What do you think?
Rate this book
Great Pacific War: A History of the American-Japanese Campaign of 1931-33
This blow-by-blow fictional account of a war between the United States and Japan was a forerunner of actual events, written 16 years before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Bywater, the world's leading naval authority in the period between the two world wars, prophesied the following: A Japanese surprise attack attacks U. S. naval forces in the Pacific. Japanese troops simultaneously invade the Phillippines and Guam. Recognizing their limits, Japanese commanders hold off from any attempt to capture Hawaii.
317 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1925
71 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Hector C. Bywater
17 books3 followersA British journalist and military author, Hector Charles Bywater is best known for his 1925 book The Great Pacific War, a fictional naval conflict between the United States and Japan that anticipated many of the actions undertaken by the two sides during World War II.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 9, 2013
Great counter factual by one of the leading naval reporters of his day about a possible Japanese-American War Written decades before the actual war and set in the 1920's, this is sort of Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising written seventy years earlier. A good imagining of what a mostly battleline Pacific War would have looked like. Yes it describes aircraft carriers, and yes it has a Japanese sneak attack, but no Yamamoto did not steal his Pearl Harbor idea from him. A great book the nonetheless, especially if you have a good idea of how the real war progressed.
July 22, 2012
I had trouble figuring out how the rate this book. As a story I wasn't engrossed by the writing style, much of the action felt closer to a short newspaper summary of the combat than drawing you into the events. But it was really interesting to see, as a book published in the '20s about an early '30s pacific war fomented by Japan against the US, the author's ideas of how such a war would play out. (Quite different in specifics from the actual WWII pacific action, both because the technology had improved drastically in that decade and because the world stage was different. But seeing those differences was fascinating to me)
So story is probably: Its OK
General interest: really liked it.
So story is probably: Its OK
General interest: really liked it.
June 21, 2018
Bywater's alternate history classic, a preimagining of WWII in the Pacific. Technically he gets much correct, he fails to anticipate the preponderant influence airpower would have. This is forgiveable, we still struggle with the impact the information age has over us and just when we feel we have reached the frontier, we find the boundaries pushed back. It was the same with naval aviation for Bywater. He does anticipate a just peace, with Japan emerging much as she has. Overall, a good read with insight in to the times in which Bywater lived and a nice view of a between world wars perspective.
January 5, 2023
Interesting alternate history
As an alternate history the book makes its case for a worthy addition to the naval
enthusiasts bookshelf. While it gets a lot wrong, gas warfare and the preeminence of battleships, it does account for air warfare and some of the Japanese objectives of WWII. Definitely worth a read.
As an alternate history the book makes its case for a worthy addition to the naval
enthusiasts bookshelf. While it gets a lot wrong, gas warfare and the preeminence of battleships, it does account for air warfare and some of the Japanese objectives of WWII. Definitely worth a read.
March 4, 2019
Excellent what if
Writes as though it's a history which makes a very focus read which is exciting and well worth the read. Hope the author writes more
Writes as though it's a history which makes a very focus read which is exciting and well worth the read. Hope the author writes more
October 10, 2023
Timely!
This is my third reading of this exceptional book. Substitute China for Japan and it is as prescient as when written.
This is my third reading of this exceptional book. Substitute China for Japan and it is as prescient as when written.
August 26, 2016
My parents got me this book as a birthday gift during the height of my fascination with WWII history (late middle school through high school). I had heard about references to this book and how it predicted a lot of the events that would transpire during the actual Pacific War between America and Japan. While I enjoyed reading this a lot, I think the author got just as much right (surprise attack on the US Fleet, kamikaze attacks, etc.) about the conflict as he got wrong such as:
-Aircraft carriers would only be useful for scouting purposes and not be a decisive instrument of war.
-Japan would cripple the Panama canal to prevent the flow of material from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
-Japan would launch the war in order to forestall domestic social unrest (namely communist influence among industrial workers).
-Americans of Japanese ancestry would rise up in Hawaii to disrupt the American war effort.
-Poisonous gas would be used in combat.
Of course I can't blame Bywater for being wrong, the man wasn't psychic.
He was very good writer who crafted a very believable conflict between the U.S. and Japan. He had a very good eye for technical details of military equipment as well as military strategy. The story primarily concerns itself with the disposition of military forces and material with little in terms of characters or character development. It isn't a book in a conventional manner, more like a series of newspaper dispatches from an omniscient reporter detailing the developments of the conflict (which makes sense since Bywater was a Naval correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph).
