Book excerpt: Whether you are interested in the career of an individual Royal Marine or just want to know more about the part played by the Marines in a particular battle or campaign, this book will point you in the right direction. Assuming that the reader has no prior knowledge of the Royal Marines, their history or organization, Richard Brooks and Matthew Little explain which records survive, where they can be found and how they can help you in your research. They also describe in vivid detail the evolution of the Royal Marines, from the tentative beginnings of the service in the seventeenth century to their present position as a key part of the British armed forces.