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2023-05-10 Southeast Asia

Book Review: Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942

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Posted by badanov 2023-05-10 00:00|| || Front Page|| [10 views ] Top

#1 I recommend this book about the early months of the war in the Pacific. It fall[sic] short in that the author doesn't discuss the Guadalcanal Campaign.

Falls short? Guadalcanal literally isn't the early months. Anything after Midway isn't.

Part 2 of the book discusses everyone's favorite Guadalcanal. Why, I've no idea because there is no shortage of books about Guadalcanal. Bookshelves literally groaning under the weight of them. But, I guess a book falls short unless it retreads well-worn territory.

This book is about lesser-known parts of the war. That's literally why it was written. I used to wonder why sitcoms and sequels were so popular. Why did people like to watch the same things over and over again? Well, I don't wonder any more.

Posted by Hupainter Peacock1045 2023-05-10 06:04|| 2023-05-10 06:04|| Front Page Top

#2 So noted.

Posted by badanov 2023-05-10 13:44|| 2023-05-10 13:44|| Front Page Top

#3 Touched with Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific by Eric M. Bergerud(1997). Excellent book. Several observations in the book (and his other book Fire In The Sky) about how the Japanese military-industrial complex dictated some of their actions in WW2, for example: the heavy diesel engine production bottleneck meant freighters or destroyers DD), which meant logistics required emphasizing light infantry training and organization instead of the heavier equipment they wanted to field...

Posted by magpie 2023-05-10 14:54|| 2023-05-10 14:54|| Front Page Top

#4 Nomonhan: Japan Against Russia, 1939 by Alvin Coox(1997). Excellent operational-level coverage about the border skirmish and the months long campaign that concluded in Zhukov's Double Encirclement of Khalkin Gol(the winners get to name the battles). The author also covers various social, diplomatic and political events preceding and following WW2 that are quite interesting. For example: why would the Japanese commander order thousands of soda s from Korea? The troops drank the soda and the empty bottles were made into incendiary anti-tank weapons (Molotov cocktails). Or the fate of Japanese MIA/POWs that were deliberately forgotten because they shamed themselves by not 'dying with honor'...

Posted by magpie 2023-05-10 15:06|| 2023-05-10 15:06|| Front Page Top

#5 Thanks for the recommendations, magpie.

Posted by badanov 2023-05-10 16:25|| 2023-05-10 16:25|| Front Page Top

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