SKU: 19172586797

The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II

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The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War IIInstant New York Times Bestseller Winner of the General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation "Buzz Bissinger's Friday Night Lights is an American classic. With The Mosquito Bowl, he is back with a true story even more colorful and profound. This book too is destined to become a classic. I devoured it." John Grisham An extraordinary, untold story of the Second World War in the vein of Unbroken and The Boys in the Boat,

Instant New York Times Bestseller - Winner of the General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation

"Buzz Bissinger's Friday Night Lights is an American classic. With The Mosquito Bowl, he is back with a true story even more colorful and profound. This book too is destined to become a classic. I devoured it." -- John Grisham

An extraordinary, untold story of the Second World War in the vein of Unbroken and The Boys in the Boat, from the author of Friday Night Lights and Three Nights in August.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, college football was at the height of its popularity. As the nation geared up for total war, one branch of the service dominated the aspirations of college football stars: the United States Marine Corps. Which is why, on Christmas Eve of 1944, when the 4th and 29th Marine regiments found themselves in the middle of the Pacific Ocean training for what would be the bloodiest battle of the war - the invasion of Okinawa--their ranks included one of the greatest pools of football talent ever assembled: Former All Americans, captains from Wisconsin and Brown and Notre Dame, and nearly twenty men who were either drafted or would ultimately play in the NFL.

When the trash-talking between the 4th and 29th over who had the better football team reached a fever pitch, it was decided: The two regiments would play each other in a football game as close to the real thing as you could get in the dirt and coral of Guadalcanal. The bruising and bloody game that followed became known as "The Mosquito Bowl."

Within a matter of months, 15 of the 65 players in "The Mosquito Bowl" would be killed at Okinawa, by far the largest number of American athletes ever to die in a single battle. The Mosquito Bowl is the story of these brave and beautiful young men of the Greatest Generation, those who survived and those who did not. It is the story of the families and the landscape that shaped them. It is a story of a far more innocent time in both college athletics and the life of the country, and of the loss of that innocence.

Writing with the style and rigor that won him a Pulitzer Prize and have made several of his books modern classics, Buzz Bissinger takes us from the playing fields of America's campuses where boys played at being Marines, to the final time they were allowed to still be boys on that field of dirt and coral, to the darkest and deadliest days that followed at Okinawa in this powerful work of WWII history.

  • A Band of Brothers Story: Meet the All-Americans and future NFL stars who became Marines, forging a powerful bond on the field before facing the ultimate test of battle.
  • Sports and Military History: Discover the incredible true story of a unique football game played on Christmas Eve 1944 between two Marine regiments on Guadalcanal--a final moment of youth before the horrors of war.
  • The Pacific War Up Close: From a dusty football field to the deadly invasion of Okinawa, experience the brutal reality of the Pacific Theater where 15 of the players would make the ultimate sacrifice.
  • Powerful Narrative Nonfiction: From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Friday Night Lights, this deeply researched and powerfully written account brings a forgotten chapter of American history to life.
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SKU: 19172586797

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4.8 ★★★★★
Based on 13 reviews
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Verified Purchase
Shannon
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
Great entertainment, charges quickly!
Color: Orange
Super fun entertainment for dog! Toy ball charges quickly and the charge lasts for at least an hour of playtime for the dog. There are 2 modes. one mode Just lights up, which makes it easy for pet to chase it. The second mode not only lights up, but it also wiggles on the ground Randomly and speeds off in a direction on its own, which really makes it interesting for your dog or cat to follow! Once the ball is not touched for about thirty seconds, it goes dormant and it will stay like that As long as it's charged until somebody touches it, and then it starts up randomly lighting up and moving around the floor on its own And making a vibration noise. It's a lot of fun to watch the dog chase and play with, and it certainly keeps them entertained for a while! The laughs and fun entertainment are definitely worth it. The only downside is that my dog chewed off the soft fabric covering in about twenty minutes.And she's not a real big chewer. It looks better with the covering on it, but even without it, the ball works fine and she plays with it every day.So that is not a showstopper. But good to supervise your dog for safety.In case they are a chewer, and they decide to destroy the cover. But the ball works fine without the cover too!
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Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2026
S
Verified Purchase
Shanna S.
Boise, US
★★★★★ 4
Looooves her crazy new ball
Color: Orange, Color: Orange
Our 90lb mastiff/boxer mix Indie is very playful, curious and energetic. She needs toys that engage her and keep her busy. This ball does the job! We’ve had it for less than a week. Here’s what I love and what could be better: PROS: • She dog loves it. She whines for it. She gets absurdly excited when I get it out. She’s a bit of an anxious dog, but had zero problems with it inexplicably coming to life. • It lasts a while on a single charge, so it keeps her busy for a good long time. The longest we’ve used it at a stretch is an hour. • It’s pretty durable. She’s a super chewer (destroyed every “non-destructible” toy we’ve purchased for her), but the actual ball is hard plastic. She gnaws on it and it gets scratches, for sure. But she’s not going to chew it to pieces. • On carpet, it’s reasonably quiet. • It comes with a replaceable silicone button. • It’s easy to charge…just pull off the silicone button and the charging port is inside. • The silicone button is flush with the ball’s hard plastic surface, so there’s no way for her to pull the silicone button out and swallow it or get to the charging port. CONS: • Cover is worthless if your dog is a chewer. It goes on like an envelope with a Velcro closure. We took it off immediately. • Without the cover, it’s very noisy on hardwood floors. To us, it’s worth it. (Though, I work from home, so I might feel differently after the holiday vacation.) • She’s an XL dog, so she can fit the whole ball in her mouth easily and accidentally chomp down on the button and turn the ball off. Not a big deal, just something to know if you’ve got a Lab or larger dog. • With extended playtime, the two halves can come unscrewed, especially with a large dog who uses their paws/jaws on it a lot. Thankfully, it makes a loud buzzing noise when this happens, so we know we need to take it from her and screw it back together. Is this a potential danger? With the rechargeable battery inside, I’d say yes. But we also don’t let her play with this toy without supervision. So keep that in mind. Bottom line: It has its drawbacks, but it keeps her entertained and seems like it should last her at least 6 months with supervised play. Which is honestly REALLY good when we’re talking about Indie, Destroyer of Toys. I’d buy it again.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2024
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Verified Purchase
T. Bock
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 3
Difficult/impossible to unscrew plastic cups (in order to recharge the vibrating/blinking device)
Color: Orange
Generally, I don't leave feedback on items purchased. However, in this case, I feel compelled to do so in hopes the mechanical engineers (of this product) will take my input to heart and ultimately modify it. First the pros... - I have 2 high-energy dogs (Jack Russell Terriers) who love their toys (e.g., chewing bones, tug-of-war, etc.) but usually get bored with them rather quickly. - This interactive PetDroid ball, however, keeps them busy for a long time. - In fact, my smaller dog (Max) knows its storage location and sits (as early as 6 AM) in front of the cabinet so that I give him "his ball". It keeps him busy for up to 1-2 hours at a time. - Max is literally addicted to the PetDroid ball... his determinant play with it makes me laugh all the time. Now, the cons... - After several days of play, the exterior looks chewed up quite a bit. That's no problem though. - Unfortunately, the interior "threads/grooves" of the two plastic cups (for closing/fasting) are very tiny. - Thus, after an hour-long hard play, it is almost impossible to unscrew the 2 plastic cups in order to recharge the interior device. - It appears the 2 cups somehow come off track and get realigned from the inside. - At that point, I cannot unscrew the PetDroid ball in order to recharge the device.... and without the blinking/vibration, this toy is no longer fun for play. - Ultimately, I had to place the bottom half of the ball into a vise and then use a plumbing wrench to untwist it. Proposed Solution: - Increase the size of the plastic cups' interior threads/grooves so that they won't get realigned/come off track. - This would mitigate the current dilemma of NOT being able to unscrew the ball in order to recharge it. In my view, this should be a relatively simple fix and significantly improve the durability of this product. Thank you for your time.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2022
S
Verified Purchase
Scott L.
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
Good fun and entertaining!
Color: Orange
A really fun interactive toy for your dog! It's pretty erratic and really gets him chasing it. The included soft cover was kinda hard to install and then it's hard to turn it off and on with the cover on, I feel like the cover didn't really improve it at all, sure it's louder without the cover but I feel like dog also likes it that way, he likes loud squeaky toys and this thing making a bunch of noise is appealing to him. We have mostly hardwood floors so it really gets moving, I'm sure on carpet it would be a bit quieter and maybe even a bit slower to move around but on hard smooth surfaces this things can really get zipping around abd get some speed to make him chase it. Overall a fun and entertaining toy.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2026
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Verified Purchase
bill a.
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
Awesome
Color: Orange
Awesome Toy . My Jack is crazy over it. She usually get bored with others, but this toy still has her attention after a couple of weeks Runs a long time on a short charge. 👍🏻
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2026

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