The number of works both fiction and non- covering WWII are vast. Hugh Ambrose find his niche by taking a magnifying glass to a mere few American soldiers, fighting the Japanese for the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific is more of a history buffs kind of book, while there is focus on specific individuals and often in great depth, the style of writing errs towards the technical, not that there is anything wrong with this – through Ambrose’s prose we see much of the brutality of war, but also come to understand many of the day to day difficulties of boredom and worry.

Ambrose’s characters’ experience of the war were highly varied, and we as the reader are provided with a glimpse into many different aspects of the battles. One character ‘Shifty’ Shoefer goes from being to a prisoner of war – to being a disgraced commander – to finally redeeming himself in battle. We are taken along for bombing flights – beachfront assaults and grisly skirmishes.

Focussing solely on the experience of our characters Ambrose does not tackle wider issues around the Second World War, we hear very little of the fight for Europe, or the atomic bombs, or even politics. Despite the technical language sometimes creating a distance from the action, The Pacific is about people in the war, and their experiences of it nothing more.