War in the Pacific: America at War:

by Jerome T. Hagen

War in the Pacific begins with Japan's interest in colonialism, the assassination of Marshall Chang Tso-lien in Manchuria, and Japan's subsequent decision to 'Strike South.' The attack on Pearl Harbor is examined in light of the difficulties Japan's navy had to overcome to launch such an attack.

The atrocities inflicted upon innocent people and prisoners of war, even prior to the Rape of Nanking, are covered in detail throughout Japan's conquest and reign of terror. Here, in succinct and lucid presentation, is all the information you wanted to know about the Bataan Death March, the Burma Road, Doolittle's Raid on Tokyo, the Death Railway, the Kamikazes, the Firebombing of Japan, and difficulties Japan had in ending the war.

The chapters on 'Other' Surrender Ceremonies and 'Independent Forces and Unnecessary Battles,' reveal new information never before published.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, War, World War II

346 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1996

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really hard review to write. I enjoyed this book- and found it full of interesting information- but it is no way a history of WWII in the Pacific. Those who pick it up to get a linear history of the War in the Pacific- will not find it. It is in fact more of a series of tertiary articles about the War against Japan in no particular order, with an emphasis on the horrific atrocities carried out by the Japanese Army and Navy throughout the war. The Book, by Jerome T Hagen, a Marine with a great career flying the A-4 SkyHawk, is a collection of his historical articles for Hawaiian publications, and not a coherent narrative at all. Hagen jumps around with no particular attention to the date order of events in the war- dwelling on interesting content here- and passing over key elements of the war there. I really enjoyed myself reading it - but I felt that a newcomer to the material might get lost or misled as to the order of events too easily. What this is-is a compelling collection of stories About the Pacific War- a auxiliary text for those who have already studied the war- and already know the salient point of the timeline. Then it's a fun read - with some really interesting facts quite a few readers may not have encountered before.
Hagen does a pretty good job of providing context overall- even if he discards traditional linear narrative as the way to present it. There is good content on the Japanese war in China that sparked the attack on the Western Allies and on the last days of the Empire as the Emperor accepted the inevitable. The essays on Atrocities and POW treatment by the Japanese are well research and may be eye-opening for some readers. Hagen is good about including content on Indonesia and Malaya as well as the CBI theatre- but the focus is clearly on the American effort. I did appreciate some good Australian content I had not expected. With my father a participant in the Occupation of Japan, I really enjoyed reading some of the stories of the first days of the that experience- with a little bit of oral history from both sides. It's a good collection of stories about the war- its just not a history of the the War.
There are some adult themes in this book- and a lot of graphic atrocity and injury description, so I think a Junior reader should be about 13/14 before taking on this content. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this is really a mixed bag. In the main- this is not a really good resource for Gamers- as it does not tell a coherent story of the war- but it does contain two chapters, one on Australian Commando style Independent Companies in Indonesia/New Guinea and the other on the lesser invaded islands in the Pacific- that might be good for scenario and diorama development. I had forgotten that there were so many Battalion and Regimental sized assaults in and among the household words like Betio and Kwajelein - and several that are just companies- easily translatable into Bolt Action/Flames Of War/BattleGroup/OGroup/CoC scenarios. If there arent enough there- Hagen does a roll call of bypassed Japanese Island fortresses- if one is looking for further battlefields. As I said- this is a cool extra book for the collection- but not a must-have.
#WhatAreYouReading #20thCenturyHistory #MilitaryHistory #WargameResearch #WWIIHistory #SWWHistory #PacificWar #WWIIInChina #CBITheater #CarrierWar #IslandWar #AirWar #POW #JapaneseAtrocities #Australians #Kokoda #NewGuinea #AtomBomb #Downfall #Hirohito #WWIIWargaming #CruelSeas #BoltAction #BloodRedSkies #FlamesOfWar #VictoryAtSea #BattleGroup #CoC #OGroup #MiniatureWargames

[Bill Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my late father William's books.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writer had good information, some of it very difficult to get thru emotionally. Other historical writers do a better job of making the facts more interesting.

[Felis Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredibly riveting and interesting read, and I say that as a person who has never really been interested in reading straight history books. The book gives a thorough and personal account of what life in the Pacific Theatre of WWII was like, drawing from sources on both sides of the conflict. It got me interested in this side of the war which is sort of glossed over in our high school history classes in favour of the European Theatre. I highly recommend this book (and the rest of the series) if you can get your hands on it!

[Spacek Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The War in the Pacific was a hard fought campaign! The author gives enough detail with sources to give the reader a clear picture of how gruesome it really was. Many heros emerged from this theater that added to the strength of the American military and its effort to free conquered countries from the Japanese. Japan, like Germany, rebuilt itself after the war and can be considered a world economic power. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about world history.

[CASPER HILEMAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brigadier Gerome Hagen has provided the reader with a series of brief introductions to the War in the Pacific ranging from the Second Sino-Japanese War and its expansion.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

War in the Pacific is one of the best history books that I have read on what lead to WWII, what transpired during the war and its conclusion.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of World War II histories. This volume (and the whole series) added to my knowledge of the war in the Pacific. It was especially helpful to have the full background of the Japanese activities in China beginning around 1898, which really helped to put the war in context.

Mr. Hagen could really use a good copy-editor, as there are numerous punctuation and grammar mistakes. Despite this, he is an excellent writer and communicator.

There is no sugar-coating of the history in this book. If you are going to read this series, be prepared for grisly passages.

[Wally · Rating 5 out of 5]

The General's telling of incidents that occurred added a human element I had yet to appreciate even though I have always loved history. He is no-nonsense about what and why things happened. He taught me that pain can still be realized from the horrific actions of the Japanese war machine. He proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that our educators are inventing history as fast as they can. A MUST READ for people interested in truth.

[Jack Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written as a series of newspaper articles, the book bounces around somewhat instead of being strictly in chronological order. Much of the material presented I have read in other books about the war with Japan but this really brought out the impact that Japan had on China in new ways. All in all, an interesting read.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the short chapters because it helped me read some when I was at lunch at the office. He didn't leave out the nasty, devilish actions of the enemy.