Publisher, Tantor Media (May 2005)

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A Band of Brothers for the Pacific, this is the gut-wrenching but ultimately triumphant story of the Marines' most ferocious, yet largely forgotten battle of World War II.

Between September 15 and October 15, 1944, the First Marine Division suffered more than 6,500 casualties fighting on a hellish little coral island in the Pacific. Drawing on extensive interviews with Peleliu veterans, Bill Sloan follows the men of K/3/5 and a handful of others throughout the campaign and rescues the Corps's bloodiest battle from obscurity.

Misled by poor intelligence, the 9,000 Marine infantry-men who landed on Peleliu's beaches found themselves facing 11,000 Japanese who had turned the island into an intricate network of caves and underground fortifications unrivaled in the history of warfare. Sloan's gripping narrative is a vivid and unflinching look at the nightmare that was Peleliu—a ferocious melee of non-stop infantry attacks, hand-to-hand combat, flame-thrower assaults, and night skirmishes, many in temperatures that topped 115 degrees. With casualties in some infantry units averaging more than sixty percent, Peleliu is the bloodiest battle in the Corps' history.

Surprisingly, Peleliu received little public notice back in the States even as it was being fought and was virtually forgotten after the war. At last rectifying this historical injustice, Brotherhood of Heroes will stand with Ghost Soldiers and Flags of our Father as a modern classic in military history.

"What a riveting story... Sloan captures the rank horror of combat in the Pacific Theater—and the valor of our armed forces—with stunning verve, dramatic anecdotes, and impeccable research. A towering achievement." —Douglas Brinkley, author of Tour of Duty

About the Author: Bill Sloan is a former investigative reporter and feature writer for the Dallas Herald, where he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. The author of nearly a dozen books, including Given Up For Dead, he lives in Dallas, Texas.

About the Narrator: An AudioFile magazine Earphones winner and Audie Award Finalist, Patrick Lawlor is also an accomplished stage actor, director and combat choreographer. He has worked extensively Off-Broadway, regionally, and in Europe.