Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway

Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Average customer rating:

How the Japanese Blew It

Midway seen in another light

Solid history, but somewhat over written

Excellent WWII book.

So very revealing and in depth abot the Psyche of the Japanese Navy

Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Jonathan Parshall , and Anthony Tully
Manufacturer: Potomac Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1574889230

Book Description

Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prangeâ€™s bestselling Miracle at Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement.

Unlike previous accounts, Shattered Sword makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchidaâ€™s Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan, an uncritical reliance upon which has tainted every previous Western account. It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle. The authors examine the battle in detail and effortlessly place it within the context of the Imperial Navyâ€™s doctrine and technology. With a foreword by leading WWII naval historian John Lundstrom, Shattered Sword will become an indispensable part of any military buffâ€™s library. Winner of the 2005 John Lyman Book Award for the "Best Book in U.S. Naval History" and cited by Proceedings as one of its "Notable Naval Books" for 2005.

Customer Reviews:

How the Japanese Blew It .......2007-10-17

This is an excellent book. In a way one might ask what about Midway is untold? There have been numerous books which explained what happened. In a naval operation aimed to destroy the American carrier force, Admiral Yamamoto moved four of his fleet carriers into the middle of the pacific ocean. He aimed at invading Midway Island and hoped that the Americans would come out to defend it. Instead the Americans knew of his plans through radio intercepts and it was they who laid the trap. Aircraft from three of their carriers destroyed the four principal Japanese Fleet carriers and ended what had been up to that time a flood of Japanese victories.

What this book does is to explain how and why things happened. It is in some ways amazing how rudimentary the Japanese naval forces were. Unlike the Americans they did not have radar and the quality of the radios in the fighter aircraft were so poor they were generally not used. At the Marianas the Americans were able to spot the Japanese attacking forces on radar at a distance and to use radios to direct their fighters in the combat air patrol (CAP) to intercept them miles away from their targets. At Midway the Japanese method of directing their fighters now appears ludicrous. Surrounding cruisers would fire their heavy weapons to direct the attention of fighters in the CAP. There was no real coordination and where the CAP went was a matter of luck. In fact probably none of the Japanese probably saw the attacking flights of American dive bombers who did the damage until it was to late. The Americans maximised anti-aircraft fire power by placing their carriers in a fleet of war ships with huge numbers of anti-aircraft guns. The Japanese did not do this. The Japanese strategy was to frantically manoeuvre their carriers at full speed turning in huge circles to doge torpedoes and bombs. Heavier naval units had to keep away to allow the carriers room to manoeuvre and to come close would have led to serious dangers of collision. The only real anti-aircraft guns were placed on the carriers and these had limited ranges.

Despite this the Japanese could possibly have won if their commanders were not idiots. Yamamoto has tended to have had good press in the past. However his planning of this operation was abysmal. For some reason two slower smaller carriers were diverted of to the Aleutian Islands for an invasion which made no logical sense. Another carrier was left in Japan. It would seem the reason for this was that Yamamoto was concerned that the Americans would not engage him unless his force looked small. Despite the victory of Pearl Harbour with its message that battleships were now just targets to be sunk by carriers Yamamoto also had huge number of battleships manoeuvring in the rear whilst exposing his carriers placing them in a position when they could be attacked by land based aircraft from Midway and naval based aircraft from the American carriers.

The writers suggest that the Japanese would have had more chance of winning if they had used their naval assets in campaigns around the Solomon Islands. They could have used their land based aircraft better and the Americans would have been forced to commit forces to prevent the loss of Australia. The genius of this book is in the detail of not explaining the story which had been told many times but explaining why it happened. The detail the level of understanding is well beyond that of this type of history. It is possible to have an insight into the minds of the Japanese and why they fought as they fought. The book also explodes a number of popular myths about the battle through careful research.

Midway seen in another light.......2007-09-10

An excellently researched story of Midway giving a lot of new details and insights, all very well researched and with extensive proof to support the ideas put forward.

I thought I knew the story of Midway by heart, having read every book on the subject I could lay my hands on, who have been copying each other.

This book gives a completely new perspective and with the supporting documentation makes a credible point for a new look at the sequence of events.

The final book on Midway? Not likely, but it will be hard to surpass it in novel approach.

A book to read without stopping.

Only drawback is that (at least at the time I bought it), there was no paperback version, but that probably wouldn't have lasted long anyway because the book is begging to be re-read over and over again.

Solid history, but somewhat over written.......2007-08-17

Shattered Sword is an excellent, but somewhat over written work that is really two books in one. The first is a solid, well documented account of Japanese operations at Midway. The other is a reassessment of certain events that been centerpieces in most popular depictions of that battle.

The former is a foundational piece that should be included in any serious historian's bookshelf; a five-star work that provides considerable insight to Japanese strategy tactics and operations. The latter is an interesting, but ultimately over-advocated piece that deserves credit for correcting the historic record, but ultimately does not contribute nearly as much new knowledge as the first. A three-star work.

Parshall and Tully fill in a huge gap by providing a soup-to-nuts assessment of Japanese planning and operations that made up the Midway and Aleutians campaigns. Their meticulous analysis is remarkable, and seemingly consists of about two pages of analysis for one page of narrative. The end result is a keen understanding of how Japan conducted the campaign, and the fatal flaws that were both latent and all too visible.

It seems that the Japanese Imperial Navy was wholly unprepared to conduct a major war like the one they initiated, and not from a logistical/industrial standpoint either. The picture the authors paint (perhaps unintentionally) is of a military organization that is highly polished but extremely brittle. When they faced a surprised or weaker opponent, the Japanese dominated. But if the Japanese faced a foe even close to parity, their planning and organization would unravel, resulting in a high loss of life and material. The glaring flaws in their strategic and tactical planning, operations, and command structure seem to suggest that even if they won the Battle of Midway, it was only a matter of time before their organization failed and they would suffer some catastrophic disaster at the hands of the Americans.

As for the authors' reassessment of Midway, they try too hard to push these revelations. While I laud them for rectifying these errors, most of these issues are far less important than other topics the authors brought up. For example, the authors go to great lengths to explain how Nagumo's reserve strike were actually in the hanger rather on the flight deck, when the Americans made their decisive strike. It really seems to be a relatively minor detail, since (as the authors stated) the Japanese carriers had unarmored flight decks, and the American strike would have blown the carriers to smithereens in either case. What is of more importance, but is given less promotion, is that the Japanese were unable to launch an attack in the face of uncoordinated but persistent American attacks. This essentially says the Japanese never really had control of the battle from the very beginning.

Nevertheless, Shattered Sword is a fabulous and serious historical study. I look forward to future works from the authors.

Excellent WWII book........2007-08-06

Shattered Sword was a most interesting and informative book covering this famous battle as well as events leading up to it, primarily from the Japanese perspective. This in itself is unusual. The narrative was very detailed yet fast paced, even difficult to put down. What I enjoyed most, though, was that the authors related the events at Midway to strategic decisions made many years earlier. Thus, the battle of Tsushima in 1905 would ultimately affect placement of gun batteries and other such things which would determine the outcome at Midway in 1942. IMHO it is the good historian who is able to connect such distant dots.

So very revealing and in depth abot the Psyche of the Japanese Navy.......2007-07-13

I bought this book based on the writer's excellent website. What I expected was detail and facts. What I got was much better.
Shattered Sword not only totally covers the events of the MI raid but it looks back to the start of the war and how these successes actually laid the groundwork for the total failure of the Japanese Navy both at Midway and beyond. The authors reveal Yamamoto as both brilliant and a bully. His plans were shown to be flawed but pushed on the Navy by threats. The actual minute by minute account of the battle goes into incredible detail (based on many survivor accounts). The technical sections show how the carriers were attacked, damaged and how their poor damage control finally sent them to the bottom. Perhaps the most interesting were the debunking of the Myths of Midway. Read the book to find out what I mean.

It is a great book filled with detail, vivid descriptions, stories and analysis of the battle, its causes and its ultimate failure for the Japanese. Just for fun there is a what if section. Again read the book and enjoy.

Alan

Average customer rating:

So steamy
HOT READ!
corporate seduction
SOFT PORN
Enjoyed it read it straight through

CORPORATE SEDUCTION by Bridget Midway
Bridget Midway
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1411676106

Product Description

Daybreak Novel Line - In our everyday lives we find many things and experience so much more, but only love can make it worth the risks. CORPORATE SEDUCTION by Bridget Midway Maybelline "May" Davenport wants a few things in her life: to move up at work after she obtained her college degree, and to find a man who could sweep her off of her feet like the heroes in her erotic romance novels. She's sure she won't find that while working for a man she calls "the totem pole with style" even though she finds him attractive. Winston Biggers thinks he wants a dominant type of woman in his life. And although she doesn't seem the type, Win can't stop thinking about May, his administrative assistant. But he can't let her go. Not just yet. So he hides her newly-acquired degree to keep her as his assistant. But there are other important aspects about his life that he's hiding. When the truth comes out, will it be too much for May to take? Or will staying with this man make her Win Bigg?

Customer Reviews:

So steamy .......2007-10-15

I couldn't put this book down once I started reading. This story had me intrigued from the very beginning all the way to the bittersweet ending. The characters were strong and the sex scenes were very descriptive. If you are looking for a sizzling page turner you will not be disappointed!

HOT READ!.......2007-10-06

I have read several books by this author and I have never been disappointed. A little embarrassed about what the characters have done and said yes, but all in all not disappointed. In this book Maybeline hates her boss Mr. Biggers who happens to be in love with her. She needs money and starts working in an S&M establishment and he comes and then things between them heat it. The book was hot from beginning to end. I would recommend this book.

KL

corporate seduction.......2007-08-24

very good, second book i have read by this author loking forward to reading lots more. Likeable characters both searching for and finding each other.

SOFT PORN .......2007-08-07

This book is not what I expected. It was not very well written. I thought it would be a romance novel, but it turned out to be more pornographic. I really could not recommend it.

Enjoyed it read it straight through.......2007-06-23

Not quite what I expected after the reading reviews thought I'd check it out myself. Wonderful job. Two strong characters, good plot and well written scenes, could feel the love of two people who found their life partners, great job. JV

Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway - The Great Naval Battles As Seen Through Japanese Eyes

Average customer rating:

A good view of naval history
Five stars and two thumbs up!
Japanese Destroyer Captain...WWII
Outlines the life of a Japanese Destroyer Captain in the Pacific conflict 1941-45
Through Japanese Eyes...

Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway - The Great Naval Battles As Seen Through Japanese Eyes
Tameichi Hara , Fred Saito , and Roger Pineau
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Japanese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Tales From a Tin Can: The USS Dale from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay
The U.S. Navy Against the Axis: Surface Combat, 1941-1945
Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Battle Line: The United States Navy, 1919-1939
From Mahan to Pearl Harbor: The Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States

ASIN: 1591143543
Release Date: 2007-04-02

Product Description

The Naval Institute Press is pleased to make available for the first time this cloth edition of a now-classic war memoir that was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s. Originally published as a paperback in 1961, it has long been treasured by World War II buffs and professional historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The book has been credited with correcting errors in U.S. accounts of various battles and with revealing details of high-level Imperial Japanese Navy strategy meetings. The author, Captain Tameichi Hara, was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the Unsinkable Captain. Called the workhorses of the navy, Japanese destroyers shouldered the heaviest burden of the surface war and took part in scores of intense sea battles, many of which Captain Hara describes here. In the early days of the war victories were common, but by 1943, the lack of proper maintenance of the destroyers and sufficient supplies, along with Allied development of scientific equipment and superior aircraft, took its toll. On April 7, 1945, during the Japanese navy s last sortie, Captain Hara managed to survive the sinking of his own ship only to witness the demise of the famed Japanese battleship Yamato off Okinawa. A hero to his countrymen, Captain Hara exemplified the best in Japanese surface commanders: highly skilled (he wrote the manual on torpedo warfare), hard driving, and aggressive. Moreover, he maintained a code of honor worthy of his samurai grandfather, and, as readers of this book have come to appreciate, he was as free with praise for American courage and resourcefulness as he was critical of himself and his senior commanders. The book s popularity over the past forty-six years testifies to the author s success at writing an objective account of what happened that provides not only a fascinating eyewitness record of the war, but also an honest and dispassionate assessment of Japan s high command. Captain Hara s sage advice on leadership is as applicable today as it was when written. For readers new to this book and for those who have read and re-read their paperback editions until they have fallen apart, this new hardcover edition assures them a permanent source of reference and enjoyment.

Customer Reviews:

A good view of naval history.......2007-09-10

Excellent view of the naval WWII war in the Pacific from the viewpoint of a knowledgeable Japanese officer who was in many of the battles. Very readable and informative.

Five stars and two thumbs up!.......2007-08-07

I read this book in paperback the summer before I started college in 1972. I still have the old Ballantine paperback in my personal library here in my office - along with many other classic WWII memoirs and histories which were released between the early '60's and '70's - and they remain to this day the backbone of any historians efforts to understand the conflict from a human perspective.

Hara was there. Regardless of the rhetoric,and the apologetics of his stance, it's impossible to argue with the eyewitness accounts he provides, and the detail of his style.

He creates at once a sympathetic and enthralled audience for his side of the story - one which needed telling, and which wasn't available until he committed it to print.

An enduring classic; this one belongs on the shelf of any person who wants to thoroughly understand the Pacific War.

Japanese Destroyer Captain...WWII.......2007-06-11

I recently had the oppertunity to read "Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway-The Great Naval Battles as seen Through Japanese Eyes.
Tameichi Hara paints an interesting palet of not just the Naval engagments, but the social and economic upheavels in Japan during the war. The hardships he mentions on the civilian population were horrendous, and the reader soon realizes that the "bitter taste" of war is universal for every nation that finds itself at war.
The Naval battles and discription of those engagements was enough to give the "arm-chair" Admirals and Captains cold chills, however, sometimes I felt that Tameichi Hara was too redundent, and...much more of a tactician than I wanted to read about.
Overall, a very good book, and one worth reading for anyone who has the slightist interest in history, and Naval wafare.

Outlines the life of a Japanese Destroyer Captain in the Pacific conflict 1941-45.......2007-06-11

I first read this book in the early 1970's, on the life of Tameichi Hara and his activities while a destroyer captain during the Pacific conflict in World War Two. I found it a very interesting read, on his life and what led up to his involvement in most of the major actions against the U.S. Pacific fleet, especially in the Solomon Islands. The book is well written and kept me just as entranced the second time as it did the first. It is refreshing to have a Japanese version of the events instead of an American one. Well recommended.

Through Japanese Eyes..........2007-06-10

Growing up, I read as much as I could of the Pacific Theater during World War II. I was disappointed that so much was available from the U.S. side, with very little published on the Japanese side. Of course one reason for that was so many Japanese died during the war. So it was a great pleasure to find this book. Hara fought in almost every major surface engagement during the war, and still lived to tell about it. As another reviewer wrote, Hara gets into some of the technical aspects, notably his work before the war on the "Long Lance" torpedo. This weapon was one of the few systems that was superior to the allies- and was a surprise to them in 1941. It had extremely long range and a large warhead and was used with devestating effect during the night battles around Guadalcanal, many of which Hara was an eyewitness of.
In short, if you are interested in WW2 Naval History, this book is a "must have" for your library.

Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal

Average customer rating:

Indispensable history
long time Pacific War buff
Scholarly Work
A 5-star book by a 5-star author
Overdue detailed study of a key commander in the first year of the Pacific War

Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal
John B. Lundstrom
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
On the Warpath in the Pacific: Admiral Jocko Clark and the Fast Carriers
Battle Line: The United States Navy, 1919-1939
Carrier Battles: Command Decision in Harm's Way
The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway

ASIN: 1591144752

Book Description

An abundance of new evidence demanded this reevaluation of Frank Jack Fletcher, the "black shoe" admiral who won his battles at sea but lost the war of public opinion. A surface warrior -- in contrast to a "brown shoe" naval aviator -- Fletcher led the carrier forces that won against all odds at Coral Sea, Midway, and the Eastern Solomons. These and other early carrier victories decided the Pacific War not only because they inflicted crippling losses but also because they denied Japan key strategic positions in the region.

Despite these successes, by 1950 Fletcher had become one of the most controversial figures in U.S. naval history and was portrayed as a timid bungler who failed to relieve Wake Island in December 1941 and who deliberately abandoned the Marines at Guadalcanal.

In this book, author John Lundstrom recalls that Fletcher once remarked, "after an action is over, people talk a lot about how the decisions were deliberately reached, but actually there's always a hell of a lot of groping around," and notes that the goal of his study is to probe and explain the "groping around." Drawing on new material, Lundstrom offers a fresh look at Fletcher's decisions and actions. The first major reassessment in more than fifty years of the once-maligned naval officer, it provides a careful analysis of the effect of radio intelligence on decision-making in the carrier battles during the first nine months of the war in the Pacific. This new assessment is based on thousands of documents and massive dispatch files and personal papers that no historian has previously used.

Customer Reviews:

Indispensable history.......2007-10-14

I've belatedly gotten around to reading the FJF bio, and it's absolutely indispensable to understanding the first year of the Pacific War. With due respect for The Big E, Fletcher and Yorktown (CV-5) lugged most of the flattop mail in the six months after Pearl Harbor, and with his Guadalcanal experience, he became the leading practitioner of carrier warfare in the US Navy--and in the world.

If you don't read anything else, go to the Conclusion for an education in how history gets written, especially by Recognized Historians with agendas. As an example of expositive historiography it will stand alone for a long-long time.

long time Pacific War buff.......2006-10-25

This is a long overdue look at Adm Fletcher and his role in the critical first year of the war. I always found it odd that the victor of the three most important battles fought by our fleet in WWII was quickly shunted aside and treated with disdain by postwar historians. John Lundstrom does a fine job of exposing the biasis and backbiting within the navy at the time that resulted in Fletcher's downfall.
Mr Lundstrom is an eminent historian of this subject and has produced a first rate, readable and important work. It deserves a place with the best accounts of the wartime Pacific Fleet to appear in many years. It clearly shows Frank Jack Fletcher for the fine leader and fighter that he was.

Scholarly Work.......2006-10-24

Black Shoe Carrier Admiral is one of two excellent works to be published this year on WWII Pacific carriers, battles and the men who commanded them. John Lundstrom has obviously put a great deal of effort into setting the record straight on Admiral Fletcher and his contributions to our early victories in the Pacific. His work is well documented and thoroughly researched, and adds new sources that had not previously surfaced in World War II histories of that period.

The book demonstrates how Fletcher became the target of severe criticism for his actions, primarily by others who hoped to improve their own reputations or deflect criiticism as a result. Lundstrom pulls no punches, however, by describing both Fletcher's strengths and failings in the events of December 1941 to September 1942. He repeatedly demonstrates that misinterpretations of Fletcher's actions, particularly by Admiral King in Washington, resulted in Fletcher's eventual downfall. At the same time, he explains how some noted historians played down or ignored Fletcher's important contributions, that sealed the US victories at Coral Sea and, particularly Midway.

John Lundstrom's book is an excellent read for anyone wanting to know more of the early war in the Pacific. It is also an important source for any serious student of the period who wants to gain insight both to the actions of the war and the politics inside the Navy at that time.

A 5-star book by a 5-star author.......2006-10-21

"Black Shoe Carrier Admiral" is a 680-page, meticulously detailed accounting of Admiral Fletcher's leadership of U.S. carrier forces during the first year of World War II in the Pacific. Author John Lundstrom's fundamental thesis is that Fletcher has been unfairly maligned by many of his peers, by historians, and by a large segment of the U.S. Marine Corps for perceived errors of judgment or even failings of character during crucial battles in the Coral Sea, at Midway, and in the Solomons.

The author's painstaking research into primary sources largely ignored by other writers (i.e., memos, letters, and logs kept by those who were present with Fletcher during those battles, plus actual radio messages and dispatches sent by and to him aboard his various flagships) reveal a reasonable rationale for many of Fletcher's controversial decisions that mostly seem to have escaped his critics. It's not possible to adequately summarize them in a short review like this, but suffice to say that admirals sitting behind desks in Hawaii or Washington are poorly situated for grasping all of the important realities of a convoluted combat scenario occurring half a world away. Thus when Fletcher is condemned for failing to charge full speed ahead to engage the enemy when doing so would have totally exhausted the fuel in his escorting destroyers, making victory impossible and needless destroyer losses inevitable, he is chastised for failing to engage the enemy rather than praised for sensibly preserving America's meager fleet assets in the face of superior forces.

While there is much more to be said about this fine volume, it seems necessary in this forum to spend as much energy reviewing some of the other reviews as the book itself. It is patently unfair to the author for a reviewer to post a derogatory assessment of this or any book when he (a) apparently has not read it, or (b) does not seem to be in possession of factual information about it or the author, or (c) both. Such is clearly the case with some of the reviews found here, with the result that Black Shoe Carrier Admiral gets less than the five-star ranking that it clearly deserves. For example:

~One reviewer denigrates the book because it says relatively little about Fletcher after the 1942 carrier battles. He apparently didn't bother to read the book's subtitle: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal.

~Another writer says Lundstrom has no documentation and there is no evidence to support the suggestion that USS Hornet captain Marc Mitscher sent his air group in the wrong direction at the Battle of Midway. That writer is apparently ignorant of an abundance of testimony from Hornet veterans, both aircrew and ship's company, that support exactly that (see Naval History magazine, Feb 2006, p. 48 for just one resource).

~Another devotes all of three lines in ALL CAPS to trumpet the claim that Fletcher was hated by the Marines. Such a brief review obviously provides no space for the writer to tell us his opinion of Marine Colonel Melvin J. Maas, who unlike legions of other fine Marines, actually knew and worked directly with Fletcher during the Solomons campaign. Col. Maas cited Fletcher for his exceptional ability as a naval tactician and superior quality as a task force admiral.

~Other one-star reviewers complain that Lundstrom is trying to write an academic history without being an academic himself (Lundstrom has a master's degree in military history), that his book makes claims unsupported by facts or documentation (the book has 82 pages of fine print citing documented sources, largely original, for every significant statement in the manuscript), and that Fletcher was responsible for the loss of three fleet carriers in 1942 (apparently the Imperial Japanese Navy, with superior aircraft, battle-experienced aircrews, and an awesomely deadly torpedo had nothing to do with it).

Such agenda-driven opinions do not serve Amazon's review process in the intended manner, and in this case present a grossly inaccurate portrayal of the book's content and its author's qualifications for writing it. "Black Shoe Carrier Admiral" is a magnificent achievement, representing years of dogged research and composition by an award-winning expert who is eminently qualified and experienced in this subject matter. To revile it as anything less without supporting facts and documentation (so important to Lundstrom's detractors) is simply irresponsible.

Overdue detailed study of a key commander in the first year of the Pacific War.......2006-10-01

This is an important book for any student of the Pacific War, because it corrects the largely unrefuted negative accounts of Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher's service as commander of the U.S. carrier task forces in the first three of the four carrier battles of 1942 (Coral Sea, Midway, and Eastern Solomons). In fact, there were only two carrier battles in history where he did not command the winning side - Santa Cruz in October 1942, and Philippine Sea in 1944.
Despite this record, Fletcher has been savaged by critics for allegedly failing to stand by the Marine garrison at Guadalcanal, and, since he headed the relief expedition to besieged Wake in January 1942, he gets blamed for that expedition's turning back as well (despite the fact that he was ordered to do so). That he won three carriers battles against superior forces never gets him the credit he deserves. This was due in part to a confluence of several negative factors. First, he was a "black shoe" admiral, and not an aviator - and aviators were furious that carrier task forces were being commanded by non-aviators in the early stages of the war. In their mind every mission he didn't send them on would have been a great success - and that's what they told his superiors. Second, he was a convenient scapegoat for other admirals - most notably Richmond Kelly Turner at Guadalcanal, and CinC Ernest King - when they either made mistakes (Kelly at Guadalcanal) or were dissatisfied with his failure to act more "offensively" in spite of the circumstances that prevented it, or counseled against it. Third, when the attacks started rolling in during the war and after, Fletcher did not respond to correct the record, in part because of two unfortunate circumstances. First, he lost his records for the first half of the war when the Yorktown went down at Midway. Second, when he left the Saratoga at Pearl after her torpedoing, he unexpectedly was not permitted to return for the change of command ceremony, and thus lost his records from June through September as well. And after the war, without these records to refute what was being said about him he repeatedly demurred when asked to review what was being written about the battles in which he took part. So the people who were writing that he'd been incompetent and reluctant to risk battle to the point of cowardice, and used hindsight to justify their opinions were largely refuted for half a century. Someone else (I cannot recall who, but Lundstrom does not mention it) has said that Fletcher in postwar interviews seemed confused and unsure what had happened when. Whether this was due to lack of records or old age, the writer said that Fletcher's appearance may have reinforced the common belief that he was not very bright, and was in over his head during the war. I thought I saw a reference to Fletcher's becoming senile as he aged (he did not die until 1973) and that probably did not help things - it is hard to see someone who is visibly impaired by old age as a sharp-eyed fleet commander.
Enter John Lundstrom. Lundstrom's painstaking knowledge of what the carrier commanders knew, and when they knew it, and when various participants were flat-out lying about what happened, or making incorrect assumptions (uniformly to Fletcher's detriment) makes clear than at numerous crucial points Fletcher consistently made the right decisions, at least based on what he knew at the time, and preserved the U.S. Navy's irreplaceable (at the time) carriers. Most readers are aware of Nimitz' order to Fletcher at Midway to only risk the carriers when he had the opportunity to inflict serious damage on the Japanese carriers, but it appears that Fletcher was under the same instructions at Guadalcanal. And with a far more dangerous mission in sub-infested waters within range of Japanese land-based bombers he made the decision to leave the forces at Guadalcanal temporarily uncovered at times to reduce the risk to the carriers. What this book makes clear is that at the time he was not aware - in part due to bad communications and in part due to Turner's errors, that he was leaving at a bad time. Of course both Turner and the Marines didn't see it that way, and there was nothing his presence could have done to avert the Savo disaster, but then they didn't know what he knew.
At bottom, the unpleasant truth was that Fletcher's carriers were incomparably more important than the Marines at Guadalcanal, and if he had to choose between abandoning the Marines (which he did not believe he was doing at the time he retreated to refuel - which he had to do at some point so as to be ready when the Japanese carriers showed up) or putting the carriers in substantial risk with no prospect to inflict equal damage on Japanese forces, the carriers won. Losing Guadalcanal would have been a temporary setback. Losing the bulk of the carriers in the fall of 1942 would have been far worse. The Marines would disagree - and understandably still do - but had that been the decision (and Lundstrom makes clear that it was never that clear) that would have been the right decision. In the long run, the Marines depended on the carriers being there to stop the Japanese Navy when it showed up far more than they needed them to cover the unloading of supplies, and that was what Fletcher did. If he had lost the carriers covering Turner's delayed unloading of supplies, the Marines would have been dislodged when the Japanese Navy showed up, no matter how much supplies they had on hand.
Not everything Fletcher did was right, of course, but given that he was practicing a new form of naval warfare in which he had no experience (neither did anyone else, of course) and he won every battle he was engaged in, and preserved the Navy's carriers long enough to bridge the gap till the new carriers under construction reached the fleet, he deserves far greater credit for what he did.
The book also explain better his post-carrier command work. Once he was out of the South Pacific after the Saratoga was torpedoed, his days as a carrier commander were over - both King and to a lesser extent Nimitz were unhappy with what they perceived as a lack of offensive-mindedness, and he was relegated to a land-based commend on the mainland.
But Lundstrom also makes clear that that may have been where he was headed anyway. Having an admiral with no aviation experience command carrier task forces in early 1942 may have been unavoidable because there were no air admirals with sufficient seniority, but by the end of 1942 all the fliers who had started the war as captains (Mitscher as an example) were now rear admirals, and sufficiently senior to command carrier task forces. Fletcher, on the other hand, was now a vice admiral, too senior for a task force command, and with the wrong background to command the overall carrier fleet (despite his phenomenal failure at Midway, Mitscher did end up being the right man at the right time). Add to that that Fletcher did have a record of not seizing the initiative (although I don't think he can be faulted for doing so in the circumstances in which he operated) I really don't see that he would have remained with the carriers in any event. His record was precisely the opposite of the tactics that Mitscher would later employ to great success in early 1944. Again, it has to be said that Mitscher could afford to take risks with the forces available to him, and Fletcher could not. Had he played with fire the way the armchair admirals wanted him to, the benefits would have been minor, and the risks were incalculable.
In the end, if anyone deserves the credit for the way the U.S. carrier task forces successfully fought the first year of the Pacfic War, it has to be Fletcher, and I'm glad we finally have a book that explains this. Lundstrom is not neutral on the subject of Fletcher, but then neither has anyone else been, and this book helps to balance the account.
The only reason I give the book four stars instead of five is that Lundstrom's detail is sometimes overwhelming, and he not infrequently has sentences that are unintentionally cryptic, where it's hard to tell what exactly he is trying to say. It is also clear that he is an advocate for Fletcher, and while I applaud that because it helps balance the record, this is an analysis of what Fletcher did and why and why his detractors are or are not wrong. A five star rating would be appropriate if it were a balanced account of what happened. But that book is not yet possible, because no one had done the homework to see whether the attacks on Fletcher were justified. That has now been done, and we can now see what the next generation of naval scholarship makes of this stage of the war. For example, I am particularly interested in reassessments of what King and Nimitz thought about Fletcher - Lundstrom seems to be not entirely sure, and while that it perhaps not needed in this book, to get the whole picture, that needs to be analyzed further. There were a lot of politics going on in Washington, and perhaps Pearl as well, and those need to be taken into account.

