Never before have the separate stories of fighting in china, malaya, burma, the east indies, the phillipines, new guinea, the solomon islands, and the aleutians been so brilliantly woven together to provide a clear account of one of the most massive movements of men and arms in history. I also want to get the reader newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. In this oneofakind atlas, scores of archival maps and dozens of newly created maps trace the battles, political turmoil, and great themes of americas most violent and pivotal clash of arms. Institute for the study of war and on december 7, 1941, japan staged a surprise attack on pearl harbor, severely damaging the us pacific fleet. The pacific war, also referred to as the asia pacific war was fought during world war ii between the empire of japan, thailand and japanese puppet states on the one side and the united states, britain, australia and other allied states on the other. Books on the pacific war from pearl harbor to hiroshima. It focuses on the muchignored first six months of the war, an area badly neglected by historians. The pacific war by costello is a similar read akin to spectors book. The war of the pacific resulted from a dispute between bolivia and chile over sovereignty of the mineralrich coastal area of the atacama desert. The pacific war, sometimes called the asia pacific war, was the theater of world war ii that was fought in the pacific and asia. A handful of heroes like ohare, mccuskey, and vejtasa scored some notable. The novel exemplifies the stressors of war at sea, fear of attack, boredom, and the struggle to trust shipmates when life and limb are on the line. The pacific war by john costello john costellos the pacific war has now established itself as the standard onevolume account of world war ii in the pacific. New zealanders remember the pacific war, auckland, harpercollins nz, 2006.
War in the pacific world war ii was the most destructive war in history. The last battle is the work of combat historians of the 1st information and historical service, tenth army. Jun 19, 2018 art and war in the pacific world provides a new view of the pacific world and of global artistic interaction by exploring how the making, alteration, looting, and destruction of images, objects, buildings, and landscapes intersected with the exercise of force. Much of the fighting took place in the jungles of southeast asia and on the islands and seas of the pacific ocean. Why america preferred to forget about the pacific war. As an island nation, japan had very few natural resources of her own. It is a part of a must read book series war in the pacific. The series is a companion piece to the 2001 miniseries band of brothers and focuses on the united states marine corps s actions in the pacific theater of. This is a question that has been begged by the decades of europefirst histories of great quality, but extreme focus on the the battles in the west including the germans eastern front. The novel accurately predicted a number of details about the pacific campaign of world war ii.
Fdr at war, 19411942, was longlisted for the national book award. Pacific war, major theatre of world war ii that covered a large portion of the pacific ocean, east asia, and southeast asia, with significant engagements occurring as far south as northern australia and as far north as the aleutian islands. Bywater was a naval correspondent for the london daily telegraph. Millions of soldiers and civilians were killed in these battles. Citino born june 19, 1958 is an american military historian and the samuel zemurray stone senior historian at the national wwii museum. List of 10 greatest battles of the pacific war history lists. This masterful history encompasses the heart of the pacific war the period between mid1942 and mid1944when parallel allied counteroffensives north and south of the equator washed over japans farflung island empire like a conquering tide, concluding with japans irreversible strategic defeat in the marianas. A personal recollection of the pacific war written in 1949 by the commander of the fifth army airforce.
Eugene bondurant sledge november 4, 1923 march 3, 2001 was a united states marine, university professor, and author. Army in world war ii series the armys official history of world war ii commonly referred to as the green books are listed in the following sections. Good books on the pacific war history fans librarything. Guadalcanalthe world war ii battle that turned the tide of war wheelan. The passage is quoted in british historian and journalist max hastingss latest book, retribution, which covers the final year of the war in the pacific. It killed more people and destroyed more property than any other war. Jerome hagens war in the pacific is a collection of historical accounts of world war ii in the pacific theater. The pacific war is the complete story of possibly the most cataclysmic chapter in the annals of human conflictfrom its explosive opening salvo at pearl harbor to its ominous conclusion in the mushroom clouds of hiroshima and nagasaki. The book then chronicles all significant actions from the early allied defeats in the philippines, the. The 100 year quest to perfect the aircraft carrier. This is the best history book on the war in the pacific ever written. Heres your opportunity to let others know your favorite books on the war that led us from pearl harbor. To start the book, professor dennis showalter provided an excellent first essay that introduced the readers the initial expansion of the japanese empire in the early. Naval war in the pacific this webpage is dedicated to explaining the campaign waged against the japanese from the air during world war ii.
