Product Description

Published to commemorate the 60th anniversary of V-J Day, 'The Pacific War Companion' brings together the perspectives and insights of world-renowned military historians. From the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor through the release of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the conflict in the Pacific was characterised by amazing tactical innovations in amphibious warfare and horrific battles that raged in the unforgiving climate of the island jungles. Each chapter in this book focuses on a different aspect of this conflict, from the planning of operations to the experiences of the men who were there.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #344453 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-12
• Released on: 2005-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781841768823
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:

From Booklist
This big, thoroughly satisfactory introduction to the Pacific War, including its diplomatic prelude of deteriorating Japanese-American relations, boasts contributors who are all highly qualified. Some, such as Dennis Showalter, are virtually household names to World War II buffs, while others, less well known, saliently include Tomoyuki Ishizu on the opening amphibious operations and Joseph Alexander on the amphibious counterattack that carried Americans back across the Pacific. H. P. Willmott is particularly trenchant on the subject of Japanese naval strategy after Midway, in which the Japanese lost the rest of their naval opportunities. The accompanying photographs constitute a definite strength, inasmuch as, while not overwhelming the text, they are reproduced at large-enough scale, cover a wide range of subjects--from Japanese tanks on Chinese roads to American tanks on Pacific island hills--and exclude the overly familiar image. The combined efforts of the contributors also include annotation and bibliography well suited to leading Pacific War neophytes to further research. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
‘[A] big, thoroughly satisfying introduction to the Pacific War . . . boasts contributors who are all highly qualified.’ -- Roland Green (Booklist (Journal of the American Library Association))

About the Author
Daniel Marston is Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK. He completed both his BA and MA in History at McGill University, Montreal, and his DPhil in the History of War at Balliol College, Oxford. Previous publications include 'The Seven Years' War' (Osprey, 2001) and 'Phoenix from the Ashes: The Indian Army in the Burma Campaign' (Praeger, 2003). Daniel was born and raised in Boston, MA.

Customer Reviews

Provides a number of strategic perspectives
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.

Excellent analysis
As one who doesn't read such book for the pictures, but for the ideas and analysis, I found this book outstanding. Each topical chapter was fascinating. While it isn't a narrative history of the war, it helps put the key elements in focus; a highly readable, academic quality dissection of the strategy and tactics.

Not what I expected.
I expected more thorough presentations of information aboutthe war. Much was theoretical, generic for the theater.