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World War II #10
Island Fighting
Book 10 of the Time-Life World War II series.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 19, 2023
This book is one of many volumes within the Time-Life series on World War 2 --- each one covering a specific facet of that War.
In general, these books are very well done. This book and the others in the series concisely cover the details of each campaign --- with excellent maps and illustrations. As a young lad visiting the local library in Idaho, I remember spending hours there reading these books --- they are great at capturing the key details, keeping the story moving, and illustrating well enough such that the reader can understand the impact and magnitude of each section in the book.
This book covers the American island hopping campaign in the Pacific --- starting with the Guadalcanal Campaign and ending the the Battle of Peleliu. The difficulties, risks, and mindset of the combatant commanders from both sides are captures --- as well as the perspectives of the men doing the fighting. While in our time considered to be a grand strategy thought beforehand, in this book, the island hopping strategy seems more an improvisation that Pacific commanders, Gen. MacArthur and ADM Halsey evolved into as they took the measure of their adversaries, sought to avoid high casualties by trying to conquer each Japanese island and stronghold. There were definite risks in such a strategy -- and in the beginning both leaders tended to plan for an out in the event Japanese forces proved stronger than anticipated.
But the Japanese military had reached too far. The massive distances involved in the Pacific are enough to tax the resources of modern militaries today, and this was no less the case. Japan had caught military forces in the Pacific poorly armed, unready, and reactive, and advanced far and fast in the beginning, thereby creating a network of bases each requiring a long logistical line to support, far greater than her Axis allies in Europe faced.
As the island hopping strategy progressed, both MacArthur and Halsey became increasingly audacious as 1943 rode into 1944 --- and there also may have been an element of rivalry and ego spurring both men to outdo the other. Normally, in military theaters, a divided command is a way to disaster. Yet, in the Pacific, the result was two fists each pummeling the Japanese --- in many cases, for example, the Japanese would dispatch naval forces to address MacArthur's latest advance in New Guinea --- only to divert them to respond to some attack by Halsey --- with the result that the forces arrived too late and too out of the way to help their forces in either location.
A nice feature of this book is the series' practice of, after each chapter having a photo essay on some aspect of the campaigns --- such as the role of Australia, the Sea Bees, etc. It's refreshing and fascinating.
Over all, this is an outstanding book. Just my opinion, but Time-Life ought to reprint the volumes, and they ought to be in every high school library. I recommend this for military history fans and, really, for everyone desiring to know more about this aspect of World War 2.
In general, these books are very well done. This book and the others in the series concisely cover the details of each campaign --- with excellent maps and illustrations. As a young lad visiting the local library in Idaho, I remember spending hours there reading these books --- they are great at capturing the key details, keeping the story moving, and illustrating well enough such that the reader can understand the impact and magnitude of each section in the book.
This book covers the American island hopping campaign in the Pacific --- starting with the Guadalcanal Campaign and ending the the Battle of Peleliu. The difficulties, risks, and mindset of the combatant commanders from both sides are captures --- as well as the perspectives of the men doing the fighting. While in our time considered to be a grand strategy thought beforehand, in this book, the island hopping strategy seems more an improvisation that Pacific commanders, Gen. MacArthur and ADM Halsey evolved into as they took the measure of their adversaries, sought to avoid high casualties by trying to conquer each Japanese island and stronghold. There were definite risks in such a strategy -- and in the beginning both leaders tended to plan for an out in the event Japanese forces proved stronger than anticipated.
But the Japanese military had reached too far. The massive distances involved in the Pacific are enough to tax the resources of modern militaries today, and this was no less the case. Japan had caught military forces in the Pacific poorly armed, unready, and reactive, and advanced far and fast in the beginning, thereby creating a network of bases each requiring a long logistical line to support, far greater than her Axis allies in Europe faced.
As the island hopping strategy progressed, both MacArthur and Halsey became increasingly audacious as 1943 rode into 1944 --- and there also may have been an element of rivalry and ego spurring both men to outdo the other. Normally, in military theaters, a divided command is a way to disaster. Yet, in the Pacific, the result was two fists each pummeling the Japanese --- in many cases, for example, the Japanese would dispatch naval forces to address MacArthur's latest advance in New Guinea --- only to divert them to respond to some attack by Halsey --- with the result that the forces arrived too late and too out of the way to help their forces in either location.