Average customer rating:

The best book on the Battle of Midway
A Good Sequel
A Turning Point in American History
Interesting, but not the best
The Turning Point of the Pacific War

Miracle at Midway
Gordon W. Prange , Donald M. Goldstein , and Katherine V. Dillon
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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At Dawn We Slept
Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story
Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Day of Infamy, 60th Anniversary: The Classic Account of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle

ASIN: 0140068147

Book Description

Here is the definitive history of the battle of Midway, an American victory that marked the turning point of the war in the Pacific during World War II. Told with the same stylistic flair and attention to detail as the bestselling At Dawn We Slept, Miracle at Midway brings together eyewitness accounts from the men who commanded and fought on both sides. The sweeping narrative takes readers into the thick of the action and shows exactly how American strategies and decisions led to the triumphant victory that paved the way for the defeat of Japan.

"A stirring, even suspenseful narrative . . . The clearest and most complete account so far." (Newsday)

"Something special among war histories . . . No other gives both sides of the battle in as detailed and telling a manner."(Chicago Sun-Times)

"A gripping and convincing account." (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Customer Reviews:

The best book on the Battle of Midway.......2007-07-23

I have read several renditions of the Battle of Midway, but this is by far the most intriguing and interesting one to read. The author writes it like a story and draws you in-it was hard to put down. He has many sources and looks at the battle from both the Japanese and American perspective. This battle was probably the most important one we fought in the Pacific. If we had lost, the Pacific would have been Japanese home waters. The only book you need to read about the Battle of Midway.

A Good Sequel.......2007-05-31

Gordon Prange devoted the second half of his life to researching and writing about the attack on Pearl Harbor. He spent seven years in Japan during the occupation collecting material on this operation. He is the author of the book "Tora, Tora, Tora" and the screenplay for the film of the same name. His masterpiece on the attack is "At Dawn We Slept." He died before he could finish this book and two of his students, Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon, turned his unfinished manuscript into a publishable book. In the course of his work on Pearl Harbor, he kept stumbling upon material related to Midway. Prange decided to write a book on Midway as well, which was also unfinished at the time of his death. Goldstein and Dillon finished this book as well.

The strength of "Miracle at Midway" is that Prange tells both sides of the story, American and Japanese. He offers more coverage of the American side for understandable reasons. The Japanese commander, Vice Admiral Nagumo Chuichi died later in the war, and valuable records were destroyed when the four aircraft carriers sank during the battle. Prange, though, makes up for these shortcomings with interviews he conducted during the occupation years with a number of survivors and important pilots and staff officers at this battle like Genda Minoru and Fuchida Mitsuo. On the other hand, developing the American side of the story is pretty easy. All the major figures in this engagement survived the war as did their records and written reports.

Developing the Japanese side of the story is important, because Prange basically argues that Japan lost the battle more than the Americans won it. The problems the Japanese faced were not the work of any one individual, but rather were large, systematic shortcomings like a flawed battle plan that had two conflicting objectives, overconfidence in their abilities, poor command and control, lack of resources, and sloppy intelligence work. The Americans owed their victory more to luck than any other factor. With those points made, Prange gives a lot of credit to Chester Nimitz for knowing how to use his theater resources, to Raymond Spruance and Frank Jack Fletcher. Prange also argues that Nagumo, who is often seen as being indecisive, made the right decision with what information he had at the time in shifting the armaments of his planes.

Luck was what carried the day for the Americans and Spruance admitted as much. The Japanese had little regard for American torpedoe attacks and with good reason. The U.S. Navy had poor equipment and lousy training. It was only Lt. Cmdr. Wade McClusky's decision to use an unconventional search pattern as his fuel was running low that allowed the Americans to pounce on the Japanese at the moment when their ordinance was unsecured and the fighter coverage was too low to stop the dive bombers.

The shortcomings of the book are more minor than substantial: the writing at times seems overly flowery. The story builds slowly. When it gets to the sexy parts, the fighting, it really gets going. The maps vary significantly in quality. Some are quite good, others are atrocious and appear to have been hand drawn.

To wrap it up: this book is a good sequel to Prang's study of Pearl Harbor. It won't be the last word on the subject, but it is an important one.

A Turning Point in American History.......2006-11-02

Very readable and enjoyable, and packed with interesting details. Because of extensive interviews and exhaustive research, the authors have provided us with an authoritative account of the events and people behind a naval battle with no equal. It gives both sides of the picture and pulls no punches. A great and inspiring read.

Interesting, but not the best.......2006-05-26

This book is an interesting account of the Midway battle. It is unfortunate that Gordon Prange did not live to complete it himself. Although "Miracle at Midway" is definitely worth reading, particularly for its coverage of the Japanese viewpoint, I would strongly recommend that anyone interested in the Battle of Midway also read "Midway: Incredible Victory," by Walter Lord. Lord's book is a better presentation of this highly complex sea and air campaign, especially from the American side, and much easier for the reader to follow. Walter Lord is not only a fine historian, but also an incomparable storyteller, and readers wishing a full picture of the Midway campaign should add Lord's "Midway: Incredible Victory" to their library.

The Turning Point of the Pacific War.......2005-07-19

Gordon Prange, author of the acclaimed "At Dawn We Slept", has written a masterful book about how America struck back against the Japanese at a tiny island 1000 miles west of Pearl Harbor: Midway.

By June of 1942, the Japanese had rolled up an incredible list of victories. But beginning with the Doolittle raid in April of 1942 abd followed by the Battle of the Coral Sea in May, the Americans had finally begun to check the Japanese advance. The Japanese, infected with "victory disease", nevertheless felt that if they could draw the U.S. Pacific fleet away from Pearl Harbor, they would be able to destroy the remains and continue on toward Hawaii and perhaps the West Coast.

However, the Americans had one huge advantage over the Japanese. The Americans were able to read the Japanese JN-25 naval code, and this provided a wealth of information as to where the Japanese planned to strike next. Under the command of Joe Rochefort, the code-breakers at Pearl Harbor soon had enough information to predict that the Japanese were going to strike at Midway. The Americans would be waiting for them.

On one fateful day in June, 1942, the tide of the war in the Pacific turned against the Japanese. In the span of only a few minutes, three Japanese aircraft carriers, all veterans of the Pearl Harbor attack, were sunk by American dive bombers. The fourth Japanese carrier was sunk later in the day. The Americans lost the carrier USS Yorktown, but it was a relatively small price to pay for such a smashing victory. American industrial capacity had increased by this time, and new carriers would soon be coming into service, so the loss of the Yorktown was diminished. The Japanese, however, had nowhere near the capacity of the United States. The Japanese never recovered from this terrible blow.

I've read Prange's excellent analysis of Pearl Harbor, and this book does just as good of a job describing the battle of Midway. From the initial sighting of the Japanese fleet to the final withdrawl, Prange describes the battle in a manner that will keep the reader enthralled throughout. Prange earned the title of "The Dean of Pearl Harbor" with his masterful trilogy, now he has added the battle of Midway to that impressive list. I highly recommend this great book. Read it and discover how a small American fleet destroyed a vastly superior enemy force and turned the tide forever against the Japanese.

A Glorious Page in Our History: The Battle of Midway, 4-6 June, 1942

Average customer rating:

A Glorius Page...
Best book I've read about Midway.
A Glorious Page in Our History: The Battle of Midway, 4-6 June, 1942
Battle of Midway researchers: start here.
A Glorious Book

A Glorious Page in Our History: The Battle of Midway, 4-6 June, 1942
Robert J. Cressman
Manufacturer: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0929521404

Customer Reviews:

A Glorius Page..........2006-06-15

There's not much doubt about the exhaustive detail of this book. It's about as close as you are going to get to a blow by blow account of the most important battle in US Navy history. The authors recount virtually every movement that any ship, squadron, or commander made in those 3 crucial days. Although the detail is minute, I couldn't put it down. The battle was apparently, a continuous stream of action.

This book is really for the dedicated historian and hardcore history buff. It isn't really intended to be a good read, but it sure was for me. The writing style is easy and flowing, not as dry and dusty as you would expect from a history book.

The story really focuses on the men. It is full of pictures of the flyers, commanders and squadrons. There are only a couple small weak points. One is the poor quality of the printed pictures. This is not an expensive book, so it is printed on medium quality paper. Photos don't turn out very clear on this kind of paper. Several captions describe details in the photo that I can't for the life of me see. Still the picture collection here is huge. It was especially touchng to look at the faces of these great heroes. They look like ordinary guys. I guess they were. It impresses me that ordinary guys are capable of rising to such high levels of dedication and valor.

The other problem is the lack of good maps. There are only 6, and they aren't very high quality. The 3 battle maps are given on only 2 pages, and contain too much information to make much sense. I would have prefered more larger maps showing more specific phases of the battle. I tracked down some better maps on the internet, but the data in this text could be used to produce many more detailed maps.

The book starts witb an interesting brief history of Midway atol, itself. Such an important place, and yet it is just a couple of tiny piles of sand literally in the middle of nowhere.

Altogether, I can highly recommend this book if you want a lot of detail in an easy-reading style.

Best book I've read about Midway........2006-03-25

Simply fantastic. I've read many books about this topic but this is the best. No theatrics, just the facts presented in a very readable format. Great work.

A Glorious Page in Our History: The Battle of Midway, 4-6 June, 1942.......2006-02-28

This is one of the most complete accounts of the battle that I have read. It was an excelent book

Battle of Midway researchers: start here........2005-02-25

. This is THE definitive work on the Battle of Midway. It accurately provides the detail that most of the others omit or get wrong, and it corrects all of the popular myths about the battle that some of the others perpetuate, i.e. the controversial flight of the USS Hornet's air group on the morning of 4 June 1942, and the "Midway is short of water" ruse pulled off by the signal intelligence wizards at Pearl Harbor.
. You have to be very familiar with the events and personnel involved in the battle to find even a minor flaw in this book. This reviewer knows of only two (in the 4th printing, March '98); one photo caption cites the wrong PBY squadron and another has the wrong names for an SBD aircrew. Beyond that sort of miniscule nitpicking that very few would notice, "A Glorious Page" can be relied upon as meticulously thorough and accurate to a level that no other volume on the Battle of Midway approaches.
. If you are researching the battle, start here. And if you can only afford one book on the Battle of Midway, this is the one you want. (Reviewed by R. W. Russell, Battle of Midway Roundtable, www.midway42.org)

A Glorious Book.......2000-06-20

This book is the result of a cooperative effort by a number of noted experts in the field of naval history. It provides the latest known facts regarding tactical details, numerous pertinent photos and previously unpublished (to my knowledge) biographical info about many heros of the battle. Every student of the war in the Pacific needs this book.

Battlestations Midway (Prima Official Game Guide)

Average customer rating:

Helpful
Beware of Programs specifications.
Excellent guide

Battlestations Midway (Prima Official Game Guide)
Michael Knight
Manufacturer: Prima Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Battlestations Midway
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Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Signature Series Guide (Bradygames Signature Series)
Medal of Honor: Airborne (Prima Official Game Guide)

ASIN: 0761554920
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Book Description

"The only thing we have to fear...is war without strategy"

·Detailed maps for every campaign mission, challenge engagement, and multiplayer encounter.
·Stats for all ships, planes, and submarines—know your forces and your enemy's.
·Detailed strategy and walkthroughs will help you master every battle.
·Beautiful pull-out poster of a World War II pin-up*.

*Poster not available in eGuide.

Customer Reviews:

Helpful.......2007-05-12

This publication is a useful and helpful guide to play the game of Midway.

Beware of Programs specifications........2007-04-03

Make sure your computer meets the specifications of the program before you buy it. My video card didn't, I can't play it and I am stuck with it.

Excellent guide.......2007-02-17

This guide gives you details on all the ships and subs and how to win

A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945

Average customer rating:

An invaluable source
solid historical book.
Solid research book on the Imperial Japanese Navy in WWII
Be mindful of the subtext
Swill

A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945
Paul S. Dull
Manufacturer: Naval Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909-1941
Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carriers 1921-45
Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Kaigun : Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941
Clash of The Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II

ASIN: 0870210971

Customer Reviews:

An invaluable source.......2007-06-12

I am glad to see this aging warhorse in print. It is still the only really comprehensive source on the IJN based largely on Japanese-language sources. Way too much fo the Pacific War literature is based on partisan or hagiographic readings of the conflict, almost exclusively from the American perspective (although Spector, Gailey, and Costello try to be balanced). The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force has produced a monumental 100+ volume history of the war, but almost none of it has been translated into English. Until we have some historians who can either read the originals and use them to fill in gaps, or translate some key chunks and publish them as a "greatest hits" collection with commentary and comparisons to the US semi-official Morison history, Dull will have to do for understanding "the other side of the hill."

solid historical book........2007-05-15

This book is history personified on the Japanese Navy in WWII. Not only does Mr. Dull explain every battle in the war with detail, in one of the appendixe's he has the fate of each warship. a great piece of work, in my opinion.

Solid research book on the Imperial Japanese Navy in WWII.......2005-08-24

Paul Dull's Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1941-1945 is one of those books that is a hidden gem. Few know about it, and it sheds considerable light on topics covered only in musty archives in Washington and Tokyo.

The naval war in the Pacific has been covered by every major historian ad nauseum. Dull, drawing on his knowledge of Japanese and Japanese culture, has drawn his information primarily from the official records of the IJN. This book is a treasure trove of information about Japanese fleet movements, little known battles, and methods of ship to ship combat that both sides used that are glossed over or completely neglected in large histories. Dull is not afraid to criticize Japanese commanders, and assesses Yamamoto, long considered to the be Japan's finest naval officer, to be hesitant, battleship centric, and slow to seek out battle.

This is a phenomenal stand alone work, and serves as a must read for anyone reading about Nimitz or Halsey or the US Navy in WWII. Great appendix with information regarding the names, classes, and fates of all major Japanese surface combatants during the war. Though I am sure there is something we all wish he had addressed(for me the construction and design history of their battlefleet), Dull does exactly what he set out to do. Tell a focused story with new information that has not seen the light of day. For a book published in 1978, it is remarkably fresh and relevant, and was an extremely enjoyable read.

Be mindful of the subtext.......2003-11-09

"A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy" will make a fine and intellectually stimulating addition to a military history collection. A veritable compendium of surface naval engagements that have been revisited by Mr. Dull using Japanese-language sources, it is not, however, the most comprehensive source of information and insight about the role of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War. Other sources, for instance, that greatly complement this book include "Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941" and Prange's seminal books on Pearl Harbor and Midway.

The book has some noticeable quirks too for the non-initiated. For instance, was there ever a pink-painted Japanese cruiser? The book does not dwell on the minutiae of the warships involved, so it is rather surprising to encounter an odd little detail such as the cruiser Haguro's paint scheme.

What makes the book especially valuable to me is the subtext: the Japanese Navy had in essence intensely prepared for the wrong war to fight. Deeply absorbed in the Mahan doctrine of the decisive naval battle--a principle that emphasized destroying an enemy fleet in a grand engagement that effectively ends the conflict--Nihon Teikoku Kaigun was, by the outbreak of the Second World War, ready to confront the US fleet within the context of a short yet decisive campaign. Then, after helping Japan secure access to the mineral resources of Southeast Asia, the navy would have been instrumental in safeguarding the perimeter of the newly-won oceanic empire.

It didn't quite turn out that way. As Dull's book elucidates in meticulous detail, the Japanese Navy was forced to fight practically to the last ship. Having lost the initiative midway through the conflict, a once-powerful armada that helped subdue one-third of the globe was to all intents and purposes wiped out by the end of the war.

Swill.......2002-02-22

This is one of many books claiming to be "based on hitherto unreleased Japanese documents" it purports to be told from the Japanese side which increases it's propaganda value but it's all so crudely done that only a U.S. Marine cadet and other mentally uncomplicated people could see it as anything but tiresome american chest beating.

This book is just more sickly solipsism for the kind of grubby folks who hang around gun shows and keep fading foot-ball trophies on their mantelpiece.

Just read the front cover flap and you can see how clichéd this garbage is.

Incidentally the Japanese navy didn't somehow begin in 1941 it's just convenient for the double speak of Dull to begin there. Where's the Japanese defeat of Czarist Russia, or the absurdly biased quotas at the London & Washington naval conferences?

Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story
Average customer rating:

Mitsuo Fuchida was a liar...

One of the best works on the Battle of Midway

More grist for the revisionist theory behind Pearl Harbor.

Who Won At Midway Anyway?

One always learns from history.

Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story
Mitsuo Fuchida , and Masatake Okumiya
Manufacturer: Bluejacket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1557504288

Book Description

This landmark study was first published in English by the Naval Institute in 1955 and was added to the Classics of Naval Literature series in 1992. Widely acknowledged for its valuable Japanese insights into the battle that turned that tide of war in the Pacific, the book has made a great impact on American readers over the years. Two Japanese naval aviators who participated in the operation provide an unsparing analysis of what caused Japan's staggering defeat.

Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the first air strike on Pearl Harbor, commanded the Akagi carrier air group and later made a study of the battle at the Japanese Naval War College. Masatake Okumiya, one of Japan's first dive-bomber pilots, was aboard the light carrier Ryujo and later served as a staff officer in a carrier division. Armed with knowledge of top-secret documents destroyed by the Japanese and access to private papers, they show the operation to be ill-conceived and poorly planned and executed, and fault their flag officers for lacking initiative, leadership, and clear thinking. With an introduction by an author known for his study of the battle from the American perspective, the work continues to make a significant contribution to World War II literature.

Customer Reviews:

Mitsuo Fuchida was a liar..........2006-09-03

As a Navy brat who grew up in the postwar era, Midway was a big deal. Of course, I read and enjoyed Fuchida's book. However, I recently finished reading "Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway" by Jonathan Parshall. In this book, it's clearly demonstrated that Fuchida did more than shade the truth. He lied in such a way to push blame upon others for Japan's defeat at Midway. For example, Fuchida makes the claim that the Japanese were getting ready to launch their strike just at the time the American SBDs dive bombed their carriers. Parshall shows how that was impossible given both Japanese carrier practice and the logs of flight activity. Sadly, Fuchida's book has enjoyed an unwarranted popularily due to our ignorance of Japanese documents and our lack of desire to question something that fits right into our own prejudices.

The Japanese historians consider Fuchida to be a liar. It's time that we do the same.

One of the best works on the Battle of Midway.......2006-09-02

I first read this account of the battle of Midway almost fourty years ago. As an avid student of World War II, I have read many books dealing with this battle, but this is the best in telling the Japanese side of the battle. It gives the American reader an account of the battle from the Japanese viewpoing, with emphasis on the fatal minutes when the Japanese fighters were wave-hopping after the last of the torpedo planes, leaving the sky above open to the three squadrons of American dive bombers to change the course of the battle and the war itself. I have read many versions of this battle from the American viewpoing, but this is still the best coming from the Japanese viewpoint. I have had a copy of this work in my library since I first read it back in the late sixties, and still consider it one of the best.

More grist for the revisionist theory behind Pearl Harbor........2006-02-05

Considering that this book was written in 1955, shortly after the Official US occupation of Japan ended, and considering that the author was indeed a fairly high ranking operational and planner of both Midway and Pearl Harbor Attacks, this book should be part of anyone's libraray whose shares an interest in the war between Japan and the US.

The author's knowledge and his particular place in the pecking order must be considered. As a former US combat pilot, with some operational planning experience, I am well aware that I was not informed of all details, only those that I had a need to know. Mitsui Fuchida was a staff officer, not a flag officer. He may have gained additional knowledge after the war's end, but most of the Admiral's who had overall knowledge of Pearl Harbor and Midway Operations were killed before the war ended.

There were also political concerns Fuchida had to navigate, in order to get his book published in 1955.

As a pilot, I was sympathetic to many of Fuchida's views. I enjoyed his descriptions of a warrior's duties, regardless of nationality. In some respects, we have more in common with our fellow aviators, than with our leaders.

For years, I accepted the standard version of the Pearl Harbor Attack on 7 Dec 41. I was at Pearl during the time the movie Tora Tora Tora was filmed. It was that event that lead to my discovery by talking to some older personnel of Japanese Ancestry, that unlike those in California, they were not sent to camps. I began reading whatever I could find on the subject, which includes this book.

Fuchida's book offers two major questions. How could two task forces covering the same sea lanes, confronting the same terrible sort of weather, without radar, within less than one year do so, under comletely "radio silence". Fuchida admits that during the Midway attack, low power radio signals were used, but were picked up in Japan. The generally accepted Japanese version of the Pearl Harbor attack, was that radio transmissions were not sent. But the question immediately arises. How would Fuchida, an Air Officer, know what conditions were confronting the various ships that comprised the Pearl Harbor attack force? Fuchida and the world knows that the Pearl Harbor force faced terrible weather and had to refuel in less than ideal conditions. They had to make course corrections. Is it unreasonable to think that the same reasons applied in May of 1942, would have applied in December of 1941?

Revisionists have challanged the traditional view of radio silence, by presenting numerous examples of transmissions from the "empty sea" during both periods. Traditionalists have maintained that Japan's sneak attack suceeded because they maintained strict radio silence. Men like Fuchida inforce that view. But was Fuchida the right person to ask? Did he mearly assume that what he was told by his superiors was correct?

Since Midway was a "victory" for the US, knowledge of the attack was acceptable and did not inflict any harm to anyone's careers or poltical postions. The same could not be said of Pearl Harbor. A Japanese Author in 1955, would be less likely of publishing something that discredited miltary and politcal reputations. I would not accuse Fuchida of deception, I would only suggest that he did not know as much about the Pearl Harbor Operation as he did about Midway.

Read the book, see if you come to the same conclussion.

Who Won At Midway Anyway?.......2006-02-04

This classic work of the battle of Midway is basically an entertaining and well written account of the Japanese view of the battle as voiced by the opinions and personal observations of Fuchida. There are many inaccuracies and the book is not nearly as scholarly as "Shattered Sword" which also describes the battle from the Japanese viewpoint.

My first review of this book came from no less than R. E. Best, the American bomber pilot who likely dropped the critical bomb on Akagi. He pointed out several errors and several other attempts to justify Japanese actions. Fuchida's book is comparable to the Lord classic "Incredible Victory" but this one has little place as a reference work. The book has many editor's notes which explain some of the problems but there are many others which are small but basically errors in the account. An example was the American B-26 attack on the Akagi. He describes the one plane that came low over the ship as passing from port to starboard then crashing into the sea. In fact the plane flown by LT. Mori passed straight down the Akagi flight deck from bow to stern and returned to Midway with significant damage. This event should have been directly in front of Fuchida as he reports he was lying on the flight deck. Minor point but it makes one wonder how many other errors in detail exist in the first person account.

The book appears to have been written as an post-war apology to the Japanese readers and contains continual excuses. The author criticizes the Japanese leadership with justification but the book could be titled "20-20 Hindsight at Midway".

One always learns from history........2005-08-06

This book written in the 1950's is an excellant account of the battle from the Japanese's point of view. The Japanese lost this battle because of a bad plan. This book teaches the value of having a good plan based on facts nor fiction. This is of course important for miltary plans, but it also applies to business and life in general. Anyone involved in planning anything should read this book.

Average customer rating:

Bridget Midway does an amazing job capturing the emotional upheaval of going from strictly friends to lovers.
Poorly written...
That's What Friends Are For was
Fun book
In agreement w/ the reviewer who called it a mediocre execution

Thats What Friends Are For
Bridget Midway
Manufacturer: Atlantic Bridge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1595782354
Release Date: 2006-04-21

Product Description

Can best friends sleep together and still be friends in the morning? A former high school cheerleader and a former high school nerd have grown up together and are now best friends. Ned is attracted to Fiona, but thinks she'll always see him as just a big nerd. Fiona is attracted to Ned, but figures a brainiac like him would want an equally intelligent woman by his side.

Customer Reviews:

Bridget Midway does an amazing job capturing the emotional upheaval of going from strictly friends to lovers. .......2007-09-17

Fiona was the head cheerleader in high school. She is regularly judged by her looks instead of her intelligence. Despite her appearance, Fiona had gotten excellent grades and all her internships had been at busy courtrooms. She hasn't been able to obtain the clerk position that she really wants. Fiona's unemployed and living with her best friend since high school, Ned, but she doesn't feel like she's contributing anything, despite Ned's reassurance that she contributes a great deal.

Ned may have brilliant ideas but he's having trouble being noticed at work, even his boss can't seem to get his name right. He has been in love with Fiona since high school. As the requisite school nerd, he knew he'd never have a chance with the head cheerleader, so he became her best friend instead. Having Fiona for a roommate is proving to be a temptation he won't be able to resist.

Ned is bored with his job, has never bothered learning the names of the people he works with, and hates his boss. He has nicknames for each and every one of them including his boss. Because he only refers to the people at work as the description he has for them, Fiona doesn't know the actual names of any of them. Fiona is trying to get a clerk position in Judge Kristoff's court, but she keeps getting blown off with the famous "don't call us, we'll call you" speech. It isn't until Ned and Fiona are rehashing their employment woes for the day that Ned finally refers to his boss by his name, Chunti. Fiona knows that name. Kristoff and Chunti are golfing buddies. Fiona devises a brilliant plan to get both Ned and her the recognition they deserve. Dating and sex. If Fiona and Ned appear to be dating then Chunti will finally take notice of Ned. According to Fiona, any man with a good-looking woman on his arm looks like a winner. Once Ned gets noticed, he can introduce Chunti and Fiona and then she can sweet talk Chunti into writing her a letter of recommendation for Kristoff. The sex, Fiona claims is just like preparing for a job interview. In actuality, that's just an excuse to finally get to have sex with Ned, who Fiona is convinced is far too smart to want someone like her. They do have that agreement to never date and ruin their friendship, but this isn't for real dating either, or is it?

THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR is a fun filled, fast paced look into the lives of these two friends who instead of just telling each other how they feel, use the guise of career advancement and job placement to indulge in their ever growing mutual desire for one another. Bridget Midway does an amazing job capturing the emotional upheaval of going from strictly friends to lovers. I had a wonderful time immersing myself in the characters' personalities and the quirky situations they'd find themselves embroiled in throughout this tale.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

Poorly written..........2007-07-30

I bought this book because it got decent reviews in Amazon.
I was really disappointed.
This author cannot write.This is one of the worst books I ever read and I read a whole lot. the book's style,execution, and plot were sophomoric,clumsy,shallow,poorly conceived.Don't waste your money!

That's What Friends Are For was .......2007-06-22

...a very entertining, funny, steamy, and romantic read. Great dialogue between the characters the hero brilliant and sweet, and sexy he was. The heroine conflicted about who and what she needed to become and finding that she should do what made her happy. The baggage these two carried was handled well, but the friendship was really what drew me that they were friend first then lovers made this a very sweet story....the love scenes were explosive too. JV

Fun book.......2007-04-02

Its a complete fun book, good for reading in your pass time/leisure. I agree that the book was excessively erotic, but still we get learn a thing or two just like we have a moral of the story in every good book :-)

In agreement w/ the reviewer who called it a mediocre execution.......2007-02-20

Something was just not quite there w/this story. I could get behind the pretend to be a couple, but the sleeping together at the same time, was weird. I'm not sure what Fiona was thinking. It did seem a little prostitute-like. And once they DID start sleeping together, it was almost like they ceased being friends and went to f-buddies.

As an aside: I think the cover art should be different. It's a little misleading and too "innocent" for what's actually in the book. If a library aide is not paying attention, this book could easily be put in the young adult section and then picked up by some kid who doesn't think to read the back cover.

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