Book Review : Patrick J . Sloyan ’ s When Reagan Sent in the Marines : The Invasion of Lebanon
Peggy Kurkowski
The Saber and Scroll Journal • Volume 9 , Number 3 • Winter 2020
American Public University
Patrick J . Sloyan , When Reagan Sent in the Marines : The Invasion of Lebanon . New York : Thomas Dunne Books , 2019 . ISBN 9781250113917 . Pp 240 . Hardcover $ 29.99
In the long annals of American military operations , the deployment of U . S . troops to Beirut in 1982 to stabilize a war-torn city is one typically under-reported or studied . In Patrick J . Sloyan ’ s new book , When Reagan Sent in the Marines : The Invasion of Lebanon , the author redresses this oversight with an extremely harsh analysis of the events leading up to America ’ s befuddled involvement , which ultimately climaxed with the horrific death of 241 U . S . Marines in the worst terrorist attack upon Americans until the events 9 / 11 , 18 years later .
Sloyan , a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist , covered the momentous stories of the 1960s and 1970s , including the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal . He won the Pulitzer for his exposé of U . S . friendly fire deaths during
Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Gulf War . His penchant for fearless “ muckraking ” journalism was on full display in his 2015 book , The Politics of Deception : JFK ’ s Secret Decisions on Vietnam , Civil Rights , and Cuba . Sloyan ’ s eye for truth-telling ( as he sees it ) is also hard to miss in his latest — and last — book . Sadly , Sloyan died at age 82 in February 2019 , shortly after completing When Reagan Sent in the Marines .
Sloyan begins his narrative 10 years before America ’ s official “ boots on the ground ” entry into Beirut in August 1982 , setting the countdown clock of American involvement to Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat ’ s surprise attack on Israel during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 . This highly effective offensive shattered Israel ’ s military arsenal . Consequently , America responded to
197 doi : 10.18278 / sshj . 9.3.13