Victory in the Pacific

by Albert Marrin

Covers events from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor through the battles of Midway, Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands, Savo Island, the Doolittle raid on Tokyo, Corregidor Island, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima , and Okinawa. In each case, readers see the battles through the eyes of the men who were there, landing on the beaches, running raids in PT boats, dodging kamikaze bombers, and flying missions over Japan. In an easily accessible style, Marrin relates not only the important details of these conquests but also explains the military strategies of both the Allied forces and the Japanese.

Readers get an overarching view of the war that helps to bring understanding especially as American forces drew increasingly closer to Japan and the Japanese grew ever more determined to fight to the end. Marrin helps readers to understand the Japanese mindset that made surrender impossible and ultimately led to the decision to drop the atomic bomb in the interests of saving millions of lives. For the young adult reader, or even an adult unfamiliar with this period of WWII history, this book provides a sobering but inspiring look of the men and women, the nations and ideologies, that battled over half a century ago in the Pacific theater. Illustrated with diagrams, maps and photographs.

Genres: History, School, Nonfiction, Read For School

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Albert Marrin is a historian and the author of more than twenty nonfiction books for young people. He has won various awards for his writing, including the 2005 James Madison Book Award and the 2008 National Endowment for Humanities Medal. In 2011, his book Flesh and Blood So Cheap was a National Book Award Finalist. Marrin is the Chairman of the History Department at New York's Yeshiva University.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victory in the Pacific is a survey of the Pacific War intended for younger (middle/high school) readers, and is part of a series of books Marrin wrote in the 1980s. I discovered them in high school and loved them, and they formed an indelible impression -- combining Marrin's story-like narrative with immersive details, and side explanations as needed. This particular volume, for instance, in addition to including the expected (the story of the war, recollections of Marines doing the hard fighting in Tarawa, Iwo Jima, etc, small biographies of major military leaders) also explains how the machines involved in the war worked: there are illustrations of battleships' firing anatomy, and of submarines' double hulls along with information as to how their crews initiated dives and returned to the surface. There's much color here, too -- sailors' songs and funny anecdotes that leaven the seriousness of the Navy/Marine mission to end the Japanese Empire's dominion over the Pacific.

[Quincy Felix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly enjoyed this book. While not my usual genre it was fast paced and spared the reader from any unnecessary information, giving the facts in clear cut simplicity.

[Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read this for school. Honestly, a very slow read with lots information dropped very quickly. I liked all the information, but because of how lengthy it is I wouldn’t count on picking this book up again.

[Rachael Stoldt · Rating 4 out of 5]

History book I read to the boys that covers WW2 and the war in the Pacific. My only complaint is that the chapters are long and sometimes droned on with descriptions of military equipment that was hard to visualize. Excellent read aloud.

[Rory Carlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed ready about the small wars that were raging during WW2. This is a light read and the battles are portrayed well so that they don’t feel dense. It is 200 pages so it can feel repetitive but still a fun informative read.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The facts were very overwhelming.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another excellent history book by Albert Marrin. He manages to make history feel like a page-turning story. Highly recommend.

[Teresa TL Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my children many years ago when my oldest was in the 7th or 8th grade, and even the youngest (then in kindergarten or 1st) was able to follow the "plot" of the "story."

Marrin's retelling of history emphasizes the "story" of what happened while also exploring the who's, where's, and why's.

I recommend it!

(Note: I cannot recall the details, but I believe I "edited" a few of the details about war's harsh realities as I read with the children. Nevertheless, they were able to better appreciate how much we owe the brave servicemen and women who won that Victory in the Pacific.)

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very good book to learn about WWII and all the battles that took place on the Pacific. Lots of descriptions of different types of ships and very informative. I think it's amazing how tough and the Marines were! Submarines for example, had very tight quarters, and when an enemy destroyer approached and the air conditioning had to be shut off so to be as quiet as possible, temeratures rose to 135 degreees F inside!
There are many stories of plans and tricks the Americans and Japanese used against each other.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great quick read to become familiar with the war in the Pacific. Moves at a fast pace and is very engaging. He brings a lot of human experience to what he is writing about. This would be a great hook for a teenager.