinni USMC (Retired)

“When discussing one of the best memoirs ever written by a front line combat soldier it seems almost criminal that a publisher could tell the author to excise two-thirds of the material. But that’s what happened before With the Old Breed was published. Finally, more than forty years after the original was released, we get the rest of the story...What comes through clearly, just as in the original classic, is the basic humanity of Eugene Sledge. And like the book the elder Sledge penned, his son’s version is a stark reminder of the price those we send to war continue to pay long after the conflict they endured leaves the headlines.”

– Dan Carlin, host of Hardcore History Podcast

“The Old Breed: The Complete Story Revealed, shares those portions of [Henry’s] father’s manuscript previously not published and more. It is masterfully and beautifully written and intertwines the stories and interactions he had growing up with his father...Henry has graciously permitted us a glimpse into Eugene Sledge, the father and husband. The Old Breed permits the reader to feel the closeness of their relationship and how Sledge’s World War II experiences shaped both of their lives.”

– Lt. Col. Rob Barrow, USMC (Ret.), American Rifleman

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