Three Good Books

[Currahee]

I've been reading this summer on the Pacific War. I can recommend three excellent books; two by H.P. Willmott are Empires in the Balance, and The Barrier and the Javelin, to be read in that order. Don't be put off by his apologetics for the Japanese Empire in the first part of the first volume; he's just letting you know how the typical medieval warlord viewed the pre-war world. Once he gets to the war, he provides an excellent anaylsis of the opening campaigns from both sides, which is unusual in an english language treatment. The second volume ends with Midway, and it's the best account of that battle I've read. Not as stirring as Morrison's, but quite a bit more informative.

The third book is The Quiet Warrior, a biography of Raymond Spruance by Thomas Buell. Like most biographies it's a little slow at first, but picks up quickly once the war starts. It's especially strong on its behind-the-scenes looks at how staff work was performed, and how command decisions were made, by the US in the Pacific Theater.