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The Pacific: Hell Was an Ocean Away
The New York Times bestselling official companion book to the Emmy® Award-winning HBO® miniseries.
Look for The Pacific miniseries, now available to stream on Netflix!
Between America's retreat from China in late November 1941 and the moment General MacArthur's airplane touched down on the Japanese mainland in August of 1945, five men connected by happenstance fought the key battles of the war against Japan. From the debacle in Bataan, to the miracle at Midway and the relentless vortex of Guadalcanal, their solemn oaths to their country later led one to the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot and the others to the coral strongholds of Peleliu, the black terraces of Iwo Jima and the killing fields of Okinawa, until at last the survivors enjoyed a triumphant, yet uneasy, return home.
In The Pacific , Hugh Ambrose focuses on the real-life stories of five men who put their lives on the line for our country. To deepen the story revealed in the HBO® miniseries and go beyond it, the book dares to chart a great ocean of enmity known as the Pacific and the brave men who fought.
Look for The Pacific miniseries, now available to stream on Netflix!
Between America's retreat from China in late November 1941 and the moment General MacArthur's airplane touched down on the Japanese mainland in August of 1945, five men connected by happenstance fought the key battles of the war against Japan. From the debacle in Bataan, to the miracle at Midway and the relentless vortex of Guadalcanal, their solemn oaths to their country later led one to the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot and the others to the coral strongholds of Peleliu, the black terraces of Iwo Jima and the killing fields of Okinawa, until at last the survivors enjoyed a triumphant, yet uneasy, return home.
In The Pacific , Hugh Ambrose focuses on the real-life stories of five men who put their lives on the line for our country. To deepen the story revealed in the HBO® miniseries and go beyond it, the book dares to chart a great ocean of enmity known as the Pacific and the brave men who fought.
508 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2009
About the author
Hugh Ambrose
9 books65 followersHugh Alexander Ambrose was an American historian and the author of a best-selling popular history of the Pacific Theater in World War II. Ambrose rose to prominence as a researcher for and collaborator with his father, historian Stephen E. Ambrose.
Hugh Alexander Ambrose was born on Aug. 12, 1966, in Baltimore, one of three children that his mother, the former Moira Buckley, brought to her marriage to Stephen Ambrose in 1968. Mr. Ambrose adopted all three children, and the family settled in New Orleans.
After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Montana, Hugh Ambrose went to work for his father, researching “Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West” (1996) and other books.
For the World War II histories, he scoured archives, visited battlegrounds and interviewed a spate of veterans.
In an interview with The Wisconsin State Journal in 2012, Hugh Ambrose recalled the day his father asked him to become his research partner, and the irresistible inducement the older man held out to him.
“There was a pause and he said the magic words ... I’ll pay you,” Mr. Ambrose said. “And of course I said yes.”
Hugh Amborse passed away from Cancer.
Hugh Alexander Ambrose was born on Aug. 12, 1966, in Baltimore, one of three children that his mother, the former Moira Buckley, brought to her marriage to Stephen Ambrose in 1968. Mr. Ambrose adopted all three children, and the family settled in New Orleans.
After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Montana, Hugh Ambrose went to work for his father, researching “Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West” (1996) and other books.
For the World War II histories, he scoured archives, visited battlegrounds and interviewed a spate of veterans.
In an interview with The Wisconsin State Journal in 2012, Hugh Ambrose recalled the day his father asked him to become his research partner, and the irresistible inducement the older man held out to him.
“There was a pause and he said the magic words ... I’ll pay you,” Mr. Ambrose said. “And of course I said yes.”
Hugh Amborse passed away from Cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 425 reviews
December 19, 2010
I have to say that I would like Goodreads to change scoring method, because I would give this book about a 4.2 to 4.3 out of 5. It was an interesting format book. No chapters but 5 acts as it is a companion to the HBO mini-series of same namesake. Secondly, the author is the Son of the Late and famed Stephen Ambrose, one of my if not my favorite Historians. This is his first book solely written by him as he had previously contributed to his Father's research and writing before his unfortunate and premature death in 2002. I certainly hope he continues to hone his craft and continues his father's legacy. I must admit I'm extremely partial to this point in our history. World War 2 fascinates me more than any other time in history because of its complexity, scope and magnitude then and now. I read E.B. Sludge's With the Old Breed prior to this as well as countless other books about the Pacific theater of WW2 so I had already some context. Ambrose take on Sledge provided a 3rd person narrative and compliment to his own memoir. Slightly different perspective and one could argue some contradictions were presented, but not my interest or point to uncover. The most enjoyable character in this book for me was Austin "Shifty" Shofner. His leadership and ingenuity was amazing. If any criticism can be provided is that the font of this book is a little small and was a little distracting to really delve into it at times as I found myself spending a lot of time trying to re-set my eyes to where I was previously was. As well some passages were a little too lengthy to keep my interest always engaged. Overall very good, particularly a first attempt at a full-length manuscript. Hugh please keep writing and publishing.
September 20, 2016
This is a companion book to a TV series about the war in the Pacific. It settles on a few characters, some of which are familiar to anyone who has read any number of books on the Pacific Theater. It limits itself to Navy and Marine personnel: Sidney Phillips, Vernon 'Mike" Micheel, Sgt. "Manila John" Basilone, Eugene B Sledge and Robert "Lucky" Leckie. It is not the best text on the war in the Pacific, but is a good read giving slightly more information on these specific men and some of their commanders.
I did not see the series, so have no idea how close it came to reflecting the stories of these and other individuals. It did cover the Battle of Okinawa which I had not previously read that much about.
I did not see the series, so have no idea how close it came to reflecting the stories of these and other individuals. It did cover the Battle of Okinawa which I had not previously read that much about.
January 25, 2023
Hugh Ambrose captured the lives and experiences of a handful of men who fought with courage and commitment during some of the most brutal battles of the Pacific. One of the less notables elements of the war that Ambrose cites are the kamikaze attacks by Japanese pilots on US ships.
The second world war has always fascinated and horrified me. We learned about it in school, from the rise of fascism to the events of D-Day. Looking back, the vast majority of our history education focused around the two world wars.
Perhaps because the war in Europe was the bit that most directly involved troops from the UK, our focus tends to be there.
If you have even a passing interest in World War II you will almost certainly have come across the excellent series ‘Band of Brothers’. It’s quite old now – it came out in 2001 – but it’s still one of the best and most epic depictions of war, through the eyes of the men who were really there.
Nine years later, the same team, fronted by Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks, produced another series called ‘The Pacific’. This one focused on the war between the USA and Japan, which began with the infamous attack on Pearl Harbour.
Shortly afterwards, a companion book to the series was released. It was written by Hugh Ambrose, the son of Stephen E. Ambrose, the historian who had written ‘Band of Brothers’. Hugh actually dedicated the book to his father, having taken over the writing when his father had become too ill.
