Product Description

In his award-winning book Beyond Valor, Patrick O'Donnell reveals the true nature of the European Theater in World War II, as told by those who survived. Now, with Into the Rising Sun, O'Donnell tells the story of the brutal Pacific War, based on hundreds of interviews spanning a decade. The men who fought their way across the Pacific during World War II had to possess something more than just courage. They faced a cruel, fanatical enemy in the Japanese, an enemy willing to use anything for victory, from kamikaze flights to human-guided torpedoes. Over the course of the war, Marines, paratroopers, and rangers spearheaded D-Day-sized beach assaults, encountered cannibalism, suffered friendly-fire incidents, and endured torture as prisoners of war. Though they are truly heroes, they claim no glory for themselves. As one soldier put it, "When somebody gets decorated, it's because a lot of other men died." By at last telling their stories, these men present a hard, unvarnished look at the war on the ground, a final gift from aging warriors who have already given so much. Only with these accounts can the true horror of the war in the Pacific be fully known. Together with detailed maps of each battle, Into the Rising Sun offers a complete yet deeply personal account of the war in the Pacific, and a ground-level view of some of history's most brutal combat.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1600842 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Amazon.com
The author of Beyond Valor offers a new collection of oral histories from veterans of the Second World War, this time from the Pacific theater. In an introduction, Patrick K. O'Donnell warns, "oral histories are perhaps the best means available to reveal the horrors and pathos of the foxhole." Indeed, several of the accounts he compiles on these pages are grisly, such as the story of Tom Lyons, stabbed in the neck by a Japanese soldier on Guadalcanal. Lyons survived, but only after being heaped on top of a pile of dead bodies. Rumors of his death reached home: "My mother got a check from my insurance company saying I was dead the same day she got a letter from me written by a nurse at a hospital in New Zealand." Combat stories abound, including a firsthand account of Gunnery Sergeant William G. Walsh jumping on a grenade to protect his squad on Iwo Jima, a feat for which he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. O'Donnell organizes his material chronologically and introduces each chapter to help readers understand the context of the soldiers' individual narratives. For those who enjoy real-life war stories told from the perspective of the men who were there, Into the Rising Sun is hard to beat. --John Miller

From Library Journal
Ten years ago, O'Donnell, founder of the Drop Zone web site (www.thedropzone. org), began a study of the personal combat history of World War II that culminated in Beyond Valor, a work on the European theater of the war. O'Donnell now focuses on ground combat in the Pacific theater, drawing from over 800 interviews with World War II veterans. From raids on remote Japanese outposts, to the desperate fighting on Guadalcanal and in Burma, to the hellish catacombs of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, O'Donnell has assembled chilling tales told by survivors of some of the most vicious fighting in the war. These stories are organized by that campaign's many battles and end with Okinawa, the surrender of the Japanese, and the veterans' poignant, heartbreaking remembrances of friends who did not survive. Succinct historical narratives help set the stage for these eyewitness accounts, which often involve horrific tales of best friends killed, whole units decimated, and the madness of wartime atrocities. This important work preserves these veterans' shocking and moving stories for generations to come. Highly recommended. Dale Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
The author interviewed hundreds of elite combat troops, forerunners of America's Special Forces, who served in the Pacific Theater during WWII. In addition to the reluctantly remembered stories of death, triumph, starvation, fear, and loss, the dozens of accounts share an abundant, interesting, and accurate chronicle of the war. Jeff Riggenbach's narration is slow and stilted, but clearly spoken. However, his use of the same voice for each speaker makes differentiating one soldier's story from another's impossible. The military language and human desecrations described should only be attempted by mature listeners, but those seeking the uncensored truth and a dose of military history will not be disappointed. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine