The Pacific War: The Strategy, Politics, and Players that Won the War

by William B. Hopkins

Once the stories have been told of battles won and lost, most of what happens in a war remains a mystery. So it has been with accounts of World War II in the Pacific, a conflict whose nature is only obscured by the linear narrative. In this book, a veteran and respected military author opens the story of the Pacific War to a broader and deeper view.



Going beyond the usual accounting, William B. Hopkins investigates the strategies, politics, and personalities that shaped the conduct of the war. His regional approach to this complex war conducted on land, sea (and significantly by America, undersea), and air offers a more realistic perspective on how this multifaceted conflict unfolded--in many ways, and on many fronts. As expansive as the immense reaches of the Pacific, and as focused as the most intensive pinpoint attack on a strategic island, this account offers a whole new way of understanding the hows--and more significantly, the whys, of the Pacific War.

Genres: History, American History, World War II, Nonfiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guam, Tarawa, the Palau's, Saipan, Iwo Jima...islands that will always be remembered...we hope. The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, Coral Sea, Midway, Savo Island...all naval battles fought over hundreds of miles of ocean. The European campaign was slugging matches between German and Anglo-Saxon or German and Russian armies. The Pacific were the great naval battles punctuated by sharp and bitter fighting on some of the remotest islands. I have been fortunate to visit a few of the places mentioned herein.

I enjoyed yet another story of Japan vs. the Allies due to the subject and as always a few new nuances thrown in. I found the author adequately covered almost all aspects of the Pacific campaign. I was pleasantly surprised to find some time spent on China as well. I found the discussion about taking fleet anchorages such a Ulithi interesting since most books do not cover the wear and tear naval vessels must fix...not to mention battle damage. Most books cover island hopping as a predecessor to getting closer for the air campaign. The fleet was duly mentioned here as requiring its islands and anchorages. The fire bombing campaigns were also mentioned. I found this portion very interesting since little sustenance is advertised of the B-29 raids. Of course there is the Central Pacific versus the Southwest Pacific drives. There must always be that discussion punctuated by the Army versus Navy squabbles.

This one was an obscure book that I found very enjoyable. I hope you do as well.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It delves into all of the background info on all of the major players in the pacific war. After reading this, I must confess that I have a much lower opinion of Douglas MacArthur.
Contrary to his public image, he comes off as a bit of a vane and contentious blow hard. His obsession with the reconquest of the Philippines could have cost even more American lives if the Joint Chiefs of Staff had not reined him in just a bit.

[Pei-jean Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather dated

While this does deliver a good chronological look into the Pacific War, it is evident that it is a product of the time it was written. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but having read books that have been more recently published, it is clear that you feel that there are gaps in the narrative

[Andrew Leyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dry, but that's the nature of a book that goes in to so much detail regarding the personalities involved in the Pacific war.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pacific War by William B. Hopkins is a fascinating blend of politics and combat that offers insight into the American chain of command from the top down focusing on the Pacific Theater of World War II. The approach is mostly, but certainly not entirely, optimistic of American politicians and military leadership concerning their ability to come together to win the war. Although there was significant friction and disagreement among commanders and the upper echelon of leadership, such disputes did not prevent an American victory in the end.
Author William Hopkins provides clarification about why events happened and how they occurred. In most cases he explains the rationale for classified information and how the American public had to remain in the dark concerning the truth and reality of events. For example, the Japanese military and diplomatic secret codes were broken before the war began, but in order to maintain an advantage of intelligence this fact could not be shared with the public. Therefore, American public perception was often skewed according to some keen propaganda techniques. Throughout the book, Hopkins mentions newspaper reports that were inaccurate because American leadership did not want to inadvertently give the Japanese information they could use to win the war. Such media outlets as Time, Newsweek and New York Times are used to describe what the public knew, and Hopkins follows up with a description about whether or not these newspaper or magazine articles were true.
The author is effective in his comparison of what the public thought was true and what really happened. An abundant amount of false information and half-truths were broadcast during the war, especially concerning errors made by General MacArthur and the Philippines. MacArthur was very popular (especially among Republicans and the general public), and part of his fame was a result of exaggerated reports. The truth about his actions in the Philippines at the start of the war and command decision errors was not communicated to the American public. For example, American newspapers reported that MacArthur was prepared to fight in the Philippines even though the forces under his command were outnumbered. In reality he did not expect an attack, had more troops than the invading Japanese and his aircraft were destroyed on the ground because they were unprepared. Also, the press reported that Japanese ships were being sunk and US aircraft were both fighting and winning. However, quite the opposite was true of the Philippine situation. Although President Roosevelt and other top leaders did not want to support MacArthur’s return to the Philippines because doing so would not contribute to winning the war, they decided to allow his Southwest Pacific campaign because he was popular at home and the public wanted their hero to keep winning battles. These falsities makes only secondary sources like Hopkins useful to historians. Hopkins is in search of the truth and wants to share the real story with readers.
The extensive use of quotes that are multiple paragraphs in length allow others to tell the story. For example, Hopkins is very critical of General MacArthur up until the end of the war, but supplies adequate rationale and support for his claims by using MacArthur’s own words. Douglas MacArthur’s autobiography Reminiscences is used frequently as source. Comparing what MacArthur said to what really happened is the only fair way to be critical from a historian’s point of view. In all fairness, Hopkins does not criticize the general’s person or character, but rather points out the flaws in his leadership and command decisions by proving that the American public probably should not have thought so highly of him during the war.
Hopkins contributes to the literature on WWII by comparing what the public knew then with what we know now. Not only was a lot of information classified, but public morale was vital to maintaining high levels of participation in the home front. The Pacific War is an interesting journey through American leadership with a flavor of public opinion during World War II.

[Jimmie Kepler · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Pacific War: The Strategy, Politics, and Players That Won the War” is the best book I have read on the Pacific War Theater of World War Two. The book presents the decision-making processes, strategies, and at times politics that guided the Allied Forces to victory. You are there decision by decision and campaign.

This is both an extremely readable book filled with recent scholarly research. It is as entertaining as a novel. The prose is amazing. I cannot over emphasize how well written the book is. It has an amazing freshness readers will enjoy and is a book you will read from cover to cover. The book covers all the familiar episodes as well as censored or little known events that played a major role in final victory.

The book begins with the first few chapters setting the background. The chapters that follow tell the story chronologically. The chapters are so well written they could stand as independent historical journal articles. They cover the various campaigns.

You receive insights into all aspects of the war. You learn about the big picture items like Plan Orange (a series of United States Joint Army and Navy Board war plans for dealing with a possible war with Japan during the years between the First and Second World Wars) and it’s implementation.

You learn of the economic mobilization of the USA. You learn of the size of the role of Australia’s involvement in the defeat of Japan as well as the size of General MacArthur’s ego. You learn of the role of breaking code and how it was critical to victories in the Coral Sea and Midway.

The battle between the Army and Navy over command and control amazed me. The infighting between services was childish. It shows the need for strong command and control – I think of the removal of an Army general by a USMC general which from the facts given was justified, but caused inter-service strife. You learn how 1944 presidential candidate Thomas Dewey was made aware of the role of the code breaking by General Marshall to keep him from causing grave injury to the war effort.

The role of the submarines is given due credit. The problems with the torpedoes at the war’s beginning and their resolution show bureaucratic failures and American ingenuity. The decisions to keep US Army Divisions out of Burma and China as well as the struggles between Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai Shek and Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell, Commanding General, China Expeditionary Forces. You learn the details of the Battle of Leyte Gulf and Philippines as well as realize General MacArthur’s personal obsession with the Philippines.

I highly recommend the book. It should be required reading for every Army, Navy, and USMC officer. It should be included in every military and university library as well. This is a very import addition to the history of the Pacific War in World War Two.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading books about World War II since middle school and always of interest was the Pacific Theater where both of my grandfathers served. Needless to say its been quite a few books so I almost passed on this book but I'm glad I didn't.

This book focused mainly on the "big picture" of theater and associated campaigns. Details of individual battles were kept to a minimum in order to stay on point with how it affected the overall plan. Of especial interested that the animosity that went back and forth between Nimitz and MacArthur. Also without getting bogged the author was able to clearly demonstrate that MacArthur's theater command and drive to the Philippines was strictly to stroke his own ego. In the end MacArthur's role had little effect on the war.

There were alot of strategic details that I was not aware of and learned quite a bit in reading this book. The author concentrates particularly on how decisions were made in which islands would be invaded and which ones would be bypassed. One thing that I learned that I found rather interested and supports MacArthur's over inflated view of himself was that when he was Army Chief of Staff he approved Plan Orange. Plan Orange was the military's plan for how war with Japan would be fought and it was based on an island hopping drive through the Central Pacific, the region under the command of the US Navy. So, what did MacArthur do with the plan that he himself had approved years earlier? He fought against it and on several occasions outright ignored it when it didn't suit him.

I recommend this book for any World War II buff and any history buff in general. There was a great amount of insight on how and why decisions were made that makes this book well worth reading.

[Paul Kinzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid, and very readable overview of the pacific theater, with particular focus on the politics and top military leaders of both sides. Necessarily high level, but with sufficient detail to understand the complexities and vastness of the campaign. A good number of maps, though could have used even a couple more. Balanced, honest research from sources on both sides.

[Twilight Sparkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of the entire Pacific Theatre of Operations in World War 2. Covers most of the major events and the politics behind them. The author sort of seems to hate General Douglas MacArthur though by all accounts he was an ass anyway SO IT'S OK I GUESS.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a good compilation of the events in the Pacific. It has a good emphasis on the strategy involved in defeating Japan.