All in all I really enjoyed this bit of speculative military fiction and would recommend it for any WWII buff. It was different enough from the actual Pacific War that the developments and battles felt fresh. My only quibble was that (at least in my version) the beginning over every chapter had a quick synopsis of what would happen in that chapter. So much for literary tension!
-Aircraft carriers would only be useful for scouting purposes and not be a decisive instrument of war.
-Japan would cripple the Panama canal to prevent the flow of material from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
-Japan would launch the war in order to forestall domestic social unrest (namely communist influence among industrial workers).
-Americans of Japanese ancestry would rise up in Hawaii to disrupt the American war effort.
-Poisonous gas would be used in combat.
Of course I can't blame Bywater for being wrong, the man wasn't psychic.
He was very good writer who crafted a very believable conflict between the U.S. and Japan. He had a very good eye for technical details of military equipment as well as military strategy. The story primarily concerns itself with the disposition of military forces and material with little in terms of characters or character development. It isn't a book in a conventional manner, more like a series of newspaper dispatches from an omniscient reporter detailing the developments of the conflict (which makes sense since Bywater was a Naval correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph).
All in all I really enjoyed this bit of speculative military fiction and would recommend it for any WWII buff. It was different enough from the actual Pacific War that the developments and battles felt fresh. My only quibble was that (at least in my version) the beginning over every chapter had a quick synopsis of what would happen in that chapter. So much for literary tension!
June 11, 2014
I really enjoy reading 'International and World Politics' books written well before the presaged event. In this case its a hypothetical Pacific conflict between the US and Japan in 1931, written in 1925.
What I find most interesting about these type of book, is that they expose the mind set of the people at the time. This is typically very different from our own on the subject, which is retrospective.
In addition, the available technologies influence becomes much clearer. (Leave out the use of nuclear weapons.) Its very interesting to compare and contrast of the contribution of naval-based air power and submarine warfare in Bywater's conflict and what actually occurred. In addition, technical details such as the contribution of the early change-over from coal to oil-fired ships boilers become clear. I was also interested to see speculative use of poison gas in naval engagements.
Finally, I found the prose to be charming, being similar of modern literary works from the UK.
I recommend reading this as a companion to War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan, 1897-1945, by Edward S. Miller which lists this book in its bibliography.
What I find most interesting about these type of book, is that they expose the mind set of the people at the time. This is typically very different from our own on the subject, which is retrospective.
In addition, the available technologies influence becomes much clearer. (Leave out the use of nuclear weapons.) Its very interesting to compare and contrast of the contribution of naval-based air power and submarine warfare in Bywater's conflict and what actually occurred. In addition, technical details such as the contribution of the early change-over from coal to oil-fired ships boilers become clear. I was also interested to see speculative use of poison gas in naval engagements.
Finally, I found the prose to be charming, being similar of modern literary works from the UK.
I recommend reading this as a companion to War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan, 1897-1945, by Edward S. Miller which lists this book in its bibliography.
January 28, 2016
A 1931 book describing war between the United States and Japan. The book actually predicts a number of things that did happen but also does not forsee things like the firebombing of Japan and the taking of Iwo Jima.
It's a very interesting book and shows that, as early as 1931, some people were assuming a war between the two countries was going to happen.
It's a very interesting book and shows that, as early as 1931, some people were assuming a war between the two countries was going to happen.
March 23, 2015
My grandfather picked up a copy of this book in Capetown on his way to Timor in 1942. The book warmed him of what was to come.
If only people listened and acted on Bywater's caution years before the Pacific War eventuated.
If only people listened and acted on Bywater's caution years before the Pacific War eventuated.
April 4, 2017
I thought that this was a great book. This was partly due to the book’s ability to predict the War between the Japanese Empire and United States of America 10 years before Pearl Harbor would take place. I thought that was amazing that people wrote books about their predictions for the future of the world’s tensions, something that I wish people would do more today. The book also served as a morale booster and a reminder to Americans as what could’ve also happened. The book was published in 1931 and released during World War II to boost morale in the American and British populations, as it was released again in 1942 during Operation Torch and the first phases of the Pacific War. This may have even inspired Soldiers and their Families to have faith that the USA would come out victorious in such rough times. Finally, the book was released at the 50 Year Anniversary of Pearl Harbor as a reminder to Americans of what happened 5 Decades ago. Overall, the book fed to my historical interested mind and was by far one of my favorite books to today’s date.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews