WWII Pacific Theater Books

[Oil king]

Having read many of the books reviewed here, I found " The USS Ward" by Richard P. Klobuchar interesting. It's a operational history of the ship who fired the opening shot of WW2 though it's demise as a APD three years later to the day. Interviews with surviving crew members add to the human element that is sometimes missing from the " big picture " works on the pacific theater.

[Guba]

medicmike we seem to have similar interests'.

"Shattered Sword" is outstanding! Midway myths dispelled.
"We Will Stand by You" is excellent, it's about the exploits of an ATF named Pawnee from just prior to Guadalcanal and 23 months after. Good representation of the Aux fleet in the Solomon's!
"Tales from a Tin Can" is awesome! Numerous quotes from a lot of the crew. The author attended nearly all the reunions of USS Dale, a Farragut class DD. Battle of Komandorski Islands here.
"Japanese Destroyer Captain", already mentioned, a good point of view from the other side.
"Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors", he covers all the ships getting damage in the Battle off Samar. Very good reading as you found out.
"Hell from the Heavens", is about USS Laffey and he goes into details about every bomb and kamikaze hit.
"In the Hands of Fate" is about PatWing 10, PBY's stationed in the Philippines' from before the start of war to the time they disbanded in May '42. I love this book, he covers all the losses and short history. PBY's needed seaplane tenders and he covers the movements of them, but that's about it. Just a good read and how attrition takes it's toll on a squadron.
"Rising sun, Falling Skies" the Java Sea campaign is excellent. Not only battles are covered, but he gets into a little of the politics which influences many decisions. His timelines kind of jump around a bit, so it's a little hard to follow though.
"A Dawn like Thunder" is about Torpedo 8. They weren't all wiped out at Midway, they actually took part in the Guadalcanal campaign. Another excellent read!
"That Gallant Ship" covers Yorktown's history and movements.

I have other books, but these are some of my favorites.

[MartinJQuinn]

In honor of the Lady Lex being found this past week, I re-read "Queen of the Flat tops" by Stanley Johnson. My copy was a fourth edition, printed in 1942. It's a good narrative, but boy is it dated with jingoism, racism and lots of false claims about Japanese ships sunk. However, being that is was published in the heat of the moment during a ferocious war, it's not surprising.

Overall, I still enjoyed it, because it told a really good tale of the ship and her crew, which tried desperately to save her. Glad I picked it up again.

[MartinJQuinn]

Some recent reads:

"Playing for Time, War on an Asiatic Fleet Destroyer", by Lodwick Alford, who served aboard the USS Stewart (DD-224). It details his time in the Asiatic Fleet, through the Java Campaign. I enjoyed this book a lot.

"The Los Banos Raid, The 11th Airborne Jumps at Dawn", by Lt Gen EM Flanagan, who served with the 11th in the Philippines (but didn't participate in the raid). This book is about the airborne jump to rescue civilian internees at the Los Banos Camp in Central Luzon in 1945. It have a fascination with the Philippine Campaign and the Guerilla War against the Japanese. I enjoyed this book.

"MacArthur's Spies", by Peter Eisner. This book is about Philippine and American spies and Guerillas the Philippines during WW2. I read this right after "Los Banos". Good, not great book, but enjoyed it.

"Pacific Thunder", by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver. This one covers the US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, from 1943 to late 1944. I thought this was a disappointing read. The writing wasn�t bad, but the obvious factual errors made me wonder what else was wrong. If you want to read up on the Central Pacific Campaign, I'd recommend Hornfischer's "The Fleet at Flood Tide", which is a FAR superior book.

[MartinJQuinn]

Adding "Tin Can Titans", by John Wukovits to the list. It's about DesRon 21, which has some of the earliest Fletcher's in it: Fletcher, O'Bannon, Radford, etc. Pretty good book, I enjoyed it.

[KevinD]

Not specifically 'Pac War' books, but some, although mostly 'Far East' War books, and by no means a complete least at that, and some of which have been mentioned above, but I'm not about to sort through the list and sort them out.

Best, KD

NOTE: In NO particular order of importance.

Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors by James D. Hornfischer

A Blue Sea of Blood: Deciphering the Mysterious Fate of the USS Edsall by Donald M. Kehn Jr.

Ship of Courage: The Epic Story of HMAS Perth and Her Crew by Brendan Whiting

The Battle of the Java Sea by David Thomas

The Last Battle Station: The Story of the USS Houston by Duane Schultz

Cruel Conflict: the Crew and the Cruiser HMAS Perth by Kathyrn Spurling

The Lonely Ships: The Life and Death of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet by Edwin P. Hoyt

U.S.S. Houston : The last flagship of the Asiatic Fleet by Heber A Holbrook

Old Friends, New Enemies: The Royal Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy, vol. 1: Strategic illusions, 1936-1941 by Arthur J. Marder

HMS Electra by T.J. Cain

The Hunting of Force Z by Richard Hough

The Sinking of the Prince of Wales & Repulse: The End of a Battleship Era? by Martin Middlebrook

Hostages to Fortune: Winston Churchill and the Loss of the Prince of Wales and Repulse by Arthur Nicholson

Barrier and the Javelin: Japanese and Allied Strategies, February to June 1942 by H. P. Willmott

Empires in the Balance: Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies to April 1942 by H. P. Willmott

The Rise and Fall of the Singapore Naval Base, 1919-1942 by W. David McIntyre

Battle for Singapore: The True Story of the Greatest Catastrophe of World War II by Peter Thompson

Singapore Burning: Heroism and Surrender in World War II by Colin Smith

Percival and the Tragedy of Singapore by John George Smyth

Scapegoat: General Percival of Singapore by Clifford Kinvig

Guns of February: Ordinary Japanese Soldiers' View of the Malayan Campaign and the Fall of Singapore, 1941-42 by Henry P. Frei

Singapore 1941-1942 by Louis Allen

The Mastermind Behind Japan's Greatest Victory, Britain's Worst Defeat: The Capture of Singapore 1942 by Masanobu Tsuji

The Most Dangerous Moment: The Japanese Assault on Ceylon 1942 by Michael Tomlinson

Japanese Army in World War II: Conquest of the Pacific 1941-42 by Gordon L. Rottman

Ragged, Rugged Warriors by Martin Caidin

The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway by John B. Lundstrom

Doomed at the Start: American Pursuit Pilots in the Philippines, 1941-1942 by William H. Bartsch

Fortnight of Infamy: The Collapse of Allied Airpower West of Pearl Harbor by John Burton

Dutch Naval Air Force Against Japan: The Defense of the Netherlands East Indies, 1941-1942 by Tom Womack

Hurricanes Over Singapore: RAF, RNZAF and NEI Fighters in Action Against the Japanese Over the Island and the Netherlands East Indies, 1942 by Brian Cull

BUFFALOES OVER SINGAPORE: RAF, RAAF, RNZAF and Dutch Brewster Fighters in Action Over Malaya and the East Indies 1941-1942 by Brian Cull

AIR WAR FOR BURMA: The Concluding Volume of The Bloody Shambles Series. The Allied Air Forces Fight Back in South-East Asia 1942-1945 by Christopher F. Shores

BLOODY SHAMBLES VOLUME TWO: The Complete Account of the Air War in the Far East, from the Defence of Sumatra to the Fall of Burma, 1942 by Christopher F. Shores

Bloody Shambles : Volume One : The Drift to War to the Fall of Singapore by Christopher F. Shores

December 8, 1941: MacArthur's Pearl Harbor by William H. Bartsch

MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines by R. M. Connaughton

The Battle of Bataan: A Complete History by Donald J. Young

THE BATTLE OF BATAAN America's Greatest Defeat by Robert Conroy

[Vladi]

Thanks for the inspiration guys! Some of my favourites (except those already mentioned):

Lost at Guadalcanal by John J. Domagalski
Firsthand accounts telling about the fates of USS Astoria and USS Chicago

The World Wonder�d: What Really Happenned off Samar by Robert Lundgren
Extremely well documented and illustrated, especially the shelling of Taffy 3 carriers is explained virtually salvo by salvo. Nevertheless I am still waiting for a book that would provide a contiguous description of events for each ship participating in the battle.

Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle by Richard B. Frank
Fact-filled "encyclopedia" of the Guadalcanal campaign. Not a "story book" to be read in one go overnight, but you can find there excellent and detailed coverage of the whole battle. Thanks to Dan K for his recommendation!

Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea by Eric Hammel
Very well-written narrative of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13-15, 1942. Just - as in case of the Battle off Samar - I am still waiting for a book that would provide a contiguous description of events from the point of view of each ship participating.

[KevinD]

In my opinion Franks is still the definitive overall account of the Guadalcanal camapign, and IMO somewhat more of a 'very good read' than an 'encyclopedia' per se, although I can see where your coming from given its voluminous content. But far far from a 'dry read'. Excellent book!

As for Hammel, I assume you know that the book you describe is one of a trilogy by him centered around various Guadalcanal naval battles? All may be a little dated now, and a few mistakes here and there, but all in all I found them very good in their day.

[Vladi]

Hi Kevin,

thanks for the point about Eric Hammel�s trilogy, I will have a look for the other volumes!

As far as Frank is concerned, it is indeed a really great book (that�s why I wanted to mention it here), for me undoubtedly the best in providing reference and coverage of facts. Putting all of that into one volume (750 pages) must have been a challenge and the author did it really well. You are right it is not written as an encyclopedia although I am sure it very well describes the way many people use it - a reference source is perhaps a better description though. There are dozens of other books about Guadalcanal with more personal narratives etc. but only one Frank.

[medicmike]

Vladi, if you are looking for a very good and detailed book about the Battle off Samar and Taffy 3, then "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by James Hornfischer is a must read. It covers all the ships involved and has very detailed accounts from them.

[KevinD]

Vladi, if you are looking for a very good and detailed book about the Battle off Samar and Taffy 3, then "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by James Hornfischer is a must read. It covers all the ships involved and has very detailed accounts from them.

Yes I'll second that! Great book. Had forgot all about that one, as read it right when it first came out, and been a lot of other books read since that one.

[Vladi]

Thanks for the hint, KevinD and medicmike - actually I have "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by Hornfischer and I fully consent it is a great book! would love to see a better coverage of the Japanese side of those battles - Tameichi Hara has some in "Japanese Destroyer Captain" and Evan Thomas in "Sea of Thunder" but no minute-by-minute account like those books already mentioned provide for the US side.
But this is just my wishful thinking, no worries

[Dan K]

In my opinion Franks is still the definitive overall account of the Guadalcanal camapign, and IMO somewhat more of a 'very good read' than an 'encyclopedia' per se, although I can see where your coming from given its voluminous content. But far far from a 'dry read'. Excellent book!

I utterly agree.