Voyage to Oblivion Review

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(More customer reviews)Reviewed in "Armchair General" Magazine (online)
Everyone knows that Japan's first shot of the Pacific War against the United States was fired at Pearl Harbor, 7:55 a.m. Honolulu time the morning of December 7, 1941, when the first wave of aircraft making the surprise attack descended on the unsuspecting U. S. Pacific Fleet. But is what "everyone knows" wrong? Stephen Harding's fascinating new book, Voyage to Oblivion: A Sunken Ship, a Vanished Crew and the Final Mystery of Pearl Harbor, examines an intriguing incident that took place on the same morning as the Pearl Harbor attack and that raised the possibility that perhaps the history books on the Pacific War might need to be re-written.
Mid-ocean between Seattle and Honolulu that fateful December 7 morning, Japanese fleet submarine I-26, skippered by Commander Minoru Yokota (Hasegawa), intercepted, opened fire with its 5.5-inch deck gun and eventually sank the American steamer, Cynthia Olson, sailing to Hawaii under U. S. Army contract with a load of lumber. Although we know with relative certainty that the first American shots of the Pacific war were those fired at 6:37 a.m. (over an hour before the first Japanese planes arrived over Pearl Harbor) by the destroyer USS Ward when it engaged a Japanese midget submarine attempting to enter the anchorage, was the first Japanese round fired in anger the I-26's opening 5.5-inch shell (fired across the Cynthia Olson's bow forcing the unarmed merchant ship to stop dead in the water)? Harding expertly sifts through all the available evidence regarding the Cynthia Olson, the I-26 and the two vessels' fatal encounter, then applies his reasoned judgment - honed by his years as a defense journalist, author and senior editor of Military History magazine - to solve, as the book's subtitle notes, this "final mystery of Pearl Harbor." And, no, I'm not going to reveal Harding's solidly-argued conclusion in this review. Buy the book and find out - you'll certainly want to add it to your military history bookshelf in any event.
Actually, Harding's engagingly-written account examines - among other fascinating items - the two principal mysteries surrounding the sinking of Cynthia Olson: Did the timing of the Japanese submarine's attack precede the larger Pearl Harbor air strike? And, what ultimate fate befell the merchant steamer's 35-man crew? The latter mystery is especially poignant, as Harding introduces readers to the Cynthia Olson's captain, ship's officers and crew, as well as several of their wives, forced to endure years of not knowing their husbands' fates while wrestling with the suffocating and frustrating military bureaucracy. Interestingly, 23 of the Cynthia Olson's 35-man crew were Filipinos, and their disappearance when the ship sank made them among America's first casualties of the Pacific War - two weeks before the Japanese invaded their home country and launched attacks against General Douglas MacArthur's forces defending the Commonwealth. The families of Cynthia Olson's Filipino sailors living in the Philippines, therefore, faced double tragedies: the disappearance of the sailors and the invasion of their country and subsequent brutal Japanese occupation.
Since Cynthia Olson's crew - to a man - all simply vanished in the wake of the ship's sinking by I-26, leaving no trace (beyond a photograph of the ship going down taken by an I-26 officer, revealing that Cynthia Olson's lifeboats had been launched), determining exactly what happened to the merchant sailors is problematic and, of necessity, speculative. Yet, Harding's thorough investigation and logical conclusion of the sailors' fate seems unquestionably to be what happened to them. Again, we encourage readers to buy this "must read" book to find out what Harding concludes must have happened to Cynthia Olson's "vanished crew."
This reviewer was first introduced to the Cynthia Olson's story in a short reference to the ill-fated ship in Racing the Sunrise: The Reinforcement of America's Pacific Outposts, 1941-1942 (USNI Press, 2010), Glen Williford's ground-breaking and authoritative account of the efforts to build up the United States' military bases in the Pacific as war with Japan loomed and during the war's first few weeks. But that necessarily brief account only whetted one's appetite to learn more about the ship, its crew, and the maritime mystery surrounding Cynthia Olson's fate. Harding's exhaustive, book-length investigation, therefore, comes as a welcome feast of information about the merchant steamer, its "vanished crew" and the December 7, 1941, submarine attack that sent it to the bottom.
Reviewed by Jerry D. Morelock, Editor in Chief, Armchair General Magazine
ACG rates this "MUST READ" book 5 Stars, our highest rating.

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On Dec. 7, 1941, even as Japanese carrier-launched aircraft were winging their way toward Pearl Harbor, a small American cargo ship chartered by the U.S. Army reported it was being attacked by a submarine about halfway between Seattle and Honolulu. After that one cryptic message the humble lumber carrier Cynthia Olson and her crew vanished without a trace, their disappearance all but forgotten as the mighty warships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet burned.Though long relegated to footnote status in Pacific War histories, the story of Cynthia Olson's mid-ocean encounter with the Japanese submarine I-26 is both a classic high-seas drama and one of the most enduring mysteries of World War II. Did Commander Minoru Yokota of I-26 disregard orders and sink the freighter before the attack on Pearl Harbor began, running the risk of alerting the Americans to the impending assault? Did master mariner Berthel Carlsen and his 34-man crew survive their vessel's sinking only to drift away into the vast Pacific, or were they machine gunned in their lifeboats at the orders of Yokota, who after the war became a devout Christian? Was Cynthia Olson the first American casualty of the Pacific War, and could her SOS have changed the course of history?Based on years of research, Voyage to Oblivion explores both the military and human aspects of the Cynthia Olson story, bringing to life a complex tale of courage, tenacity, hubris and arrogance in the opening hours of America's war in the Pacific.

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Forgotten Fleet: The Mothball Navy Review

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(More customer reviews)Although the author can get a tad too wistful at times, the book did an excellent job of portraying the fate of much of the Navy post-WWII. I grew up in Norfolk and always enjoyed seeing shops. Visting a mothball squadron in Suisun Bay, CA made me want to learn more about the fleet. This book did a nice job. The pictures were fabulous. My only complaint is that there is not enough discussion about policy.

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A pictorial history of the U.S. Navy's mothball fleet, this handsome book takes a rare look at the so-called fleet behind the fleet, from the end of World War II to the present. Through photographs of the ships and shipyards where they were laid up and brief ship histories, it tells the story of how these ships were paid off and preserved, how some were reactivated, and how most left the reserve fleet to be broken up. Additional photos of the ships in action remind readers that forgotten though they were while in mothballs, many made their marks on history.Year after year the warships lay quiet and lifeless, like boarded up old houses once full of activity that had outlived their usefulness. The row upon row of mostly now-anonymous vessels, hatches sealed shut, offer a bleak contrast to the drama of their wartime operations. You can almost hear the wind whistling through the masts and superstructures stripped of radars. Below decks there is only the sound of the dehumidifiers, removing moisture from the air, retarding the buildup of rust and deterioration. Berthing areas, repair shops and radio rooms have been frozen in time, looking exactly as they did when sealed decades before. Among them are such well-known ships as the Enterprise and the Midway, as well as little-known ones like the Fall River, and some that were laid up almost as soon as they were completed, like the Oregon City. Here too are the frigates and nuclear submarines of a later age. These are the ships of the forgotten fleet, built for war but resting at peace in coastal parking lots on both sides of the country, their story told for the first time.

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Clear the Bridge : The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang Review

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(More customer reviews)I could not put this book down. O'Kanes writing puts the reader inside the sub taking part in every detail of the Tang's patrols during WWII. I found myself refering to the maps every time he gave a description of the Tang's approach to enemy shipping and being able to see his detailed discriptions of the area thru the periscope. O'Kane's memories of details of shooting setups and the details of men at their stations in time of war is uncanny. This is truly a book that takes the reader to the dark days of WWII and the frustration of fighting with defective torpedos and equipment and the "jury-rigging" the crews had to do to make things work and in most cases make equipment better than what was issued. O'Kane was not only a great leader of men he is one of the great heros of WWII. It would be an honor to shake his hand.

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Tang carried the war to the enemy with unparalleled ferocity. This is her story as told by her skipper.

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Iron Coffins: A Personal Account Of The German U-boat Battles Of World War II Review

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(More customer reviews)First off, it should be noted that Capt. Werner beat the odds. He survived to tell his tale. 80% of his fellow submariners would perish under the waves as in the later years of the war each mission was essentially a suicide mission. One of these "ramming" suicide missions was even ordered of his boat in the weeks after D-Day, and incredibly, some of his fellow sailors on other submarines would die following these orders.
Werner's odyssey began when, on his first mission, the U-230 got stuck on the ocean floor and the crew spent 16 hours jettisoning water and weight out the torpedo tubes, and then ran from one end to the other to rock the boat free. So started his career. The number of close calls he and his ship would encounter over the course of the war, and survive, is equivalent to winning a lottery. Werner and crew had lady luck on their side at times, but many other escapes were a direct result of his competence and the crews bravery. It is a fascinating tale. The new radar that submarines employed in 1942 was later discovered to be acting like a homing beacon for allied aircraft, leading to the deaths of many crews from giving away their position before this error was discovered and fixed. By 1943 the Allies had prefected their hunt and destroy tactics so that many of these subs were unable to escape when their positions were verified. Many, many last reports from Werners classmates and fellow submariners were received onboard the U-230 before they went down with the loss of all hands. These haunting messages were continually relayed to Werner and his sub and somehow this man was able to keep from being part of the majority of brave sailors who died an anonymous death in the deep waters of the Atlantic ocean.
Simply an unforgettable book to read. One of the finest first person accounts of WWII that I have read to date. Ranks right up there with the works of Guy Sajer and Eugene Sledge.

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The former German U-boat commander Herbert Werner navigates readers through the waters of World War II, recounting four years of the most significant and savage battles. By war's end, 28,000 out of 39,000 German sailors had disappeared beneath the waves.

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Pacific Campaign: The U.S.-Japanese Naval War 1941-1945 Review

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(More customer reviews)The most interesting and useful part of this book for most people may be the first 113 pages that describe events preceding Pearl Harbor as Japan, starting with their annexation of Formosa in 1895, maneuvered for two generations toward war with the United States.
Published in 1991, author van der Vat pays no homage to "the greatest generation" who fought the war in the lower ranks but focuses on their parents' generation, men largely born before 1895, who, sometimes wisely and sometimes not, actually strategized the war and lead the U.S. to Victory (Roosevelt, King, Nimitz, Halsey, MacAuthur, et al). The profiles of significant senior Japanese officers will be new to many Americans. Also, the author makes a good case that the two pronged assault toward Japan, MacArthur through the Solomons and Philippines and Nimitz through the Marshalls, Marianas, etc., was a poor strategy that needlessly prolonged the war by dividing Allied resources.
Another interesting aspect is the fanatical, even suicidal, attitude of so many Japanese both before the war and during pitched battles. This lead the U.S. to conclude that the only way to get them to stop fighting, either on a remote atoll or on their home islands, was to apply ever greater firepower. It sounds in some ways like the philosophy and practice of the Islamic supremacists the U.S. is fighting in recent and current times.
A few interesting tidbits were new to me. For example, the famous Normandy D-Day landing was not the largest or even the second largest single-day U.S. amphibious assault of the war; the largest was on Luzon in the Philippines and the second largest was on Okinawa. The first B-29 raid of the war was against Japanese forces in Bangkok. The Japanese killed 250,000 Chinese civilians in reprisal for (very little) Chinese support of the 1942 Doolittle (Thirty Second Over Tokyo) air raid. And, things never change, a U.S. congressman blabbed in a press conference that during a "fact finding trip" to the Pacific Theater he learned that the Japanese were failing to sink U.S. submarines because they were setting their depth charges to explode at too shallow a depth; the Japanese picked this up and thereafter improved their ability to sink our subs... Finally the Japanese had a significant atomic weapons program dating from before 1942 and one of their principal development sites, captured and dismantled by the Russians, was in what is now North Korea (!?).
This 429-page book is recommended as a "refresher" for someone who is familiar with the general facts of WWII in the Pacific but is vague on the specifics or someone with no prior knowledge who wants to learn the details (units, ships, commanders) of the principal campaigns and battles.
The maps could be better and the photos are mostly well know from elsewhere.


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Dan van der Vat's naval histories have been acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic as "definitive," "extraordinary," and "vivid and harrowing." Now he turns to the greatest naval conflict in history: the Pacific campaign of World War II. Drawing on neglected archives of firsthand accounts from both sides, van der Vat interweaves eyewitness testimony with sharp, analytical narration to provide a penetrating reappraisal of the strategic and political background of both the Japanese and American forces, as well as a major reassessment of the role of intelligence on both sides. A comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of the war in the Pacific, The Pacific Campaign promises to be the standard work on the U.S.-Japanese war for years to come.

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The USS Flier: Death and Survival on a World War II Submarine Review

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(More customer reviews)Submariners assert their's was the most dangerous duty posting in World War II. Unlike the thousands of Airmen shot down over Europe who had a chance to bail out, if submariners were forced to abandon ship, there was little chance of survival. "The USS Flier: Death and Survival on a World War II Submarine" retells the story of eight survivors who not only survived the sinking of their ship, but made their way back to allied lines to fight again.
Sturma researched War Patrol Reports and the 1944 transcripts of the ship's skipper, Commander John Crowley, along with numerous other applicable publications available from US Navy Archives. After reading the book, you may jump to the conclusion either Commander John Crowley was a hard luck skipper, or the USS Flier was a hard-luck ship. In January 1944, on its first outing in the Pacific, Commander Crowley brought the sub into Midway harbor for refueling. Sturma provides a detailed look into the circumstances that led to the stranding of the submarine and subsequent sinking of its rescue vessel, the USS Macaw.
The book briefly describes the board of inquiry into the accident which held Crowley accountable, but permitted him to retain command. After major repairs in California, Commander Crowley led the USS Flier on its second patrol where it came to an abrupt end in the Balabac Strait on August 13, 1944.
Sturma begins with survivor accounts ("there was a big explosion") and analyzes the possible causes for the explosion. Although never proven conclusively, Sturma establishes a credible argument for a Japanese naval mine as the probable cause of the explosion. The story continues with the incredible fourteen-hour swim to a nearby island. Two days later the survivors make contact with coast watchers in the Phillipines, who radioed US Seventh Fleet to coordinate a rescue during the night of August 29, 1944.
The balance of the book describes the subsequent inquiry into the loss of the USS Flier, and the careers of Crowley, the other survivors, and Admiral Christie, the commander of the submarine fleet based out of Freemantle, Australia.
Whether it's a description of the evolution of Midway Harbor; mine warfare tactics; or the personal rivalries between the American commanders of Australia-based submarines, Sturma provides detailed segues into many facets of Naval and submarine warfare during World War II. The book has numerous charts that enhance the reader's ability to understand the operations areas.

This enjoyable and readable book honoring the USS Flier would be a welcome addition to any maritime library.

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The fate of the USS Flier is one of the most astonishing stories of the Second World War. On August 13, 1944, the submarine struck a mine and sank to the bottom of the Sulu Sea in less than one minute, leaving only fourteen of its crew of eighty-six hands alive. After enduring eighteen hours in the water, eight remaining survivors swam to a remote island controlled by the Japanese. Deep behind enemy lines and without food or drinking water, the crewmen realized that their struggle for survival had just begun. On its first war patrol, the unlucky Flier made it from Pearl Harbor to Midway where it ran aground on a reef. After extensive repairs and a formal military inquiry, the Flier set out once again, this time completing a distinguished patrol from Pearl Harbor to Fremantle, Western Australia. Though the Flier's next mission would be its final one, that mission is important for several reasons: the story of the Flier's sinking illuminates the nature of World War II underwater warfare and naval protocol and demonstrates the high degree of cooperation that existed among submariners, coast watchers, and guerrillas in the Philippines. The eight sailors who survived the disaster became the first Americans of the Pacific war to escape from a sunken submarine and return safely to the United States. Their story of persistence and survival has all the elements of a classic World War II tale: sudden disaster, physical deprivation, a ruthless enemy, and a dramatic escape from behind enemy lines. In The USS Flier: Death and Survival on a World War II Submarine, noted historian Michael Sturma vividly recounts a harrowing story of brave men who lived to return to the service of their country.

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Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II Review

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(More customer reviews)Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War IIMy name is Pat Douhan and I am one of the few survivors from the USS Hull DD350. After reading this book I can truthfully say that Bruce Henderson did an outstanding job of compilling
the true facts leading up to, during and after our loss in Typhoon Cobra. Being the reunion coordinator for the USS Hull reunions I am very close to most of my surviving shipmates as well as others that transferred prior to our sinking and this author has put together the true facts he obtained through research, interview, Naval records and ships deck logs, something than none of the previous authors accomplished. When reading this book you can see that our problems really begin when we had a change of command in October during our yard overhaul in Seattle. We destroyer sailors are close nit group and not too much was known about the loss of the three "tin cans" in the typhoon and we did not say much, but over the past few years this Naval tragedy has come to light and is getting some attention and as you can see by this authors writings you are not going to win when you are fighting mother nature. I will say again, after having been there,that this book "Down to the Sea" truthfully tells it like it was.

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In Bitter Tempest: The Biography of Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher Review

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(More customer reviews)The author, Stephen Regan, has done an excellent job of summing the book. Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher is a an integral figure in the Pacific War, WW II and has received much harsh criticism, relegating him to the category of mediocrity at best. Other authors have not investigated the facts as has Mr. Regan. In my opinion, This book is essential to those studying the naval war with Japan. The book explains much beyond just the admiral's personal situation, too, including naval politics of the day, an essential element of the picture.

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Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway Review

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(More customer reviews). Don't be misled by the title, this is not just another telling of the entire Battle of Midway story. Instead it's an exhaustively detailed new account of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) at Midway, accomplished with a depth of research and analysis not previously seen. The book is crammed with a dazzling set of graphics, including brilliant computer-generated charts and diagrams that very signficantly aid the text.
. Of course, anyone attempting to rewrite the history of the IJN at Midway needs to convince potential readers that the new book offers something signficant over the time-honored resource for that subject, Fuchida and Okumiya's "Midway, the Battle That Doomed Japan." The authors of "Shattered Sword" not only accepted that challenge, but they convincingly demonstrate that Fuchida was very loose with certain key facts in his Midway book, done in order to serve personal aims that didn't necessarily require telling the truth. The result has been a number of deeply-entrenched myths that permeate the popular history of the battle. "Shattered Sword" ably exposes those myths and convincingly demonstrates in each case what really happened and why.
. This reviewer frequently has occasion to recommend references on the Battle of Midway to students and others beginning a study of that epic clash. In such cases I always recommnend Robert Cressman's "A Glorious Page In Our History" as the best overall account of the battle. I now need to add "Shattered Sword" to the short list of works that those doing serious research on Midway really must have. In particular, anyone who has read Fuchida's "Midway" and puts significant stock in it really ought to read "Shattered Sword" to learn what the earlier work either omitted or got quite wrong.

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Call to Arms (The Corps, Book 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you buy a W E B Griffin novel looking for shootin' and lootin' combat action, you'll probably be a little disappointed. For new readers, I strongly recommend the first two volumes of The Corps series. As an ensemble, the characters are the most compelling of Griffin's works and the stories follow a mostly historical time line. Readers whose view of WWll comes from old B&W movies may find the carousing a little rugged although the "Platoon" and "Apocalypse Now" generation will find the sex and drinking pretty conventional.
Griffin provides his readers a slightly different angle or angles, offering multiple intertwined stories which are more or less connected within the context of the whole. Sometimes, this works well, sometimes less so, depending really upon how well he manages to tie the whole thing together in the last few pages.
If this appeals to you there are a couple of other things you may want to consider before beginning your journey into Griffin's micro version of history. The most obvious is that the books are written in series form, "The Corps", Brotherhood of War", "Honorbound", etc, and while you probably will want to read them in their proper order, (numbered for your convenience, Book l, Book ll, and so on), you may find reading them straight through a bit wearisome. This is due to the Author's practice of bringing new readers up to speed on the reoccurring characters, (reading the story on Ken McCoy's nickname for the third or fourth time, if done in too short a time frame, is off putting).
Another artistic conceit is Griffin's love of the "small world phenomena", (think Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon), all of his primary cast not only know each other through family, or business associations, or mutual friends or a shared experience, they somehow manage to be tied to famous persons of the time. To enjoy the Griffin books you'll just have to suspend reality a bit and just go with it. Get used to guest appearances by "Dugout Doug MacArthur and FDR.
You also may be a little impatient with some of the editing and although most folks who read these as military or history buffs won't mind the routine technical references to uniforms, weapons, rations, and other gear, the casual reader might. I found the earliest "Corps" and "Brotherhood" stories strongest and his later work, and the "Badge of Honor" series to be a little less focused.

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W.E.B. Griffin's epic story of the Marine Corps continues with an elite fraternity known as the Raiders taking form after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

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We Were Pirates: A Torpedoman's Pacific War Review

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(More customer reviews)When I picked up We Were Pirates I expected a firsthand account of the Pacific War with a ghost writer and what I found was that two men have edited and woven Chief Robert Hunt's diary into We Were Pirates. While well written I found myself wishing I was reading Chief Hunt's diary with commentary by Chief Hunt. At one point Hunt by mistake fires a torpedo then the authors kept on talking about a leak in the torpedo room. It seems likely that the torpedo went through the outer torpedo tube door and damaged the tube causing the leak but the authors lack of knowledge of submarines is shown here. The authors spend too much time on Hunt's time ashore and not enough exploring the war patrols or bringing in other material supplementing Hunt's diary. the pressures of the war patrols would be far more helpful than the exploits of Chief Hunt's letting off steam. The purpose of a good History is to explore causes in order to understand the consequences, I found myself skipping over the beach portions of the book.
The end of the book became difficult to read because the main author Robert Schultz goes into first person account of hero worship for Chief Hunt and while interesting the purpose of reading this book is to know about Chief Hunt experiences not Dr. Schultz's. It is a very irritating trend in recent histories to have the author imbed themselves into the narrative. In the end it was an easy read but a book that I can't say added much to the submarine history library. It is a shame we couldn't have Chief Hunt's words and experience firsthand.

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A sailor's extraordinary experiences on an American submarine in the Pacific are candidly reported in this eyewitness account of war from a torpedoman's perspective. Robert Hunt managed to survive twelve consecutive war patrols on the submarine USS Tambor. During the course of the war, Hunt was everywhere that mattered in the Pacific. He stood on the bow of the Tambor as it cruised into Pearl Harbor just days after the devastation of the Japanese air raid, peered through binoculars as his boat shadowed Japanese cruisers at the Battle of Midway, ferried guns and supplies to American guerilla fighters in the Philippines, fired torpedoes that sank vital Japanese shipping, and survived a near-fatal, seventeen-hour depth-charge attack. For exceptional skill and proficiency at his battle station Hunt received a commendation from Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. This WWII torpedoman's account of the war offers the rare perspective of an enlisted seaman that is not available in the more common officer accounts. To capture and recount the progress of the Pacific War through Hunt's eyes coauthors Robert Schultz and James Shell examined the young submariner's war diary, as well as crew letters, photographs, and captains' reports, and they also conducted hours of interviews. Their vivid descriptions of the ways in which sailors dealt with the stress of war while at sea or on liberty show a side of the war that is rarely reported. The fact that Hunt's submarine was the first of a new fleet of World War II boats and the namesake of a significant class adds further value to his remarkable story.

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Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carriers 1921-45 Review

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(More customer reviews)As with most Osprey books, the info is compact and useful, and it fills the need for a short overview - What does the name of the ship mean? Why is the island on the wrong side? How many planes were carried? Where was it sunk? Everything provided is at the level of detail I need at this time. When I need broad, deep set of information I'll invest in the >1000 pages of information in "Sunburst" and "Kaigun" as recommended by another reviewer.

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USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific, 1942 (Duel) Review

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(More customer reviews)The epic duel in the Pacific Ocean in 1942 between the carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Kido Butai (Mobile Force) and the carriers of the United States Navy makes for dramatic history and this story is told with great verve and insight by Commander (ret.) Mark Stille. USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers is the sixth volume in Osprey's new Duel series and readers need not fear that this is a repackaging of material from other Campaign and New Vanguard series titles. Rather, this volume provides a fresh look at four carrier vs. carrier battles (Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz) in 1942, fought when the odds were fairly even and in the context of two rival weapon systems. Both the graphics and text were highly engaging and I would strongly recommend this volume for readers interested in the Second World War in the Pacific.
The initial section on design and development focuses on carrier doctrine, carrier design and carrier construction programs for both the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. Herein, the author notes that the U.S. carriers were aided by earlier introduction of air-search radar, heavier anti-aircraft armament, better damage control and larger air wings. On the other hand, the Japanese opted for smaller aircraft with longer range, but otherwise the author views their carriers as generally inferior technically to their main U.S. counterparts. Color plan forms of the USS Enterprise and the IJN Zuikaku are included. The Strategic Situation section outlines the U.S. Navy's vulnerabilities after Pearl Harbor and the effort to mass a sufficient number of carriers to oppose the Kido Butai at a favorable moment. In the technical specifications section, the author details the U.S. Lexington and Yorktown class carriers, as well as the F-4F Wildcat fighter, the SBD-3 Dauntless dive-bomber, the TBD-1 Devastator and TBF-1 Avenger torpedo bombers for the U.S.N., and the 6 fleet and 4 light carriers for the IJN.
The well-written section on combatants discusses each sides' command personnel, naval aviators and anti-aircraft gunnery. Here the author notes that the U.S.N. was actually more selective in pre-war pilot training than the IJN, which found 90 percent of its aircrew from the enlisted ranks. Only 22 percent of U.S. naval aviators in 1942 had more than two year's flying experience. The author provides full-page plates on Vice-Admiral Nagumo and Rear-Admiral Fletcher, and a half-page each on aviators Lieutenant Richard Best (Dauntless pilot from USS Enterprise who bombed Akagi at Midway) and Lieutenant Tomonaga Joichi (Kate pilot from Hiryu who almost torpedoed Yorktown).
The 18-page section on combat sequentially covers the battles of Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz. Although the Japanese made costly mistakes in the first two battles, he notes that they increased the size of their fighter wings and added radar to their carriers, which enhanced their performance in the last two battles. This section also has a color battle scene, depicting Ensign George Gay floating in the water, watching the destruction of Akagi, Kaga and Soryu. The real meat in this volume is the 5-page section on statistics and analysis, which lays out the results of these four battles. While Midway was a clear U.S. victory and Eastern Solomons was a draw, the author views Coral Sea and Santa Cruz as costly Japanese tactical victories. He notes that of the 6 U.S. carriers committed in the Pacific in 1942, 4 were sunk, versus 6 of 10 for the Japanese (plus nearly every one of the survivors was damaged in 1942 - a tough year on carriers). The author makes several key points: (a) the Japanese had superior offensive anti-ship capabilities based upon their superior Type 91 air-launched torpedo -"in every 1942 battle, once an American carrier was torpedoed, it was eventually sunk," (b) the USN had persistent problems coordinating multi-carrier air group attacks in 1942 and Midway was the lucky exception, (c) the Japanese improved their air-search techniques after Midway and were not surprised again and (d) the U.S. continued operating single-carrier task forces throughout 1942 - which weakened their offensive and defensive capabilities - but was gradually moving toward multi-carrier task forces. The author concludes that both sides learned a great deal from these four carrier battles, but only the USN had the resources to build and train large carrier strike groups. Japan struggled to replace its losses from 1942, but was forced to convert merchant ships into carriers and its pilot training program could only produce a trickle of trained pilots. On the other hand, the U.S. mass-produced both the excellent Essex-class carriers and thousands of new pilots. The result was that the one carrier battle after 1942 - the Battle of the Philippine Sea in 1944 - was a decisive victory for the USN, which finally resolved the carrier vs. carrier duel for control of the Pacific.


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The Imperial Japanese Navy was a pioneer in naval aviation, having commissioned the world's first carrier, which was used against the US fleet at Pearl Harbor. The Americans followed suit, initiating huge aircraft carrier development programs. As the Pacific war escalated into the largest naval conflict in history, the role of the carrier became the linchpin of American and Japanese naval strategy as these rival vessels found themselves locked in a struggle for dominance of this critical theater of war. This book provides an analysis of the variety of weaponry available to the rival carriers, including the powerful shipborne guns and embarked aircraft.Study the design and development of these revolutionary ships, discover the pioneering tactics that were used to ensure victory and "live" the experiences of the rival airmen and gun crews as they battled for victory in a duel of skill, tenacity and guts.

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How They Won the War in the Pacific: Nimitz and His Admirals Review

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(More customer reviews)After the Pearl Harbor disaster, President Roosevelt decided to relieve Admiral Husband Kimmel of his Pacific Fleet command. Many thought that Kimmel was made out to be a scapegoat and did not deserve to be relieved, but Roosevelt felt that a new commander was needed to lift America out of the ashes of Pearl harbor and begin the road to ultimate victory. The man chosen for the task was Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.
Nimitz was chosen over many higher-ranking officers, but in the end, Nimitz proved to be the perfect choice to lead the American Navy. Blessed with a keen sense of fairness to his fellow man, this fine book examines Nimitz and his admirals and how they ultimately won the war in the Pacific.
Although Nimitz was considered a "calm tower of strength" and the principal architect of victory in the Pacific, he could not have accomplished this feat alone. His choices of supporting staff members and Admirals are the ones who, in the end, helped win the war for the United States.
This book examines many of Nimitz' Admirals, but four really stand out above the rest: Ray Spruance, Bill Halsey, Kelly Turner, and Marc Mitscher. Halsey was the fire and brimstone commander who fearlessly took on the Japanese in the early days of the war. He also said that after he was finished, the only place where the Japanese language would be spoken was in hell. Spruance was the antithesis of Halsey. Calm and cerebral, Spruance endeared himself to Nimitz with his careful consideration of the task at hand. It was said that Halsey could win a battle, but Spruance could win a campaign. Turner was cut from the same mold as Halsey. Fearless and intimidating, even to a fault, Turner was the architect of the brilliant amphibious landings of the war. Meanwhile, Mitscher was in charge of the fast carriers and endeared himself to his fliers by lighting up his entire force's lights to help bring the boys home after a nighttime raid against the Japanese. In the end, it was Nimitz' use of these important men that ultimately won the war for the United States.
This book, written by historian Edwin P. Hoyt, does a fine job of explaining the transition of the U.S. Navy from a weakened and busted fleet early in the war to the offensive juggernaut that it became by the time of Japan's surrender. Each important naval battle is discussed, and the role of Nimitz and his commanders is explained. Form the dark days of January 1942 to the ultimate victory in September 1945, Nimitz' navy fought the Japanese tooth and nail, and, more often than not, came out on top. The book also discusses the inter-service rivalries that existed between the Army and Navy, as well as the rise of the "young turks", or the Naval Aviator Flag Officers. I recommend this book very highly. It does a very good job of explaining Nimitz' role in the Pacific war, as well as that of his commanders. Read it and learn about one of the greatest commanders and leaders our country has ever had.

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A meticulous study of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the principal architect of victory in the Pacific during World War II.

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America's Fighting Admirals: Winning the War at Sea in World War II Review

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(More customer reviews)The American naval actions of the second world war were some of the most dramatic in the history of sea warfare, taking place over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans alike with an admiral overseeing each action and battle. The battles are here described from the perspective of American admirals who fought them and comes from a World War II navy veteran who not only covers all major campaigns and admiral leaders, but analyzes strategy and decision-making challenges during battle. Serious World War II military collections, particularly those with strong naval history sections, need AMERICA'S FIGHTING ADMIRALS: WINNING THE WAR AT SEA IN WORLD WAR II.

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If Mahan Ran the Great Pacific War: An Analysis of World War II Naval Strategy Review

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(More customer reviews)There are many books telling what happened in individual battles or to particular ships. This book tries to grade the thinking of those who determined where forces went into battle and why.
Mostly it succeeds at describing the strategic goals and thinking (or lack thereof!) of the admirals in charge of the Pacific War on both sides. Yamamoto gets failing grades for not ensuring that his brilliant and risky gambles were sufficiently followed through; King gets consistently fairly high grades; a number of characters on both sides are criticized for various flaws.
One flaw in this book is the over-use of hindsight; the author judges various strategic ideas as if everyone should have understood at the time things that did not become clear until much later; for instance, the total dominance of the aircraft carrier over the battleship, or the inability of high-altitude bombers to hit anything in motion. He several times criticizes admirals for not understanding that their cherished goal should only have been the means to an end (e.g., Ugaki's desire to take Guadalcanal) but does not realize that his somewhat repetitive chanting of "Never divide the fleet" or "Sink the carriers" are both ends toward maintaining control of the sea. (He probably should at least have looked at some of Sir Julian Corbett's criticisms of Mahan's work.)
That said, there are many excellent gems of observation, and quite a lot of good analysis, in the book. To experienced naval strategists, they will come as no surprise; to the vast majority of the human race and Pacific War buffs who are not, this will be a very useful learning course. Readers will probably want some previous acquaintance with the history of World War II in the Pacific, but given such acquaintance this is a challenging and rewarding analysis.
Highly recommended.

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Battleship Oklahoma BB-37 Review

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(More customer reviews)I too wanted a book dealing with the older US Battleships other than the USS Arizona. I happened to see this book at my local bookstore and bought it hoping to get more information about the pre-WW2 Battleships. I was surprised at how this book immediately grabbed my attention.
The first portion of the book deals with the design, building, and early sea trials of the Oklahoma. Though at times the author seems to rush the story, he traces the story chronologically. His ultimate aim of the book deals with what made the Oklahoma famous: her capsizing at Pearl Harbor. But before that fateful day in Dec 7, there was so much more that I didn't know about her. Example: The Oklahoma's presence during an earthquake in San Pedro, Ca and how the crew helped the police to prevent looting.
The attack of Pearl Harbor is the main focus of the author and covers roughly 2/3 of the book. The story is told through the lives of those who were there on board. The author fills you in with the details of the sailors who survived the attack, and mentions those who perished that day. He even fills you in with the events that made a couple of sailors on board Oklahoma the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor (posthumously). As I read the book, the author gives you in the appendix the fate of the crew on board during Dec 7. Whenever the author mentioned names I turned the pages so I can see if they survived or not. Those who did not survive, the author lists them as MIA because most who perished were not identified. This is how well written this book is: it drew me into the lives of these sailors.
I highly recommend this book. It is unfortunate that we remember the Oklahoma for her death at Pearl. This book allows her to once more live; we should never forget about her and her gallant crew.

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The comprehensive history of the USS Oklahoma from its christening in 1914 to its final loss in 1947. The authors tell how the Oklahoma served in World War I, participated in the Great Cruise of 1925, and evacuated refugees from Spain in 1936. But the most memorable event of the ship's history occurred on December 7, 1941.

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