Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 (Vol. 1) (Pacific War Trilogy)
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4.4 • 550 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Northern California Book Award for Nonfiction
"Both a serious work of history…and a marvelously readable dramatic narrative." —San Francisco Chronicle
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss, a blow that destroyed the offensive power of their fleet. Pacific Crucible—through a dramatic narrative relying predominantly on primary sources and eyewitness accounts of heroism and sacrifice from both navies—tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history to seize the strategic initiative.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Prize-winning freelance naval historian Toll (Six Frigates) chronicles one of the U.S. Navy's finest performances of WWII in this page-turning narrative of the months following the devastating attacks on Pearl Harbor. Eyewitness accounts and extensive research in American and Japanese print and archival sources combined with Toll's storytelling abilities make this an approachable and compelling read in a genre typically reserved for military historians. More than mere battle plans and fighter plane model numbers, Toll's take on the fight in the Pacific is imbued with a sensitivity to detail and individuals, as evidenced by his moving account of the disembarkation of Admiral Fitch and his crew from the sinking USS Lexington at the Battle of the Coral Sea, which saw ice cream being served as the boat burned and men awaiting rescue swam in the warm waters below. But Toll does not pander to sensationalism: his incisive scholastic efforts also shed light on Japanese motives for entering a war that many in the high command considered unwinnable. Revealing and poignant, Toll's latest deftly navigates the rough waters of the Pacific struggle with flying colors. Illus. and maps.
Customer Reviews
First rate
A concise and clear description of the events, actions, and motivations on all sides, from Pearl Harbor to Midway. Easy to read, insightful and interesting. Well researched.
Pacific Crucible
Author Toll takes you back in time to help the reader understand how and why the navies of the major powers built their fleets the way they did. He also helps the reader understand how and why the feelings between Japan and the USA toward one another changed in the decades before WW II.
Reading the history of the war from both sides gives you, the reader, a better historical understanding of what the combatants felt and lived through during the battles.
This is a must read for anyone who is interested in the history of our world.
Nautical
Outstanding. A fine read by a terrific historian. The entire trilogy is a treat.