A nice feature of this book is the series' practice of, after each chapter having a photo essay on some aspect of the campaigns --- such as the role of Australia, the Sea Bees, etc. It's refreshing and fascinating.
Over all, this is an outstanding book. Just my opinion, but Time-Life ought to reprint the volumes, and they ought to be in every high school library. I recommend this for military history fans and, really, for everyone desiring to know more about this aspect of World War 2.
April 2, 2017
A solid overview of the Allied "island hopping" campaign in World War 2's Pacific Theater. Goes into more depth than many such books including its coverage of actions in New Guinea, Bougainville, and islands in the Central Pacific. i.e. it's not simply a book about Guadalcanal. Though hyperbolic at times, it manages to give credit to American, Australian, and Japanese combatants for their immense suffering. It has inspired me to seek titles with more depth focusing on several of the campaigns depicted here. I think this would serve as a good introduction to the theater.
February 16, 2016
Great book giving you the a visual as well as a textual look at WW2 in the South Pacific. this book gave a good cover of most of the battles and the adaptability of the Allies throughout the campaign. I would recommend this book to people who like learning about wars.
April 10, 2025
Part of the Time-Life series on WW2, this volume discusses the American and Australian operations in New Guinea and the Solomons, and the American advances in the Central Pacific
Chapters
1-The American invasion of Guadalcanal and related naval battles (Aug 1942 to Feb 1943)
2-The Australian and American campaign in South-East New Guinea (Jul 1942 to Jan 1943)
3- The American Island hopping campaign up the Solomon Islands (Mar 1943 to Dec 1943)
4- The American invasions of the Gilbert Islands (Nov 1943) and the Marshall Islands (Feb 1944) in the Central Pacific
5-The Australian and American campaign on the north coast of New Guinea (Jan 1944 to Sep 1944)
6-The American invasions of the Marianas Islands (Jun 1944) and the Palau Islands (Sep 1944) in the Central Pacific
Chapters
1-The American invasion of Guadalcanal and related naval battles (Aug 1942 to Feb 1943)
2-The Australian and American campaign in South-East New Guinea (Jul 1942 to Jan 1943)
3- The American Island hopping campaign up the Solomon Islands (Mar 1943 to Dec 1943)
4- The American invasions of the Gilbert Islands (Nov 1943) and the Marshall Islands (Feb 1944) in the Central Pacific
5-The Australian and American campaign on the north coast of New Guinea (Jan 1944 to Sep 1944)
6-The American invasions of the Marianas Islands (Jun 1944) and the Palau Islands (Sep 1944) in the Central Pacific
June 16, 2026
Another fine entry in this WWII series, this time obviously focused on the island battles in the Pacific. A few interesting things I learned for the first time or was reminded of:
1. President Kennedy fought in the Pacific
2. For every Japanese the US Airforce pilots shot down, the St Louis Cardinals sent them a new baseball cap
3. Won't go into details, but not only did the Japanese military choose death over capture, but so did their civilians living on the islands, including whole families (see Saipan invasion)
1. President Kennedy fought in the Pacific
2. For every Japanese the US Airforce pilots shot down, the St Louis Cardinals sent them a new baseball cap
3. Won't go into details, but not only did the Japanese military choose death over capture, but so did their civilians living on the islands, including whole families (see Saipan invasion)
July 6, 2017
A good book made even better by inclusion of remarkable battle scenes painted by Tom Lea.
October 17, 2017
Life books makes reading about history fun, I can't wait to read more!
November 19, 2022
A good introduction. However, the analysis should be taken with a grain of salt.
September 3, 2024
Guadalcanal through Saipan. Mostly about the fighting on land; the naval battles of Guadalcanal get disappointingly little coverage.
March 4, 2015
Bought this Life Time series in the early 1980's on WWII, a volume came to the house every 2 or 3 months so I could take my reading. It was very informative and enjoyable read, I still use it for reference.
April 20, 2012
Excellent account of the Pacific campaign.
April 9, 2016
Really good, especially informative
November 19, 2016
God, this one took me a long time. What a slog, especially on the heels of the China-Burma-India volume. Interesting to learn about the competing goals of Army, Navy, Marines.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews