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There's some really good stuff in there. I lost count of the number of times I read Toland's "Decline of the Japanese Empire".

ORIGINAL: steamboateng

I've recently read and recommend:

Eagle Against the Sun; Ronald H. Spector; 585 pgs. ISBN 0-394-74101-3 (pbk)
A general overview of the war with Japan; preliminaries, causes, major events. Includes a bibliography and index.

Guadalcanal: The Definative Account of the Landmark Battle; Richard B Frank; 800 pgs. ISBN 0-14-01.6561-4 (pbk)
A highly detailed account of the 6 month battle, including the naval engagents, land engagements, and the influence of the 'Cactus' Airforce.
Includes copius notes, bibliography and index.

Frank's work is fantastic!

Yes, Frank's work on the Guadalcanal battle is a gem of a book. The detail is profuse enough to justify a second reading (It's on my list).
His accounts of the early naval battles give a sense of the genuine confusion and relative inexperience of the USN, facing it's first major test of the IJN's surface battle fleets in night actions.
Not to mention the US Marine Corps outstanding performance in it's first invasion against the Empire.
One cannot but help coming away with an admiration for the commitment, courage, audacity, and skills of both combatants engaged in this test of wills.
A 'must read' for anyone wishing to gain an insight into the Pacific War; and the battle which set the tone for all amphibeous landings thereafter.

ORIGINAL: steamboateng

Yes, Frank's work on the Guadalcanal battle is a gem of a book. The detail is profuse enough to justify a second reading (It's on my list).
His accounts of the early naval battles give a sense of the genuine confusion and relative inexperience of the USN, facing it's first major test of the IJN's surface battle fleets in night actions.
Not to mention the US Marine Corps outstanding performance in it's first invasion against the Empire.
One cannot but help coming away with an admiration for the commitment, courage, audacity, and skills of both combatants engaged in this test of wills.
A 'must read' for anyone wishing to gain an insight into the Pacific War; and the battle which set the tone for all amphibeous landings thereafter.

Well put!

I just picked up "Eagle against the Sun" today at a swap meet for two dollars. Started reading it today.

ORIGINAL: Apollo11

Hi all,

This book is missing and it is one of the kind book that covers the pre-war (i.e. how Japanese politics worked) and whole war from the Japanese side!


The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
By John Toland

http://www.amazon.com/Rising-Sun-Declin ... 246&sr=8-2


Leo "Apollo11"

Warspite1

Just started reading this - so far so very very good (although I keep having to go back and remind myself who is who - which makes progress a little slow [&:]).

bump - looking for a new book and I think this thread is the most current

ORIGINAL: Insano

bump - looking for a new book and I think this thread is the most current

Warspite1

What subject are you looking at - anything in particular?

ORIGINAL: warspite1
Warspite1

What subject are you looking at - anything in particular?

I just ordered "Japanese Destroyer Captain" and "Stuka Pilot" the war memoirs of Hans Rudel. Should be here beginning of next week!

I can also recommend Bloodstained Sea: The US Coast Guard and the Battle for the Atlantic by Michael Walling.

Speaking of the Battle of The Atlantic, Convoy SC122 and HX229 by Martin Middlebrook is well worth a read. This book really brings to life the problems faced by U-boat crews, the convoy escorts and last but certainly not least, the merchant sailors of all nationalities. An excellent book.

.

by the way I was also looking at "Fist From the Sky" which is on the original list in this thread. It is about Takashige Egusa of Soryu but it was not well reviewed on Amazon. One of the reviewers recommended instead this book:

Into the Assault: Famous Dive-Bomber Aces of the Second World War

which is by the same author. However this book seems a bit difficult to find.

I like reading the books that have a lot of personal narrative sprinkled in as opposed to mainly statistics and analysis. The problem with this on the Axis side is that a lot of the personal narrators were killed during the war. I'm interested in the anti-shipping strikes, not necessarily the carrier battles. For example Crete and the Mediterranean convoys sound interesting. I'm not sure what the best Japanese equivalent would be. There is the attack on force Z but I see that as a one off.

Any ideas for an "entertaining" read - if that makes sense?

Insano,

I haven't found that many books from the Japanese perspective on conducting anti-shipping strikes. The few that I have found were completely in Japanese and my language skills in Japanese is severly lacking (the most that I can do is order beer and tell a pretty lady that she is pretty). Even then those pickings are slim, since it appears that most of the attack pilots in either the IJNAF or IJAAF either didn't survive the war or just didn't want to talk about thier experiences.

A lot of people hook onto some really good mainstream books. This is good, but there's a whole bunch of stuff that isn't mainstream but is totally awesome in its own milieu. Here's some that I think worthwhile from a man who's been there and done that and can describe it in terms we can all understand. This is what the students at the Naval Academy read.

McGee, William L., The Amphibians Are Coming! Emergence of the 'Gator Navy and its Revolutionary Landing Craft, Vol. 1, BMC Publications;
McGee, William L., The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point, Vol. II, BMC Publications;
McGee, William L., Pacific Express: The Critical Role of Military Logistics in World War II, Vol. III, BMC Publications.

These are not your momma's coffee table Guadalcanal books.

ORIGINAL: JWE

A lot of people hook onto some really good mainstream books. This is good, but there's a whole bunch of stuff that isn't mainstream but is totally awesome in its own milieu. Here's some that I think worthwhile from a man who's been there and done that and can describe it in terms we can all understand. This is what the students at the Naval Academy read.

McGee, William L., The Amphibians Are Coming! Emergence of the 'Gator Navy and its Revolutionary Landing Craft, Vol. 1, BMC Publications;
McGee, William L., The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point, Vol. II, BMC Publications;
McGee, William L., Pacific Express: The Critical Role of Military Logistics in World War II, Vol. III, BMC Publications.

These are not your momma's coffee table Guadalcanal books.

These three have been on my list for a while. I looked at the table of contents of Pacific Express, though, and found that I have virtually all the sources. Does McGee add to these?

I did not see these two excellent first-hand accounts of the sub war listed:
Wahoo: The Patrols of America's Most Famous World War II Submarine by Richard H. O'Kane
Clear the Bridge! : The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang by Richard H. O'Kane

Along with Blair's Silent Victory (included in JEFFK's list on the first page), must reads for those who don't understand submarines.

ORIGINAL: JWE

A lot of people hook onto some really good mainstream books. This is good, but there's a whole bunch of stuff that isn't mainstream but is totally awesome in its own milieu. Here's some that I think worthwhile from a man who's been there and done that and can describe it in terms we can all understand. This is what the students at the Naval Academy read.

McGee, William L., The Amphibians Are Coming! Emergence of the 'Gator Navy and its Revolutionary Landing Craft, Vol. 1, BMC Publications;
McGee, William L., The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point, Vol. II, BMC Publications;
McGee, William L., Pacific Express: The Critical Role of Military Logistics in World War II, Vol. III, BMC Publications.

These are not your momma's coffee table Guadalcanal books.

how so? Interested in the 2nd one....on Solomons Campaigns. The third one scares me. [:D]

ORIGINAL: JWE

A lot of people hook onto some really good mainstream books. This is good, but there's a whole bunch of stuff that isn't mainstream but is totally awesome in its own milieu. Here's some that I think worthwhile from a man who's been there and done that and can describe it in terms we can all understand. This is what the students at the Naval Academy read.

McGee, William L., The Amphibians Are Coming! Emergence of the 'Gator Navy and its Revolutionary Landing Craft, Vol. 1, BMC Publications;
McGee, William L., The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point, Vol. II, BMC Publications;
McGee, William L., Pacific Express: The Critical Role of Military Logistics in World War II, Vol. III, BMC Publications.

These are not your momma's coffee table Guadalcanal books.

Warspite1

1 + 2 sound interesting. I think I will take a chance and order no.2 from Amazon now because I am really struggling to make headway with Neptune's Inferno [:(]. Hopefully this will prove a better read; if not I think I will give up on the Solomons completely [&:]

Aw crap, I have maybe 3-4 books on that list - anyone curious to throw their best 5 books out? I would like to improve my reading.

Honestly I've heard Shattered Sword 1000 times on this board and still haven't picked that book up yet. (dont hurt me)