D-Days in the Pacific

March 21, 2005
A distinguished historian who revised and updated Henry Steele Commager's History of World War II now focuses on the Pacific War. The theatre emerges as a series of amphibious landings, for which the U.S. had prepared before the war and which almost certainly shortened the war. But as the U.S. fought its way from Guadalcanal to Okinawa and prepared to invade the Japanese home islands, its troops faced skilled and tenacious resistance by the Japanese. Survivors on both sides (Americans include Eugene Sledge, William Manchester and James Jones) emphasize the brutality and the stress of the close-quarters combat that often arose from an amphibious landing. The author also emphasizes the strained relations between MacArthur and Nimitz, which led to a two-front campaign that pushed even American resources to the limit. As he concludes, Miller notes with unusual balance the role that the casualties of Iwo Jima and Okinawa played in the decision to drop the A-bomb, by creating expectations of even bloodier battles in the course of an invasion. The book also includes annotation and a bibliography valuable for further reading and a good selection of 80 b&w illustrations and 10 maps. It lacks only enough background on prewar diplomacy and the Japanese campaign in China to be the perfect introduction to the Pacific War. Agent, Lou Reda.

April 1, 2005
Published to coincide with the History Channel broadcast of the same title, this work is based on "The Story of World War II", history professor/PBS host Miller's revision and update of Henry Steele Commager's book of the same name. Although the title refers to the 127 separate over-the-beach operations that occurred in the Pacific theater, Miller spends most of his time on a relatively small number of familiar names -Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Saipan, Peleliu, and Okinawa. He provides a good overview of the B-29 raids and when discussing the decision to use the atomic bomb concentrates on the soldiers in the theater, who expected a bloody and suicidal struggle on the Japanese home islands -and were eager to do anything to avoid it. Miller, who makes effective use of first-person accounts, has remarkable narrative flair and a fine eye for the detail that makes history come alive. In the end, there's nothing new here, but this reasonably short and accessible history is still a fine introduction to the war in the Pacific and is well worth the purchase as part of a comprehensive collection. (Maps not seen.) -Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, KS

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2005
Miller's very readable account of the offensives in the Pacific, from the turning of the tide at Guadalcanal to VJ-day, portrays a series of amphibious landings, many of them bloodily and tenaciously contested. He skillfully uses official records and the remembrances of frontline survivors to depict the savagery and stresses of the close-quarters combat usually encountered in amphibious warfare. He also discusses the strained relationship between General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, respectively the army and navy commanders in the Pacific, provoking one to wonder whether both sometimes forgot whom they were supposed to be fighting. Accounts of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, with their high casualty rates, introduce Miller's consideration of the decision to drop the atomic bomb. After those island campaigns, everyone from the president to the private believed something big should shorten the war and reduce American casualties. Excellent narrative history and first-class illustrations eventuate in superior historiography.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)