The book is designed to sit alongside the series, a brilliant series, a shocking series, but it does differ enough to make it worthwhile to read it rather than just watching. There are plenty of additional details to the main stories.
Powerful, strong, shocking.
The second world war has always fascinated and horrified me. We learned about it in school, from the rise of fascism to the events of D-Day. Looking back, the vast majority of our history education focused around the two world wars.
Perhaps because the war in Europe was the bit that most directly involved troops from the UK, our focus tends to be there.
If you have even a passing interest in World War II you will almost certainly have come across the excellent series ‘Band of Brothers’. It’s quite old now – it came out in 2001 – but it’s still one of the best and most epic depictions of war, through the eyes of the men who were really there.
Nine years later, the same team, fronted by Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks, produced another series called ‘The Pacific’. This one focused on the war between the USA and Japan, which began with the infamous attack on Pearl Harbour.
Shortly afterwards, a companion book to the series was released. It was written by Hugh Ambrose, the son of Stephen E. Ambrose, the historian who had written ‘Band of Brothers’. Hugh actually dedicated the book to his father, having taken over the writing when his father had become too ill.
The book is designed to sit alongside the series, a brilliant series, a shocking series, but it does differ enough to make it worthwhile to read it rather than just watching. There are plenty of additional details to the main stories.
Powerful, strong, shocking.
September 27, 2016
Companion to the HBO miniseries, this is a pretty decent volume, although there aren’t any new insights, because it’s a confluence of other primary sources, but the stories are distilled for the convenience of the casual historian. I listened to this book on CD while driving, and it did a good job of holding my attention, even with stories with which I was very familiar as an historian.
I do have some problems with factual errors, however. For instance, during the description of the Battle of Midway, he posits that the pilots were told that the Japanese naval code had been broken and that they were going to oppose that operation. All of that was true except that the knowledge of the broken code was a very closely guarded secret, and pilots were the least likely to be told, since they – more than any other personnel in the Navy – were more likely to be captured and reveal that precious secret.
As an audio book, it’s a bit hard to follow, because of the way it jumps between stories, but that’s more the fault of me as a listener than a criticism of the book. Still, longer pauses between sections (or inserted headings before a change in characters) would have been welcome. It doesn’t help that the stories are chronologically similar, so one moment, you are following a pilot flying from Guadalcanal, and the next moment, it’s an artillery gunner. Without those pauses, it’s easy to get lost.
Both of those are nitpicky criticisms, and they’re specific to my circumstance since most readers will have a physical book; I did enjoy the stories’ repackaging in a tidy compendium volume.
I liked the stories of Manila John Basilone’s Guadalcanal experiences that earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor, but I didn’t really need to have the minutiae of his experiences on the war bond tour, which had the net effect of diminishing his accomplishments by giving us all of minutiae of the propaganda of the promoters of the tour.
The other flaw with the audio book is that it will give a date (August 21st, for example) with a month and day but no year. When bouncing from one storyline to another, that can be confusing, although the stories are mostly concurrent. Also, and this comes because of it’s a verbatim reading of the text and isn’t the fault of the audio book’s producer necessarily, when switching to another storyline, it is sometimes a few sentences into the text before the listener can discern which character is the subject of the story. It would have been helpful if the producer had the narrator state the name of the character whose story the text switched to at the beginning of that transition, but it would have been hard for them to know what it would be like for the listener. Still, it is a flaw…
Notwithstanding the flaws of the audio book, this is a good repacking of great stories, particularly if the reader hasn’t already read the accounts of Basilone or E.B. Sledge or R.V. Burgin, etc. All of the men involved who had the opportunity to return to combat did so, and there were vital contributions from each of them. It’s a collection of great stories, so I would recommend it highly.
I do have some problems with factual errors, however. For instance, during the description of the Battle of Midway, he posits that the pilots were told that the Japanese naval code had been broken and that they were going to oppose that operation. All of that was true except that the knowledge of the broken code was a very closely guarded secret, and pilots were the least likely to be told, since they – more than any other personnel in the Navy – were more likely to be captured and reveal that precious secret.
As an audio book, it’s a bit hard to follow, because of the way it jumps between stories, but that’s more the fault of me as a listener than a criticism of the book. Still, longer pauses between sections (or inserted headings before a change in characters) would have been welcome. It doesn’t help that the stories are chronologically similar, so one moment, you are following a pilot flying from Guadalcanal, and the next moment, it’s an artillery gunner. Without those pauses, it’s easy to get lost.
Both of those are nitpicky criticisms, and they’re specific to my circumstance since most readers will have a physical book; I did enjoy the stories’ repackaging in a tidy compendium volume.
I liked the stories of Manila John Basilone’s Guadalcanal experiences that earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor, but I didn’t really need to have the minutiae of his experiences on the war bond tour, which had the net effect of diminishing his accomplishments by giving us all of minutiae of the propaganda of the promoters of the tour.
The other flaw with the audio book is that it will give a date (August 21st, for example) with a month and day but no year. When bouncing from one storyline to another, that can be confusing, although the stories are mostly concurrent. Also, and this comes because of it’s a verbatim reading of the text and isn’t the fault of the audio book’s producer necessarily, when switching to another storyline, it is sometimes a few sentences into the text before the listener can discern which character is the subject of the story. It would have been helpful if the producer had the narrator state the name of the character whose story the text switched to at the beginning of that transition, but it would have been hard for them to know what it would be like for the listener. Still, it is a flaw…
Notwithstanding the flaws of the audio book, this is a good repacking of great stories, particularly if the reader hasn’t already read the accounts of Basilone or E.B. Sledge or R.V. Burgin, etc. All of the men involved who had the opportunity to return to combat did so, and there were vital contributions from each of them. It’s a collection of great stories, so I would recommend it highly.
June 8, 2010
A companion piece to the HBO miniseries of the same name, one really wishes that Stephen Ambrose (Hugh's father and author of many wonderful books about WWII) had lived to oversee the writing. Hugh's prose is rather sodden and he shies away from really getting close to the characters, as I'd hoped. I have read Eugene Sledge's memoir "With the Old Breed," as well as Robert Leckie's book "Helmet for my Pillow," both source books for the miniseries and used liberally in "The Pacific," but none of the power of those books makes it into Ambrose's work.
Perhaps his is unavoidable; a book about the entire Pacific campaign in a single volume can do little more than list the battles, the casualties, and the outcomes. It cannot hope to take us into those battles, as did the two memoirs I've mentioned.
But still, a book entitled "The Pacific" should at least do what it should: lay out the conflict definitively, like a road map so those who are just beginning their understanding of this important event will get a clear overview of the conflict. In this it fails; other books must necessarily do a better job and I will now seek them out (my own reading on the Pacific theater of war in WWII is only beginning, so I do not pretend expertise on the subject).
If you are looking for that overarching understanding of this theater of war, you will be disappointed in this book. If you are looking for a stepping-stone to greater and more definitive books, this is a good entry point. From here, tackle Sledge and Leckie and stay tuned. I am in this subject for the long haul and will eventually discover the book I had hoped "The Pacific" would have been.
Perhaps his is unavoidable; a book about the entire Pacific campaign in a single volume can do little more than list the battles, the casualties, and the outcomes. It cannot hope to take us into those battles, as did the two memoirs I've mentioned.
But still, a book entitled "The Pacific" should at least do what it should: lay out the conflict definitively, like a road map so those who are just beginning their understanding of this important event will get a clear overview of the conflict. In this it fails; other books must necessarily do a better job and I will now seek them out (my own reading on the Pacific theater of war in WWII is only beginning, so I do not pretend expertise on the subject).
If you are looking for that overarching understanding of this theater of war, you will be disappointed in this book. If you are looking for a stepping-stone to greater and more definitive books, this is a good entry point. From here, tackle Sledge and Leckie and stay tuned. I am in this subject for the long haul and will eventually discover the book I had hoped "The Pacific" would have been.
March 28, 2023
Excellent book follows the mini series mostly, adding a lot more detail. & several different men Highly recommended.
December 28, 2020
3.3
(I'll be diverging from my usual format, since this isn't a fiction, and is somewhat of a textbook of knowledge.)
Overall Impression
This is a dense, tedious book with an unfortunately disjointed narrative style. Cumbersome writing but really good information if you're looking for reference material. I learned a lot, but boy... I wish I didn't need to push through 449 pages for the information.
The Good
1. Ambrose is extremely meticulous. The amount of research that went into this book is impressive.
2. I liked the idea of telling the story of the Pacific through the eyes of different men at different points in the war. I certainly learned a lot from this book (I can't believe I'd never heard of Austin Shofner before! It's such a shame that he isn't actually in the docuseries that this book is supposed to accompany.).
The Bad
1. I absolutely detested the format of this book. The constant jumping back and forth between characters (at random interval lengths, ie. one character gets a paragraph, the next four pages, the next one page, etc) was incredibly annoying and made it hard to follow each respective story.
2. Ambrose keeps the characters at an emotional arm's length, making it harder for me to connect with the men he wrote about. If I hadn't already read 'With the Old Breed,' and read only Ambrose's attempts at relaying E.B. Sledge's experience, I would have lost interest (which is a shame, because Sledge's book is incredible). Ambrose's style was very detached from the men he writes about; there's little story depth.
3. I get the sense that Ambrose did not intend for this to be read by people who are not at least familiar with the US military/US military history & terminology. This is a technical-term/military jargon - heavy book. As such, I definitely would not recommend this book to people are are new to the topic of the Pacific in WW2; it might be off-putting. There are better books.
Interesting Takeaways/Notes
1. There was a very questionable phrase near the end of the book: "A man's (Japanese man's) capacity to let go of his pain, or *to recognize the advancement of human civilization that America's victory enabled*..." That seems a bit grandiose a statement. I mean, I know Ambrose is American but still... that phrase made me cringe.
2. I didn't know that E.B. Sledge had originally intended to title his book (With the Old Breed) as 'Band of Brothers' at first. V. cool to learn.
3. The story of Lena Basilone is a romantic tragedy, and honestly, John Basilone was quite self-centered. The couple had been married for less than a year before he died! And for the rest of her widowed and unmarried-ever-again-life, Lena was pelted with questions about her dead husband. According to the book, even John's family regarded her with suspicion, since they didn't know her well, and she had married John after he achieved his famed status.
4. I loved the story of Austin Shofner (a Marine who led the only successful escape from a Japanese POW camp during the war)- absolutely LOVED. I wish his story were included in the show 'The Pacific." Honestly, I wish he had a show of his own.
5. There were some questionable uses of racial slurs in this book, but I suppose Ambrose kept them in for... "authenticity?" Still, cringey.
6. *Pet peeve while reading this book:* Ambrose severely overused the term 'shit hit the fan.' Seriously, I rolled my eyes by the time I read it for the 5th time (and not the last!)
(I'll be diverging from my usual format, since this isn't a fiction, and is somewhat of a textbook of knowledge.)
Overall Impression
This is a dense, tedious book with an unfortunately disjointed narrative style. Cumbersome writing but really good information if you're looking for reference material. I learned a lot, but boy... I wish I didn't need to push through 449 pages for the information.
The Good
1. Ambrose is extremely meticulous. The amount of research that went into this book is impressive.
2. I liked the idea of telling the story of the Pacific through the eyes of different men at different points in the war. I certainly learned a lot from this book (I can't believe I'd never heard of Austin Shofner before! It's such a shame that he isn't actually in the docuseries that this book is supposed to accompany.).
The Bad
1. I absolutely detested the format of this book. The constant jumping back and forth between characters (at random interval lengths, ie. one character gets a paragraph, the next four pages, the next one page, etc) was incredibly annoying and made it hard to follow each respective story.
2. Ambrose keeps the characters at an emotional arm's length, making it harder for me to connect with the men he wrote about. If I hadn't already read 'With the Old Breed,' and read only Ambrose's attempts at relaying E.B. Sledge's experience, I would have lost interest (which is a shame, because Sledge's book is incredible). Ambrose's style was very detached from the men he writes about; there's little story depth.
3. I get the sense that Ambrose did not intend for this to be read by people who are not at least familiar with the US military/US military history & terminology. This is a technical-term/military jargon - heavy book. As such, I definitely would not recommend this book to people are are new to the topic of the Pacific in WW2; it might be off-putting. There are better books.
Interesting Takeaways/Notes
1. There was a very questionable phrase near the end of the book: "A man's (Japanese man's) capacity to let go of his pain, or *to recognize the advancement of human civilization that America's victory enabled*..." That seems a bit grandiose a statement. I mean, I know Ambrose is American but still... that phrase made me cringe.
2. I didn't know that E.B. Sledge had originally intended to title his book (With the Old Breed) as 'Band of Brothers' at first. V. cool to learn.
3. The story of Lena Basilone is a romantic tragedy, and honestly, John Basilone was quite self-centered. The couple had been married for less than a year before he died! And for the rest of her widowed and unmarried-ever-again-life, Lena was pelted with questions about her dead husband. According to the book, even John's family regarded her with suspicion, since they didn't know her well, and she had married John after he achieved his famed status.
4. I loved the story of Austin Shofner (a Marine who led the only successful escape from a Japanese POW camp during the war)- absolutely LOVED. I wish his story were included in the show 'The Pacific." Honestly, I wish he had a show of his own.
5. There were some questionable uses of racial slurs in this book, but I suppose Ambrose kept them in for... "authenticity?" Still, cringey.
6. *Pet peeve while reading this book:* Ambrose severely overused the term 'shit hit the fan.' Seriously, I rolled my eyes by the time I read it for the 5th time (and not the last!)
February 2, 2012
I think that I pretty much auto-five star most World War II-related histories. No exception here. I'm not sure why it jumped into my head to read it now, but there you go.
First thing about this book is it's kind of got a disservice done to it by trying to bill it as a companion to HBO's The Pacific. I guess the book and the miniseries are aiming to do the same thing, but as they are different mediums they can be approached in totally different ways. Where the miniseries only has time to follow Leckie, Basilone and Sledge, the book also introduces us to Sid Phillips (who was Sledge's friend and also served with Leckie, so he got a small part in the show), Austin Shofner, who became a POW in the Philippines, and "Mike" Micheel, who comes across as the most humble yet badass Navy pilot of all time. In the interest of space and because he wrote his own memoir, Leckie is not in the book except for a few mentions here and there.
It's the stories that are added for this book that are the best. What a journey for Shifty Shofner, who gets captured in the Philippines at the start of the war - in his estimation, because of the cowardice of "Dugout Doug" MacArthur. He carries this grudge into the POW camp with him, and it seems like this basically sustains him, along with the desire to escape and let the world know about what is happening. He does this, along with a handful of other American POWs, is swept into the anti-Japanese Filipino partisan movement for a while until they learn about him back in Australia. Most people would probably just want to go home at this point, but Shofner maneuvers his way back into a position to be a line officer and ends up on both Peleliu and Okinawa. Wow, talk about an eventful life.
The Navy pilot, Micheel, has an equally fascinating journey through the Pacific theater. The guy is awesome. He decides early on that he doesn't have much interest in being a fighter jock and dedicates himself to learning to be something brand new: a dive-bomber. His own recollections of things are just these dry facts and whenever Ambrose brings in outside reports or comments from some other person, you get the impression that this guy is everything the pilots in Top Gun wish they could have been. Midway, Guadalcanal, wherever they send him he's just out there blowing stuff up and surviving against all odds, not to mention coming up with brilliant ideas along the way, like when he volunteers to continually take off and land to try to help reveal a cannon that fires at the Guadalcanal runway when planes are coming in. I can't stress enough that this book is worth reading even if you skip all the parts that don't deal with these two guys. You can kind of see why Micheel was left out of the show. Imagine the SFX budget needed to do justice to the Battle of Midway. The mind boggles.
The story shifts frequently between the principal men being followed, and some may find this jarring, but I like it because that means the narrative is moving along with time. There is no jumping back and forward, only side to side. I think it's important to maintain the "Well, while this guy was doing X, these other guys were here doing Y and Z." Plus I am kind of a sucker for any decent WWII history. If you are that kind of sucker, you shouldn't miss this one.
First thing about this book is it's kind of got a disservice done to it by trying to bill it as a companion to HBO's The Pacific. I guess the book and the miniseries are aiming to do the same thing, but as they are different mediums they can be approached in totally different ways. Where the miniseries only has time to follow Leckie, Basilone and Sledge, the book also introduces us to Sid Phillips (who was Sledge's friend and also served with Leckie, so he got a small part in the show), Austin Shofner, who became a POW in the Philippines, and "Mike" Micheel, who comes across as the most humble yet badass Navy pilot of all time. In the interest of space and because he wrote his own memoir, Leckie is not in the book except for a few mentions here and there.
It's the stories that are added for this book that are the best. What a journey for Shifty Shofner, who gets captured in the Philippines at the start of the war - in his estimation, because of the cowardice of "Dugout Doug" MacArthur. He carries this grudge into the POW camp with him, and it seems like this basically sustains him, along with the desire to escape and let the world know about what is happening. He does this, along with a handful of other American POWs, is swept into the anti-Japanese Filipino partisan movement for a while until they learn about him back in Australia. Most people would probably just want to go home at this point, but Shofner maneuvers his way back into a position to be a line officer and ends up on both Peleliu and Okinawa. Wow, talk about an eventful life.
The Navy pilot, Micheel, has an equally fascinating journey through the Pacific theater. The guy is awesome. He decides early on that he doesn't have much interest in being a fighter jock and dedicates himself to learning to be something brand new: a dive-bomber. His own recollections of things are just these dry facts and whenever Ambrose brings in outside reports or comments from some other person, you get the impression that this guy is everything the pilots in Top Gun wish they could have been. Midway, Guadalcanal, wherever they send him he's just out there blowing stuff up and surviving against all odds, not to mention coming up with brilliant ideas along the way, like when he volunteers to continually take off and land to try to help reveal a cannon that fires at the Guadalcanal runway when planes are coming in. I can't stress enough that this book is worth reading even if you skip all the parts that don't deal with these two guys. You can kind of see why Micheel was left out of the show. Imagine the SFX budget needed to do justice to the Battle of Midway. The mind boggles.
The story shifts frequently between the principal men being followed, and some may find this jarring, but I like it because that means the narrative is moving along with time. There is no jumping back and forward, only side to side. I think it's important to maintain the "Well, while this guy was doing X, these other guys were here doing Y and Z." Plus I am kind of a sucker for any decent WWII history. If you are that kind of sucker, you shouldn't miss this one.
November 7, 2010
When is a war story not a war story? When it tells the highs and lows of a conflict or battle as lived by and seen through the eyes of those that did the fighting at the lowest levels.
This is not a 'big map and small hands' book with lots of diagrams detailing the chess moves between foes. This makes the book all the better. A slow start in my opinion morphed into an enthralling read that had me almost feeling the emotions of the those involved. That is what this book is about.
The various central characters in the book gelled together eloquently despite their different services and backgrounds, and very different remits in war. The lack of campaign maps and step-by-step walkthroughs of the battles detracts nothing - the detailed emotions of the participants are the key message and it is loud and clear. The narratives of the young Navy pilot landing on a bucking aircarft carrier for the first time ally well with the down and dirty troops of the US Marine Corps tired and muddy from hauling mortars. The very different circles tell a different story about the conflict. There are many uncomfortable moments and the thoughts of the POWs are best left imagined as they ate the worm-ridden water served to them by their Japanese captors as soup. The Japanese were remorseless and grotesque...and I don't think I realised quite how so before reading this book.
This is a good read, not great, and I found the American writing style of Hugh Ambrose not always to my taste. Its focus on the ups and downs of war are its triumph and the hours of boredom frequented by the moments of chaos and madness are portrayed well. The emotions of the families that waved goodbye to their offspring not knowing if they would return are probably the same felt by those of today's soldiers. Today it is probably easier to stay in touch but the emotions will undoubtedly be the same.
I didn't want to like this book and for the first few chapters didn't think I would but I did...eventually.
This is not a 'big map and small hands' book with lots of diagrams detailing the chess moves between foes. This makes the book all the better. A slow start in my opinion morphed into an enthralling read that had me almost feeling the emotions of the those involved. That is what this book is about.
The various central characters in the book gelled together eloquently despite their different services and backgrounds, and very different remits in war. The lack of campaign maps and step-by-step walkthroughs of the battles detracts nothing - the detailed emotions of the participants are the key message and it is loud and clear. The narratives of the young Navy pilot landing on a bucking aircarft carrier for the first time ally well with the down and dirty troops of the US Marine Corps tired and muddy from hauling mortars. The very different circles tell a different story about the conflict. There are many uncomfortable moments and the thoughts of the POWs are best left imagined as they ate the worm-ridden water served to them by their Japanese captors as soup. The Japanese were remorseless and grotesque...and I don't think I realised quite how so before reading this book.
This is a good read, not great, and I found the American writing style of Hugh Ambrose not always to my taste. Its focus on the ups and downs of war are its triumph and the hours of boredom frequented by the moments of chaos and madness are portrayed well. The emotions of the families that waved goodbye to their offspring not knowing if they would return are probably the same felt by those of today's soldiers. Today it is probably easier to stay in touch but the emotions will undoubtedly be the same.
I didn't want to like this book and for the first few chapters didn't think I would but I did...eventually.
December 23, 2010
On the cover of "The Pacific" the following appears beneath the title,"Hell Was an Ocean Away." Hell isn't an ocean away when you're reading this book, you're holding it in the palms of your hand. Hugh Ambrose's writing is tortuous, tedious, and disjointed. The book's cover warns the reader that this is a companion to the Spielberg/Hanks television series. The scope of war in the Pacific is too broad a canvas for Ambrose's brush. What may play well on the screen does not work on the page. If you can't find a piece of coal for that deserving person's stocking this year, "The Pacific" is an excellent substitute.
April 10, 2010
The mistake with this book--which had some very vivid and harrowing accounts of of the Pacific War--was that it was written to be a "companion" to a tv mini-series. Not sure if it was the authors intention or the editor thought it would be a great idea to jump from "character to character" in such a willy-nilly fashion, but I found that reading it that way slowed me down. There were really only 5 chapters in this massive tome--each chapter devoted to roughly one year of the war, give or take. Otherwise the reader is subjected to only getting breaks in the story via spaces that dived the narratives.
This history is frustrating, because it forces the reader to jump around and follow multiple narratives. This is a nice device when watching intersecting and multiple stories during a mini-series on TV (think of "Band of Brothers"), but it makes for much slower reading because the reader can't "gain any momentum" in following a particular story. For instance I would get VERY into GySgt John Basilone's narrative in the book but would then get interrupted every page with another "break" and plunge into the narrative that follows PFC Sid Phillips, or LT Micheel or Eugene Sledge. All had interesting narratives but to jump around in a relatively random fashion was tiresome.
As soon as I can see it, I plan to own the DVD collection of "The Pacific." The stories of the soldiers serving in Europe has always seemed to get the spotlight as long as I can remember, so finally focusing the spot-light on the "other war" is long overdue. My uncle served in the Marines on Okinawa and a history teacher also served on Guam during the war--so I have had personal reasons for wanting to know about the war there. But unfortunately it was never much of an interest to the movie makers until recently. (Clint Eastwood's fantastic "Flags of our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima" are the exceptions) I do admire Hugh Ambrose to try and finish some of the goals of his father in this regard. But on this work, I am afraid this book may have gotten taken out of his hands and modified to be the companion for the mini-series. In doing so, it was watered-down and not as compelling as it could have been.
This history is frustrating, because it forces the reader to jump around and follow multiple narratives. This is a nice device when watching intersecting and multiple stories during a mini-series on TV (think of "Band of Brothers"), but it makes for much slower reading because the reader can't "gain any momentum" in following a particular story. For instance I would get VERY into GySgt John Basilone's narrative in the book but would then get interrupted every page with another "break" and plunge into the narrative that follows PFC Sid Phillips, or LT Micheel or Eugene Sledge. All had interesting narratives but to jump around in a relatively random fashion was tiresome.
As soon as I can see it, I plan to own the DVD collection of "The Pacific." The stories of the soldiers serving in Europe has always seemed to get the spotlight as long as I can remember, so finally focusing the spot-light on the "other war" is long overdue. My uncle served in the Marines on Okinawa and a history teacher also served on Guam during the war--so I have had personal reasons for wanting to know about the war there. But unfortunately it was never much of an interest to the movie makers until recently. (Clint Eastwood's fantastic "Flags of our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima" are the exceptions) I do admire Hugh Ambrose to try and finish some of the goals of his father in this regard. But on this work, I am afraid this book may have gotten taken out of his hands and modified to be the companion for the mini-series. In doing so, it was watered-down and not as compelling as it could have been.
March 20, 2010
So far this book is amazing. The pace is good. Ambrose sticks with the narrative. He does not spend page after page talking about the various parts of a tank. He also writes with a good voice; good storyteller. Really really really really good book.
August 27, 2024
Sorry Jack. Like every other 29 year old male I am also obsessed with everything WW2 related but this just didn’t move the needle for me.
July 4, 2018
A Wonderful Tribute
I chose to read "The Pacific" because my father, who served in the Navy aboard ship, was among those who served in the Pacific theatre of operations during WW II. Hugh Ambrose captured the lives and experiences of a handful of men who fought with courage and commitment during some of the most brutal battles of the Pacific.
One of the less notables elements of the war that Ambrose cites are the kamikaze attacks by Japanese pilots on US ships. My father told me about such attacks, adding that ships in which he was aboard were very nearly struck by the Japanese planes.
I was especially moved by the actions of Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his role in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Ambrose thoughtfully describes Sgt. Gasoline and captured the essence of why he was a hero during the war.
This narrative of the bravery and remarkable service of our armed services in the Pacific is well worth the effort to read.
I chose to read "The Pacific" because my father, who served in the Navy aboard ship, was among those who served in the Pacific theatre of operations during WW II. Hugh Ambrose captured the lives and experiences of a handful of men who fought with courage and commitment during some of the most brutal battles of the Pacific.
One of the less notables elements of the war that Ambrose cites are the kamikaze attacks by Japanese pilots on US ships. My father told me about such attacks, adding that ships in which he was aboard were very nearly struck by the Japanese planes.
I was especially moved by the actions of Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his role in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Ambrose thoughtfully describes Sgt. Gasoline and captured the essence of why he was a hero during the war.
This narrative of the bravery and remarkable service of our armed services in the Pacific is well worth the effort to read.
February 20, 2017
Growing up in Europe the Pacific War was never part of our history education, in Finland at least. Of course, you couldn’t avoid hearing about atomic bombings in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, but that’s about it. The history lessons I had never really covered the reasons or progress of the war in the Pacific theater. I always used to think how unfair and cruel it was for Americans to drop those bombs in Japan, but after I actually read a biography set in WWII Pacific war (Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption to be specific) I deemed those thoughts naïve. (Of course it was very drastic course of action to drop those bombs, but the war itself was also very cruel.) But I became even more curious, and I wanted to know more about WWII Pacific theater. So I picked up The Pacific from the shelf.
The Pacific books is a companion to HBO’s miniseries of the same name. The books follows war’s stages through 5 individuals - Austin “Shifty” Shofner, Vernon “Mike” Micheel, Sidney Phillips, “Manila” John Basilone and Eugene Sledge - the book is mainly told through their experiences, based on memoirs, archives, interviews… The author Hugh Ambrose has done an massive work collecting sources and making this book happen!
I haven’t read much Pacific war literature, so I’m not the best to judge, but I felt like this book gave a good and honest view on how the war progressed, and how it affected the individuals we follow in this book. It doesn’t sugarcoat things. All the hardships, cruelties and hopelessness the marines, army and navy had to face is haunting to read. It’s absolutely impossible to even imagine the conditions described in this book, the conditions that were once reality for so many. Reading this gave me a lot of new perspective and thoughts. As much as I liked it, the text does stumble on war technicalities and numbers on few occasions, making it tiresome to read at times.
And I just have to say, of all of the characters, Eugene Sledge really grew on me the most. In the beginning he irritated me with his naïve attitude, but reading how he grew while being in war, struggling with moral of the war really moved something in me. For me his story was the most interesting to follow, and I already shelved his book With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa.
It’s not the easiest book to read, but in the end it gives a lot.
Btw, I just had to sign up to HBO Nordic and watch the miniseries as well. Really liked it, although it doesn’t cover the stages of the war as widely and detailed like the book.
The Pacific books is a companion to HBO’s miniseries of the same name. The books follows war’s stages through 5 individuals - Austin “Shifty” Shofner, Vernon “Mike” Micheel, Sidney Phillips, “Manila” John Basilone and Eugene Sledge - the book is mainly told through their experiences, based on memoirs, archives, interviews… The author Hugh Ambrose has done an massive work collecting sources and making this book happen!
I haven’t read much Pacific war literature, so I’m not the best to judge, but I felt like this book gave a good and honest view on how the war progressed, and how it affected the individuals we follow in this book. It doesn’t sugarcoat things. All the hardships, cruelties and hopelessness the marines, army and navy had to face is haunting to read. It’s absolutely impossible to even imagine the conditions described in this book, the conditions that were once reality for so many. Reading this gave me a lot of new perspective and thoughts. As much as I liked it, the text does stumble on war technicalities and numbers on few occasions, making it tiresome to read at times.
And I just have to say, of all of the characters, Eugene Sledge really grew on me the most. In the beginning he irritated me with his naïve attitude, but reading how he grew while being in war, struggling with moral of the war really moved something in me. For me his story was the most interesting to follow, and I already shelved his book With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa.
It’s not the easiest book to read, but in the end it gives a lot.
Btw, I just had to sign up to HBO Nordic and watch the miniseries as well. Really liked it, although it doesn’t cover the stages of the war as widely and detailed like the book.
June 25, 2011
I bought this as it billed itself as the companion book to the HBO series The Pacific. This has probably coloured my reaction to the book as I do not consider it to be a companion book - the series focuses on the story of three Marines who fought in the Pacific during WWII - Basilone, Leckie and Sledge - and the book tells the story of Basilone, Sledge plus three others, but no Leckie. The additional three stories are welcome as they provide much additional information. The omission of Leckie annoyed me greatly though, and not just because his was the character I liked best from the series. The reason given, that the book would have been too long and that Leckie's own books tell his story perfectly well does not satisfy me. Leckie's books are a better read than this, true, but then so is With the Old Breed by Sledge, so why just omit Leckie?
That peeve aside, I did not enjoy this book as much as I expected. There was a lot of information included that I found interesting and enlightening, but the writing was sometimes unclear and the use of jargon was irritating and not adequately explained given the mainstream nature of this book - at times it felt like the author was showing off. The book would also have been better for the inclusion of more maps to illustrate the strategies of both sides.
That peeve aside, I did not enjoy this book as much as I expected. There was a lot of information included that I found interesting and enlightening, but the writing was sometimes unclear and the use of jargon was irritating and not adequately explained given the mainstream nature of this book - at times it felt like the author was showing off. The book would also have been better for the inclusion of more maps to illustrate the strategies of both sides.
July 17, 2014
Tidak seperti buku Band of Brothers,yang ditulis oleh mendiang bapa kepada penulis buku ini,The Pacific sebenarnya merupakan sebuah buku companion kepada siri televisyen mini drama terbitan HBO yang mempunyai tajuk yang sama. Ini bermakna,siri televisyen tersebut bukanlah diadaptasi dari buku ini seperti yang berlaku terhadap siri televisyen HBO,Band of Brothers,beberapa tahun yang lalu. Walau bagaimanapun,format antara kedua-duanya tidak jauh berbeza. Dengan mengikuti pengalaman dari kaca mata beberapa veteran perang di Pasifik,pembaca didedahkan dengan suasana dan perjalanan kehidupan mereka sepanjang perang berlangsung.
Sebenarnya,saya berpandangan,buku ini umpama 'ulangan' kepada kisah-kisah veteran perang ini. Malah,ada pengalaman perang mereka ini diabadikan di dalam buku-buku memoir dan biografi yang ditulis oleh mereka sendiri. Namun demikian,pada masa yang sama,ada juga kisah-kisah yang segar dan tidak ditampilkan di dalam versi televisyen dipaparkan di dalam versi buku. Sedikit mengecewakan juga kerana tiada pengalaman atau sudut pandang dari anggota tentera darat Amerika Syarikat (US Army). Tetapi,buku ini masih menarik untuk dibaca.
Sebenarnya,saya berpandangan,buku ini umpama 'ulangan' kepada kisah-kisah veteran perang ini. Malah,ada pengalaman perang mereka ini diabadikan di dalam buku-buku memoir dan biografi yang ditulis oleh mereka sendiri. Namun demikian,pada masa yang sama,ada juga kisah-kisah yang segar dan tidak ditampilkan di dalam versi televisyen dipaparkan di dalam versi buku. Sedikit mengecewakan juga kerana tiada pengalaman atau sudut pandang dari anggota tentera darat Amerika Syarikat (US Army). Tetapi,buku ini masih menarik untuk dibaca.
April 15, 2010
I wish I could give Hugh Ambrose's The Pacific a 3.5 but I can't. The book is exactly what it says it is a oompanion to the mini series The Pacific. I found the book hard to get into but once I had established a rythm with the book it was an easy read. Ambrose does have a nice writing style but the first quarter of the book has him leaving his subjects in what seemed to be an incomplete thought which was frustrating.
In the last three quarters of the book was much better but filled with some small mistakes that were distracting, such as he called the flight deck of an aircraft carrier a runway its a small thing but there were others that when reading stood out but did not detract from the book. For a first time writing alone this was a good book and I would read more of Mr. Ambrose's material because with time any small hiccups will iron themselves out and as he becomes more comfortable with writing
In the last three quarters of the book was much better but filled with some small mistakes that were distracting, such as he called the flight deck of an aircraft carrier a runway its a small thing but there were others that when reading stood out but did not detract from the book. For a first time writing alone this was a good book and I would read more of Mr. Ambrose's material because with time any small hiccups will iron themselves out and as he becomes more comfortable with writing
September 24, 2010
I am currently reading The Pacific. I like it a lot so far. There is a lot of action. The author really tries to express the feelings and all the trouble the soldiers had to deal with during the war in the pacific. I am currently at the part where P.O.W try to escape a jap work camp. This book is probably one of my most favorite book. WWII was a tough war and this book tells how brutal this war was. Back to the Book the group of people who escaped the work camp found these villagers and are bow with them. The villagers respect them because they made it threw this jungle that little people has made it threw alive. So i will try to keep reading and finish this book.
October 12, 2013
Very informative, I learned a lot about the war in the Pacific. I really appreciate the way the author focuses on people who were major influences, but were not at the battles that are normally discussed.
One thing stood out as a bit frustrating though, the descriptions seem to be disjointed as the author takes you from the third person, straight into a quote from someone who was interviewed. This is made even worse since I listened to the audio book, and the third person/first person switch really gets confusing.
One thing stood out as a bit frustrating though, the descriptions seem to be disjointed as the author takes you from the third person, straight into a quote from someone who was interviewed. This is made even worse since I listened to the audio book, and the third person/first person switch really gets confusing.
August 24, 2015
In my humble opinion, this book is a "must read" for every American, especially since the last of "The Greatest Generation" will soon be completely gone from our midst. It should definitely be required reading and absolutely mandatory in order to graduate from high school. It clearly documents the price paid by our fathers and grandfathers and now, great grandfathers, in the 2nd World War - a price that must never be forgotten. Judging by the number of ratings this book has had, I sense that no further comments are necessary.
January 6, 2017
I liked the book, and it explained quite a bit about the war. I feel that all the men had a horrible but revealing time when they went to war. They learned discipline and they learned to care for others, not only themselves. They also learned what fear was. I would suggest this book to anyone who like reading about World War II.
July 19, 2015
Five well told stories
January 24, 2020
I watched this mini series a few years ago. Great stories. I’m biased though. I’m in awe of everything about WWII. I enjoyed how the book included some stories and details not covered deeply in the series. Amazing, harrowing experiences. Like I’ve said, these men and women are heroes to me.
This book discusses a little about the attitudes some soldiers had when they came home. Casts them in a bit of negativity. I can’t fault them at all for that. We have no idea what it was like.
Not much lore to say. This is a great book about a small segment of the war. Experienced by a small group of people in the Pacific theater.
Of course I recommend it.
This book discusses a little about the attitudes some soldiers had when they came home. Casts them in a bit of negativity. I can’t fault them at all for that. We have no idea what it was like.
Not much lore to say. This is a great book about a small segment of the war. Experienced by a small group of people in the Pacific theater.
Of course I recommend it.
November 19, 2021
Here it is!
My first DNF of 2021!
It’s not a bloody surprise….
Sigh… I went into this book with fairly high hopes (I’m very interested in WW2 and the Pacific Theatre atm) and upon seeing this book at my Dublin City Bookshop, I rejoiced. Yes! A book on the Pacific Theatre AND a companion book to the fantastic TV Series “The Pacific”? This was exactly what I wanted, and I could not wait to begin reading it! Surely this would be a magnificent, fast-paced, hot-blooded and in-depth look into the carnage, chaos and camaraderie of the Pacific Theatre as US Marines battled against the ferocity and suicidal rage of Imperial Japan for control of the Philippines, South-East Asia and even Japan itself!
Oh, how wrong I was…..
As I read this absolute bloody tome, at first willingly and then unwillingly, my hopes dashed upon the floor, I realised that this book was not what I had hoped for, even slightly.
1. NOT FOR A GENERAL AUDIENCE
Now, I was lucky. I knew, before starting this book, the general background and conditions of the Pacific Theatre during WW2 so I wasn’t starting from scratch. In fact, anyone who started or wants to start this book without any knowledge of the Pacific Theatre I say good luck to them! This is not a book for beginners. Readers are thrown in at the deep end, right into the heart of battle. There is no background or cursory explanation explaining the complicated history, social, cultural and economic conditions that lead to the rise of the Pacific Theatre during WW2. Readers with no previous knowledge are going to be confused and befuddled by the numerous mentions of battles, Pacific Islands, skirmishes, cities, towns and people. Only those with some knowledge of the Pacific Theatre will be able to understand what is going on. Anyone else will be lost.
2. WRITING STYLE AND CHAPTERS
The writing that characterises this book leaves much to be desired. As other Goodreads reviewers pointed out, the writing style is ponderous, disjointed and tiresome. It was a struggle to read 20 or 25 pages in a sitting as I felt that the writing was simply too unengaging and focused on info-dumping. Ambrose clearly did a huge amount of research, and it shows absolutely! But the writing has a very mechanical, very distant sense to it that made it quite hard for me to connect or emphasise with the stories of the US Marines he was narrating. Only one or two stories held my interest, the others simply blended together. The chapters were likewise too long (three chapters of over 100 pages each is pushing it) and with the uneven narration of each individual’s story made it increasingly difficult to remember key details. There were also noted racial slurs present in the text. Granted the 1940s were an especially racist and xenophobic time. However, I didn’t think the slurs needed to be repeated as nauseum.
3. US MILITARY JARGON
Again, the way this book was written leaves me in no doubt that this book was not written for the general public. Not only did it have little background on the Pacific Theatre to help newcomers, but it also seemed geared to a primarily American audience particularly one well-versed in understanding the various terms, definitions and standards of the US Military and all the planes, tanks, ships and battlecruisers they put into service in WW2. A non-American audience without prior knowledge is going to be very confused about all the various military terms and sayings thrown at them. A glossary might have been helpful in this regard.
4. BOOK STRUCTURE
For me, the Pacific lacked several features that embody an excellent and well-researched book. It had no chronological table detailing the main battles, skirmishes or political, social and cultural events that defined the Pacific Theatre. It lacked cohesive and detailed maps of the countries, terrains and islands where the main battles took place. There was no bibliography or index which made it quite difficult to track and trace where everything went or where the author got his information from in general.
5. LENA BASILONE
One of the characters of the Pacific who stood out the most to me was the woman forever marked as the widow of a war hero and little else, Lena Basilone, wife and widow to John Basilone, the US Marine, who returned to the bloodshed of Iwo Jima, after receiving the Medal of Honour, only to find his death there. Honestly, as another reviewer pointed out Lena’s story was a romantic tragedy. Her life was changed, completely and irrevocably, by a man she met, dated, married in little under a year, only later to be widowed after seven months of marriage. Lena is famous for never remarrying, famous for being Basilone’s widow and famous for little else. Lena stated that the reason she never remarried was that she wouldn’t settle for second best (one does wonder if it was she couldn’t remarry. After all, what man would be brave enough to court the widow of a dead war hero?).
Frankly, Lena’s story is fairly depressing to read. She could never move on from being John’s wife or widow; she belonged more to John then he did to her. Compared to John’s achievements, how could she, a proud, determined and tenacious women who joined the US Military, stand out as her own person? In the end, it turns out she couldn’t. I cannot help but wonder what her life might have been like if John had decided to stay with her instead of going to Iwo Jima.
Would I recommend this book? Bluntly, No. It’s just not a good history book. Long, plodding and tedious, The Pacific doesn’t live up to the phenomenal Tv Series. Look elsewhere.
My first DNF of 2021!
It’s not a bloody surprise….
Sigh… I went into this book with fairly high hopes (I’m very interested in WW2 and the Pacific Theatre atm) and upon seeing this book at my Dublin City Bookshop, I rejoiced. Yes! A book on the Pacific Theatre AND a companion book to the fantastic TV Series “The Pacific”? This was exactly what I wanted, and I could not wait to begin reading it! Surely this would be a magnificent, fast-paced, hot-blooded and in-depth look into the carnage, chaos and camaraderie of the Pacific Theatre as US Marines battled against the ferocity and suicidal rage of Imperial Japan for control of the Philippines, South-East Asia and even Japan itself!
Oh, how wrong I was…..
As I read this absolute bloody tome, at first willingly and then unwillingly, my hopes dashed upon the floor, I realised that this book was not what I had hoped for, even slightly.
1. NOT FOR A GENERAL AUDIENCE
Now, I was lucky. I knew, before starting this book, the general background and conditions of the Pacific Theatre during WW2 so I wasn’t starting from scratch. In fact, anyone who started or wants to start this book without any knowledge of the Pacific Theatre I say good luck to them! This is not a book for beginners. Readers are thrown in at the deep end, right into the heart of battle. There is no background or cursory explanation explaining the complicated history, social, cultural and economic conditions that lead to the rise of the Pacific Theatre during WW2. Readers with no previous knowledge are going to be confused and befuddled by the numerous mentions of battles, Pacific Islands, skirmishes, cities, towns and people. Only those with some knowledge of the Pacific Theatre will be able to understand what is going on. Anyone else will be lost.
2. WRITING STYLE AND CHAPTERS
The writing that characterises this book leaves much to be desired. As other Goodreads reviewers pointed out, the writing style is ponderous, disjointed and tiresome. It was a struggle to read 20 or 25 pages in a sitting as I felt that the writing was simply too unengaging and focused on info-dumping. Ambrose clearly did a huge amount of research, and it shows absolutely! But the writing has a very mechanical, very distant sense to it that made it quite hard for me to connect or emphasise with the stories of the US Marines he was narrating. Only one or two stories held my interest, the others simply blended together. The chapters were likewise too long (three chapters of over 100 pages each is pushing it) and with the uneven narration of each individual’s story made it increasingly difficult to remember key details. There were also noted racial slurs present in the text. Granted the 1940s were an especially racist and xenophobic time. However, I didn’t think the slurs needed to be repeated as nauseum.
3. US MILITARY JARGON
Again, the way this book was written leaves me in no doubt that this book was not written for the general public. Not only did it have little background on the Pacific Theatre to help newcomers, but it also seemed geared to a primarily American audience particularly one well-versed in understanding the various terms, definitions and standards of the US Military and all the planes, tanks, ships and battlecruisers they put into service in WW2. A non-American audience without prior knowledge is going to be very confused about all the various military terms and sayings thrown at them. A glossary might have been helpful in this regard.
4. BOOK STRUCTURE
For me, the Pacific lacked several features that embody an excellent and well-researched book. It had no chronological table detailing the main battles, skirmishes or political, social and cultural events that defined the Pacific Theatre. It lacked cohesive and detailed maps of the countries, terrains and islands where the main battles took place. There was no bibliography or index which made it quite difficult to track and trace where everything went or where the author got his information from in general.
5. LENA BASILONE
One of the characters of the Pacific who stood out the most to me was the woman forever marked as the widow of a war hero and little else, Lena Basilone, wife and widow to John Basilone, the US Marine, who returned to the bloodshed of Iwo Jima, after receiving the Medal of Honour, only to find his death there. Honestly, as another reviewer pointed out Lena’s story was a romantic tragedy. Her life was changed, completely and irrevocably, by a man she met, dated, married in little under a year, only later to be widowed after seven months of marriage. Lena is famous for never remarrying, famous for being Basilone’s widow and famous for little else. Lena stated that the reason she never remarried was that she wouldn’t settle for second best (one does wonder if it was she couldn’t remarry. After all, what man would be brave enough to court the widow of a dead war hero?).
Frankly, Lena’s story is fairly depressing to read. She could never move on from being John’s wife or widow; she belonged more to John then he did to her. Compared to John’s achievements, how could she, a proud, determined and tenacious women who joined the US Military, stand out as her own person? In the end, it turns out she couldn’t. I cannot help but wonder what her life might have been like if John had decided to stay with her instead of going to Iwo Jima.
Would I recommend this book? Bluntly, No. It’s just not a good history book. Long, plodding and tedious, The Pacific doesn’t live up to the phenomenal Tv Series. Look elsewhere.
June 24, 2020
Ambrose follows up on a TV series to provide more details of what happened in the Pacific side of WW2. The book stands out in that it tells the stories of lots (and lots) of soldiers in combat. Hundreds of soldiers are noted in the book. The generals and even the presidents get a second thought. At times, a reader can get tired of the stories. But it's a good read, especially this week before Memorial Day.
Read
November 15, 2023I made it through 25% of this book before stopping. I'm marking it as "Read" so I remember not to pick it again.
I'm not giving it a rating. I watched the mini series and thought it was pretty good but the book was too full of tactical battle details and all the errors made that cost lives. I just couldn't get into it.
I'm not giving it a rating. I watched the mini series and thought it was pretty good but the book was too full of tactical battle details and all the errors made that cost lives. I just couldn't get into it.
October 27, 2020
Ambrose's account is a kind of collective biography, telling the story of the USA-Japan Pacific war as experienced by six US servicemen. The viewpoint is therefore exclusively American. It is also a book of heroes, as the chosen main characters are above average in courage, leadership, and decorations received. Still, the men and their experiences are presented in a balanced way, with lots of emphasis on their personal lives and their long periods between battles. Their moments of bravery under fire are often stunning, and their expressions of contempt for the enemy would now be classed as sheer racism. One interesting side to the story concerns the creation of heroic myths, as stories about what happened in battle get magnified, and leading officers jockey for their public relations advantage. In general, it's a morale-boosting book for a nation that needs its war heroes. But any moments worthy of anthem singing are balanced with frank depictions of the boredom, the hatred, the mind-warping exhaustion, and the soul-numbing horror that these killing contests involve.
July 6, 2018
No time to write a real review but:
Sooooooo Gooooood!
Sooooooo Gooooood!
October 4, 2024
I love anything about the war. My only complaint is, which I knew, this is so broad. I have read other books written by one veteran and really liked them. I like one person's story. This was still so good!
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