War in the Pacific
From Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Historian Harry Gailey offers a fresh one-volume treatment of the vast Pacific theater in World War II, examining in detail the performance of Japanese and Allied naval, air, and land forces in every major military 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. The book then chronicles all significant actions - from the early Allied defeats in the Philippines, the East Indies, and New Guinea; through the gradual improvement of the Allied position in the Central and Southwest Pacific regions; to the final agonies of the Japanese people, whose leaders refused to admit defeat until the very end. Gailey gives detailed treatment to much that has been neglected or given only cursory mention in previous surveys. The reader thus gains an unparalleled overview of operations, as well as many fresh insights into the behind-the-scenes bickering between the Allies and the interservice squabbles that dogged MacArthur and Nimitz throughout the war.
NOTE: This edition does not include a photo insert.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor climaxed half a century of rivalry with the U.S. in the Far East. Early in this impressive history of the Pacific theater, Gailey (``Howlin' Mad'' vs. the Army) thoroughly examines the roots of the conflict, the buildup of the U.S. armory during a period of isolationism and complacency and the more methodical Japanese military preparations. In the unfolding narrative of the 1941-45 conflict itself, Gailey addresses operational areas often neglected by historians, such as the central and northern Solomons campaigns and the bloody confrontation at Peleliu. He offers a fresh interpretation of the great naval battle of Midway, a turning point of the war, the use of Australian troops in New Guinea--a campaign he calls ``an unnecessary offensive that did little more than showcase the valor and determination of the Australian soldier''--and the U.S. Army/Marine Corps dispute on Saipan. Finally, he describes preparations for the dreaded invasion of the Japanese home islands, during which the planners simultaneously tried to create strategies to make it unnecessary. Gailey has written a solid account of the Pacific war. Illustrations.