The immense scale is 40 miles per hex with losses covering individual vehicles, aircraft, guns and squads. The us pursued a twopronged offensive across the central and southwest. On the beach is a 1957 postapocalyptic novel written by british author nevil shute after he migrated to australia. Chronology and fact book by kevin don hutchison greenwood press, 1994. The great pacific war was a 1925 novel by british author hector charles bywater which discussed a hypothetical future war between japan and the united states. Never before have the separate stories of fighting in china, malaya, burma, the east indies, the phillipines, new guinea, the solomon islands, and the aleutians been so brilliantly woven together to provide a clear account of one of the most massive movements of men and. Pacific europe 1941 1942 1943apr jun dec apr may jun aug nov feb may u. It appears reasonable to assume that that reexamination is at least partially responsible for the recent spate of books detailing the battles, campaigns, and strategies of the pacific war. Toll received a degree in history from georgetown university in 1989. We personally assess every book s quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. The novel details the experiences of a mixed group of people in melbourne as they await the arrival of deadly radiation spreading towards them from the northern hemisphere, following a nuclear war a year previously.
The authors interspersing of personal tales of world war ii with the official histories not only brings the action to life, but also clarifies certain facts advanced in personal memoirs. The times londonthe definitive onevolume account of world war ii in the pacific theaterthe first book to weave together the separate stories of the fighting in china, malaya, burma, the east indies, the philippines, new guinea, the solomon islands, and the aleutians. John dower wrote a book in 1987 titled war without mercy. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast pacific ocean theater, the south west pacific theater, the southeast asian theater, the second sinojapanese war, and the sovietjapanese war the second sinojapanese war. He is a leading authority on modern german military history, with an emphasis upon world war ii and the german influence upon modern operational doctrine. Us navy aces of world war two wildcat and hellcat fighter.
I also found it disconcerting to find that although the book is entitled war in the pacific. In 1942, flying f4f wildcats, the navy fighter pilots barely held their own against the japanese zeros. What are the best books on the pacific theater of wwii. The pacific war series volume 1 newt gingrich and william r. Aug 19, 2015 world war ii is sometimes thought of as primarily a fight against nazi germany, with the war in the pacific as an afterthought. As a military historian, hastings is known for his adeptness at switching from the big picture desk plans of the generals to the infantry mans foxhole perspective, and for vividly. The interviews are available to researchers at the alexander turnbull librarys oral history centre. New book art and war in the pacific world enfilade. War of the pacific south american history britannica. Lucky 666 the impossible mission that changed the war in the pacific bob drury and tom clavin.
Books pacific theater books page 1 the national wwii. For reasons big and small, understandable and unjustified, the war in the pacific during world war ii has largely been overshadowed by the allies war against hitler. Looks at the eighteen day long battle of hong kong, a gallant but doomed british and commonwealth attempt to defend the colony against a larger japanese army with powerful air support. He then scrutinizes the political and military events of 194041. War in the pacific military writers society of america. Feb 11, 2009 the war in the pacificthe war in the pacific 19411945 slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. He is a senior fellow at the mccormack graduate school, university of massachusetts, boston, and splits his time between boston and new orleans. The underlying causes of the outbreak of the war in the pacific relate to japans desire to effectively compete with the industrialized nations of western europe and the united states. John costellos the pacific war has now established itself as the standard onevolume account of world war ii in the pacific.
The practice of dispatching trained historians to accompany. Crisis in the pacific the battles for the philippine islands by the men who fought them, gerald astor. The pacific strategy, 19411944 the national wwii museum. T he navys fighter pilots fought the entire war in the pacific, from pearl harbor to the home islands. Soldiers stories war in the pacific nzhistory, new. From a coauthor of the battle of the atlantic and others. The ministry for culture and heritage interviewed 14 veterans of the pacific war and collated their stories as a book. An excellent account of the second world war in the philippines, from the pre war american colony to the disasters of 194142, the long struggle of the resistance to macarthurs eventual return and the costly battles that followed. The impossible mission that changed the war in the pacific is the fifth book that bob drury and tom clavin have written together. Joint chiefs, responsible for direction of the war in the paci. Though the book is now dated, it is still frequently cited by historians looking at race during wwii. Winner, commodore john barry book award, navy league of the united states. Usually the histories start with the doolittle raid and then go straight to midway, because they are in a hurry to get to the good part, guadalcanal. The definitive onevolume account of world war ii in the pacific theaterthe first book to weave together the separate stories of the fighting in china, malaya.
Germany and italy declare war on the united states. The forgotten story of australia, japan and the pacific war crimes trials. Hong kong 194145 first strike in the pacific war, benjamin lai. Race and power in the pacific war that does an excellent job detailing the racism that stemmed from both the u. The second volume of naval historian tolls pacific war trilogy pacific crucible. The present volume concerns one of the most bitterly fought battles of the pacific war, in which the army, the marine corps, and the navy all played a vital part. It flows with great energy and lots of excellent researched information, and data. Mar 17, 2010 however, like any historical film on war, the pacific leaves a lot out and, in the end, is a watered down substitute that pales in comparison to a good history book. From the antebellum south to fort sumter, the assassination. The following article on war in the pacific during world war two is an excerpt from barrett tillmans book on wave and wing. Heres your opportunity to let others know your favorite books on the war that led us from pearl harbor to tokyo bay. His book takes a look at everything from pow issues to the atomic bombs dropped on japan.
Hugh ambrose, son of the great wwii historian stephen ambrose, has published a book to go along with the miniseries entitled the pacific. Focusing on the period from commodore george ansons voyage to the philippine. Costello first traces western activity in the far east from the first contacts to 1940. War in the pacific admirals edition game matrix games. Based on this, it can also be said that the pacific war was not a clearcut battle between good and evil. Fortunately, there is no shortage of worthwhile books about the. When germany and italy declared war on the united states days later, america found itself in a global war. From the seas of the central pacific to the shores of japan itself, the fleet at flood tide is a stirring, authoritative, and cinematic portrayal of world war iis worldchanging finale. With dozens of new features, new art, and engine improvements, war in the pacific admirals edition is the most realistic and engrossing wwii pacific theatre game available. Toll born 1967 is an american author and military historian. Ive had a lifelong interest in world war ii and the pacific war, and this was one of the first books i ever read when i was in grade school that dealt with the pacific war, and it probably has a lot to do with sparking my interest in the first place. At peleliu and okinawa chronicled his combat experiences during world war ii and was subsequently used as source material for the ken burns pbs documentary the war 2007, as well as the hbo miniseries the pacific. A steven spielberg and tom hanks tv series about the second world war s brutal pacific campaign begins tomorrow a story surprisingly little told because, for years, the public has preferred to.
The second full year of twohemisphere war ended with the allies on the offensive in every theater of operation. The war in the pacific begins with an examination of events leading up to world war ii and compares the japanese and american economies and societies, as well as the chief combatants military doctrine, training, war plans, and equipment. Color images are the norm here, with descriptions of each, and the page is broken into sections for easy viewing. Japans attack on pearl harbor climaxed half a century of rivalry with the u. A book s total score is based on multiple factors, including. Mar 29, 2020 war of the pacific, spanish guerra del pacifico, 187983, conflict involving chile, bolivia, and peru, which resulted in chilean annexation of valuable disputed territory on the pacific coast. The beginning of the pacific war is traditionally dated to december 8, 1941, when the japanese. It grew out of a dispute between chile and bolivia over control of a part of the atacama desert that lies between the 23rd and 26th parallels on the. List of books and articles about world war ii pacific. The most historical and detailed order of battle for the pacific war ever put into a wargame. Newspaper headlines and radio reports in 1943 told of the yardbyyard allied advances in the south pacific on once littleknown islands of new. The times london the definitive onevolume account of world war ii in the pacific theaterthe first book to weave together the separate stories of the fighting in china, malaya, burma, the east indies, the philippines, new guinea, the solomon islands, and the aleutians.
If you want a more detailed set of reads i would look at willmotts empires in the balance, the barrier and the javelin, the war with japan, and his battle of leyte gulf. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. From pearl harbor to hiroshima is a collection of essays written by various historians that, collectively, describes the pacific war. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. Return to the philippines, of the first 160 pages there is only one chapter that has to do with the pacific war, and that is about the battle of attu, alaska. The journal of general george kenney, commander of the fifth u. Omar bradley is the only other high ranking army officer in wwii who wrote a better history book about that war. Carrier war in the pacific was first published as part of the american heritage junior library series in 1966. John costellos the pacific war is regarded as a classic. World war ii is sometimes thought of as primarily a fight against nazi germany, with the war in the pacific as an afterthought.
1241 1265 1063 1151 1480 255 371 1580 344 413 1204 576 541 539 457 400 478 671 203 1021 640 405 1276 1643 712 1201 1045 869 34 902 427 677 1259 513 212 1390 1072