Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan Review

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(More customer reviews)Three veterans of the First Marine Division have written accounts of WWII. E.B. Sledge in "With the Old Breed," William Manchester in "Goodbye Darkness," and Robert Leckie in "Strong Men Armed."
"With the Old Breed" and "Goodbye Darkness" are personal reminiscences, but "Strong Men Armed" is a scholarly study. It doesn't dwell on personal experiences, but gives the vast panorama of the Navy/Marine Corps island hopping campaign, and helps to put Sledge's and Manchester's personal memoirs into the context of the whole war in the Pacific. Leckie does give his chronicle a personal touch by occasionally stopping to pay tribute to some of the matchless individual deeds heroism and sacrifice. One arresting theme is his account of each and every Medal of Honor awarded to Marines who threw themselves onto live hand grenades to save their comrades. ("Greater love hath no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.")
Sledge's book ("With the Old Breed") is a plain spoken account of one man's view of the horrors of the war in the Pacific. Manchester's book ("Goodbye Darkness") reads something like the out-loud ruminations of a mental patient working through unresolved issues on the psychiatrist's couch. Leckie's book is an epic account of a titanic struggle.
For the Big Picture of the war in the Pacific, "Strong Men Armed" can't be beaten. For a more personal look at the war, read "With the Old Breed."

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Written by Robert Leckie, whose wartime exploits will be featured this spring in the upcoming Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg HBO miniseries The Pacific, Strong Men Armed has been a perennial bestselling classic account of the Pacific theater in World War II. As scout and machine-gunner for the First Marine Division, Leckie fought in all its engagements until his wounding at Peleliu. Here he uses firsthand experience and impeccable research to re-create the nightmarish battles of the Pacific campaign.

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Battleground (The Corps #4) Review

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(More customer reviews)In this volume of the Corps saga , we see several of the characters introduced in "Counterattack" elevated to new prominence. Newly promoted Captain Charley Galloway becomes the commanding officer of VMF 229 , and along with Bily Dunn sets about preparing the young squadron to be thrown into the cauldron of Guadalcanal. Flem Pickering continues to grow in importance to the ongoing tale of incredible heroisim exhibited by the young Marines thrown into bloody conflict.
"Battleground" details some of the terrible privations experienced by the First Marine division on the 'Canal and the coastwatchers on Buka island. Steve Koffler and Joe Howard on Buka illustrate the importance of the little known coastwatcher organisation to the success of the Marine aviation assets in the Solomons. Koffler continues to grow in importance to the task of Captain/General Pickering in the Southwest Pacific Ocean Area (SWPOA). Even though Koffler and Howard are ill with parasites and other tropical diseases they continue to function "as Marines".Koffler continues to emerge as one of the more "colorful" characters in the story--look for him in future episodes!
Of the many volumes in "The Corps" saga , "Battleground" stands out as one of the more lively and entertaining volumes. A great read--I could hardly put it down. Have now read it 4 times!
A true 5 star effort.

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In this electrifying novel of the U.S. Marine Corps, the master of authentic military action and drama reveals the story of one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Pacific: the epic struggle for Guadalcanal.

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The Pacific Campaign in World War II: From Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal (Naval Policy and History) (Cass Series: Naval Policy and History) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a taut, well-written and non-sentimental account of an early US victory in World War II that, together with the battle at Midway Island, turned the tide of the war in our favor.
While deeply researched, it's nonetheless a compelling read and incorporates a good balance of personal and professional stories.
Highly recommended.

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This is a fascinating new account of how diplomacy and politics gave way to military strategy and warfare in the Pacific.Presenting previously unpublished photographs, interviews with veterans, newly commissioned maps and new translations of Japanese sources, this book freshly examines the key events in the fight for the Pacific. Detailing the background to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor it shows how the decision-makers in Washington, following consultation with the leaders of Britain, Australia and New Zealand, moved to stop Japan from its drive toward Australia by initiating a counterthrust in the Solomon Islands. It also shows how qualities and character of leadership are crucial to winning wars, detailing how Admiral Ernest J. King managed to commit the Marine Corps to ground action in the South Pacific six months earlier than originally planned, by ignoring the Roosevelt's commitment to defeat Germany prior to fighting Japan, and by outmaneuvering Gen. Douglas MacArthur for leadership. It also explains how Marines under Maj. Gen. A.A. Vandegrift, despite inadequate logistical support, managed to prevail in the Americans' first ground campaign of World War II, making Japan's ultimate defeat inevitable.In addition to recounting these key events, it traces how censorship and patriotism influenced the reporting of the conflict in America, how Hollywood films further shaped public opinion by portraying the significant events in particular ways, and how certain crucial decisions such as the early bombing raid of Tokyo, and giving Douglas MacArthur command of the war effort in Australia, were "political" rather than "strategic," and were made to foster morale rather than to gain any military advantage.This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of Military History, and to allreaders with a general interest in World War II, particularly in the conflicts of the Pacific, Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal.

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First Shot: The Untold Story of the Japanese Minisubs That Attacked Pearl Harbor Review

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(More customer reviews)On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched the sneak attack on the American Pacific fleet based at Pearl Harbor. Over 300 aircraft operating from 6 aircraft carriers participated in the attack, but lost in the annals of history are the Japanese midget submarines, who's job it was to penetrate the harbor and launch torpedoes at the American ships.
The destroyer USS Ward was patrolling the waters surrounding the entrance to the harbor on that fateful morning. Suddenly, a lookout aboard the Ward spotted an object that looked like a periscope. Knowing that no American submarines were operating in the area, the Ward swung into action, attacking the sub with gunfire and depth charges. One shot hit the sub directly on the conning tower. The little sub then disappeared beneath the waves. The Ward immediately sent a report to Pearl Harbor but, the message failed to rouse any suspicion or action from the Americans. Approximately one hour later, the Japanese planes appeared, and the rest is history. Imagine what might have happened if the Americans would have taken the Ward's report more seriously and had planes in the air, anti-aircraft guns ready, and ships prepared to sail into open water? One can only wonder. As it turns out, the failure to act on the Ward's message is just another blunder committed by the Americans on this day of infamy.
I felt this book had some good points, but the title is somewhat confusing. When I purchased the book, I was hoping to read about the midget submarines and the role they played in the attack on Pearl Harbor. I've read numerous books on the Pearl Harbor attack, but the efforts of the mini-subs are not described in great detail. I was somewhat disappointed with this book, because the author only devotes perhaps one or two chapters of this book to the mini-subs. Instead, he talks about the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway and he devotes an entire chapter to the death of Admiral Yamamoto at the hands of American fighter pilots. He even mentions the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. This happened 3 1/2 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
This book has some interesting chapters, such as the narrative about the capture of officer Kazuo Sakamaki, commander of one of the Japanese min-subs. However, this book tends to concentrate on the Pacific war as a whole rather than solely on the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Overall, I rate this book as only average. The author should have kept to his original theme about the Japanese mini-subs' roles in the Pearl Harbor attack instead of branching out to cover the entire Pacific campaign.

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"If we had only known even a bit of what John Craddock tells us now, our own history could have been so very different."--Sherry Sontag, coauthor of Blind Man's Bluff
In First Shot, John Craddock investigates a little-known but clear eleventh-hour warning that, had it been heeded, might have enabled the Navy's Pearl Harbor command to blunt the Japanese assault and save ships and lives. Craddock reveals that the attack plan of Japan's Admiral Yamamoto included five midget submarines, each carrying two men and two torpedoes. First Shot vividly recreates the action on the deck of the U.S.S. Ward on the morning of December 7 as the outmoded relic of an earlier war engaged a tiny, state-of-the-art undersea fighting machine.

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From Pearl Harbor To Okinawa: The War In The Pacific 1941-1945 (Landmark Books, 94) Review

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(More customer reviews)A cursory, almost story-book rendering of the Battle for Okinawa. My favorite feature of this book is the many simple maps of the various areas throughout the Pacific Theater of Operations.
In only 185 pages of relatively large print, this book treats the Pacific war from the morning of December 7th, 1941 to the signing of the surrender aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945.
This is an excellent "starter" book for the novice historian or curious reader.

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Pacific War: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima (Companion) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book provides a number of different strategic perspectives on the Pacific War in World War II. It is made up of a number of articles written by leading thinkers in the field of military history. Most are professors at universities. As mentioned in one review, one article has inaccurately identified that the US used Avengers for torpedo bombers at Midway when they used Devastators. However, the rest of the articles are accurate in the basics, and some of the strategic perspectives are interesting. Here are a couple for you. (1) Although the US used a Europe first strategy, the most powerful naval units fought in the Pacific, and the number of army divisions provided to MacArthur were still significant (when the divisions in Europe were below necessary), and the most advanced bomber (B-29) was provided to the Pacific War in mid 1944 when the bomber offensive in Europe would have needed them. Obviously, all along, the US had decided to fight a major two front war, and expected to win in Europe with Russian and British help of course. (2) The Japanese expected the US to back off because they expected the US not to be willing to fight a war with significant casualties. Consequently, Japan was not prepared for a long war and essentially fought the war with the same resources at the beginning as at the end: the same fighter planes, the same carriers, the same infantry weapons, etc., while the US technology increased. So, by the end of the war, Japan was outclassed. These are just some of the interesting perspectives of the book. I especially liked the chapter on Central Pacific campaign and the debate that went on between Nimitz and MacArthur to conduct that. However, I didn't give the book 4 stars because some of the articles are weak including the one on Midway that wrongly highlights the use of the Avenger. In spite of this, I do recommend this book especially for anyone interested in WWII.

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