Old Gimlet Eye

Book excerpt: Old Gimlet Eye, first published in 1933, is the biography of U.S. Marine Corps legend Smedley Butler (1881-1940). Butler, who at the time of his death was the most decorated Marine in U.S. History, joined the Marines at age 16 and took part in military actions in the Philippines, China, Central America, Mexico, Cuba, and France in World War I. The book ends with Butler's retirement in 1931, but he would go on to become a leading critic against the unbridled power of monied interests in the United States, and their use of the military to achieve their own selfish ends. Author and journalist Lowell Thomas tells the story of Smedley in the first-person, and includes both the serious and lighthearted moments of Smedley's long service, making for an enjoyable reading experience.