Product Description

Alan Schom's superb histories and biographies have been lauded for their dramatic sweep, their focus on extraordinary personalities, and their refreshing iconoclastic perspective. Schom begins this magisterial account of World War II in the Pacific by demonstrating an ironic paradox: on one hand, the American government and people were as adequately prepared for war as any major power ever has been; on the other, the Japanese high command plunged headlong into the Pacific campaign despite clear evidence-from their own analysts-that Japan had too little oil and too feeble an economy to prevail against the United States. It was a war that should not have been fought.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1235525 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-29
• Released on: 2004-11-08
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .2 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This opinionated but cluttered history covers the dramatic slugfest in the Pacific during the first year and a half after Pearl Harbor. Schom's treatment of historiographical issues-the rise of Japanese militarism, the need for raw materials that set Japan on the path of conquest, America's woeful unpreparedness and obliviousness to warnings of the impending Pearl Harbor attack-is usually well judged, although not groundbreaking. He emphasizes naval operations, and his analysis of initial American tactical ineptitude, especially in handling aircraft carriers, is particularly acute. Schom (Napoleon Bonaparte: A Life) turns a beady eye to history's personalities here, offering gossipy character studies of its leading (and not-so-leading) participants. This approach sometimes yields pungent insights, as in his blistering attack on MacArthur, a "befuddled" self-promoter and "greatest natural-born autocrat of them all," whose bungled defense of the Philippines Schom pegs as the worst American failure of the war. But the frequent intrusion of extraneous biographical detail (e.g., "Chester Nimitz walked to school barefoot as a child") disrupts coherent thematic development, while the author's fondness for living-history tableaux ("the smiling FDR wore a Panama hat and light beige tropical suit, his cigarette at its usual jaunty angle") pads the narrative. Schom has done a lot of research, on everything from the love lives of American commanders to the London theater season during Hirohito's 1921 state visit, to a strained encounter between Roosevelt and a nude Churchill, and he seems determined to let none of it go to waste. Some readers will love this; others may find themselves wishing he would lay off the human interest and get on with the war. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
This stout, imposing history of the first year and a half of World War II in the Pacific resembles Barbara Tuchman's World War I classic, The Guns of August, even if the blurbs say so themselves. Schom is a master of narrative technique, though not always of minor details of naval technology. He depicts the Japanese navy as probably superior in fighting power as well as numbers during this phase of the war. But it was critically weakened by poor logistical support against an American navy slowly learning to fight and rapidly building strength, thanks to America's matchless war productivity. A particular strength of the book consists of Schom's portraits of numerous leaders, some well known, such as MacArthur, about whom Schom is scathing, and Nimitz, about whom he waxes just this side of hagiography; and others who have been out of the limelight, such as Richmond Kelly Turner, an implacable and effective sea warrior with a terrible temper, and Frank Jack Fletcher, whose grasp of carrier warfare badly needed improvement. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Alan Schom's comprehensive and insightful history... is a surprisingly searing indictment of several prominent American military leaders." The New York Times "One can hardly wait for Alan Schom's conclusion of the Pacific war in a projected second volume, not to mention what else he has to say about Douglas MacArthur." Washington Post Book World