New Book Please (Full Version)

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John 3rd -> New Book Please (6/13/2008 10:01:21 PM)

About six months ago I asked the Forum for some good book recommendations and I chose to buy both books of "The First Team" and "Sunburst." The First Team books were EXCELLENT reads and I am now looking for something new.

What might be good for me to look at pertaining to the Pacific?

Parameters:
1. Don't have a lot of $$$ so that throws out any of the really expensive stuff.
2. Would like to buy 2-3 books so am open to anything that has been written in a set.

Comment/Suggestions?



tc464 -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 10:07:43 PM)

W.E.B. Griffin, "The Corps" series.



Nikademus -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 10:41:13 PM)

Max Hasting's "Retribution" is proving to be a good and informative read.




John 3rd -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 10:49:54 PM)

What is Retribution about?



John 3rd -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 10:50:49 PM)

What was the name of those books regarding the creation of American air bases in the SE/SW Pacific duirng the early phase of the war?



treespider -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 11:12:53 PM)

I recommend Bloody Shambles etc...



mdiehl -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 11:20:51 PM)

Depends on your taste. General histories or details enough to please a critical minded analyst that wants always to know more... of the latter, some good selections:

Munda Trail by Eric Hammel
Lt. Ramsey's War by Ramsey and Rivele
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer
Ship of Ghosts by James Hornfischer
Corregidor: The Rock Force Assault by E.M. Flanagan
The Battle for Manila by Connaughton, Pimlot and Anderson
Combined Fleet Decoded by John Prados
Shattered Sword by Parshall and Tulley
The Rape of Nanking by Alice Chang
Guadalcanal by Richard Frank
Pigboat 39 by Bobette Gugliotta
Downfall by Richard Frank
Tennozan by George Feifer




John 3rd -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 11:24:21 PM)

I have Shattered Sword, Combined Fleet Decoded, and Last Stand...

I've read a few of the Eric Hammel books.  They are pretty good.  What on the rest of your list is really interesting?

Bloody Shambles---is that the book on the SW/SE Pacific bases and the build-up there?



mdiehl -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 11:28:04 PM)

They are all really interesting. I've read pretty much everything written in English on the Pacific War that one can easily get their hands on. The stuff I listed is a fraction of the stuff that I kept. It really depends on how much detail and fact checking you want.

I have vol 1 of Bloody Shambles. It's not on my recommended list because there are insufficient in-text citations as to sources for aircraft losses. But it is a somewhat interesting read. B.S. Vol 1 & 2 are hard to obtain cheaply these days. They're not about the establishment of bases part of the war but rather about the early SE Asia campaign.

You may be thinking of Eric Bergerud's Touched with Fire and Fire in the Sky. They're interesting but not as detailed as the other SWPac books that I mentioned.



Nikademus -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 11:28:50 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

What is Retribution about?



Retribution covers the last two years of the War against Japan, including the war in China.



Nikademus -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 11:32:36 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

I have Shattered Sword, Combined Fleet Decoded, and Last Stand...

I've read a few of the Eric Hammel books.  They are pretty good.  What on the rest of your list is really interesting?

Bloody Shambles---is that the book on the SW/SE Pacific bases and the build-up there?



Bloody Shambles (3 volumes) covers the air war on a day by day basis in the SRA during the 1st and 2nd Operational phases of Japan's offensive while vol. 3 covers the air war in Burma from 43-45. An excellent series....very well researched and detailed. I recommend them as well as other air campaigns covered by Shores and his associates.



Terminus -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 11:36:54 PM)

Concur. Superb scholarly accounts.



Nemo121 -> RE: New Book Please (6/13/2008 11:42:08 PM)

Kaigun. Everything you ever wanted to know about why the IJN is the way it is on December 7th 1941. A superlative work which, as a bonus, also covers the Russo-Japanese naval war in an extremely cogent and elucidating manner.



John 3rd -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 12:03:49 AM)

I LOVE Kaigun!  I was disappointed with Sunburst.

Thanks for the Bloody Shambles recommendation.  This is an area I don't know a lot about.  Could be a possiblity.  The same can be said for Bergerud's books.  Those are the ones I was thinking about earlier.  Those five books are worth looking into.

In the spirit of areas I don't know much about, what is available (beyond the above) and good regarding the DEI, British action in the DEI in 1944/1945, good recent naval biographies (Black Shoe Sailor) or early War Planning (is War Plan Orange good?).  

Maybe these help focus the discussion some.



Nikademus -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 12:14:59 AM)

in addition to Frank and Hastings, i'd recommend John Caputo's "The Pacific War." It contains good chapters on those lesser well documented areas, early and late war along with good political analysis on the decisions made.

Louis Allen's "Burma, the Longest War" is probably the definitive accounting of the entire Burma campaign from the British retreat in 42 to the ceasing of hostilities.




mdiehl -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 12:16:53 AM)

quote:

Louis Allen's "Burma, the Longest War" &c


I concur.



John 3rd -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 12:17:19 AM)

Got Caputo's book and enjoyed it as a general history.

Haven't heard of 'Longest War' so I will check that out.



krishub1492 -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 12:40:57 AM)

How about a book that is scheduled to be published on June 15.

If Mahan Ran the Great Pacific War: An Analysis of World War II Naval Strategy


http://www.amazon.com/Mahan-Ran-Great-Pacific-War/dp/0253351057/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213393084&sr=8-1



John 3rd -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 12:48:29 AM)

COOL!  I will take a look at that right now.



John 3rd -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 5:49:56 AM)

Has anyone read the new War Plan Orange book?  I can afford to get both of the Bergerud books and think I can get one more...



Hornblower -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 7:18:21 AM)

John 3rd, first of all the library is your friend. No cost to get a card, and why buy them, when you can read them for free. And if La Salle is like where i am in chicago, you'll have access to over 100+ plus librarys, they will ship the book to the one closest to you...  I recommend touched with fire, and fire in the sky byt eric bergerud - excellent well thought out books covering combat- land and air- in the south pacific in 42-43.  Recquired reading in the Ucommon Valor forum.  also i recommend the 3 books by Lundrstom.  Covering carrier combat in 41-43..  I agree with the other posters that Shattered Sword is excellent as well.  Also well thought you... Remember, library, free books...  I've gone through at least 20 so far this year.  In fact i have "the cactus air force", and "The first south pacific campaign" from mine here next to me..



bradfordkay -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 8:26:02 AM)

John, I have War Plan Orange (the book, as well as the game!) and it is excellent. I made a post about it a long time ago and Joe Wilkerson made a very favorable comment on the book as well. 



Tiornu -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 10:23:56 AM)

Which "new" War Plan Orange book is there?
By the way, the new Big Gun Monitor book is not merely a reprint, but a much enlarged treatment (more text, more photos).



Apollo11 -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 11:18:42 AM)

Hi all,

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tiornu

Which "new" War Plan Orange book is there?
By the way, the new Big Gun Monitor book is not merely a reprint, but a much enlarged treatment (more text, more photos).


Look who is back... [:)]


Leo "Apollo11"



Tiornu -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 11:41:39 AM)

I often lurk. Book discussions can lure me into the open.



ird -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 2:55:01 PM)

The Bergerud books are good - I'm just reading Fire In The Sky and they maybe do lack a little bit of depth in some parts but they are extremely well written and readable - everybody's taste in reading is different but I like my books to flow not get bogged down and these do it for me

quote:

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

Has anyone read the new War Plan Orange book?  I can afford to get both of the Bergerud books and think I can get one more...




Joe D. -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 3:02:06 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hornblower

...first of all the library is your friend. No cost to get a card, and why buy them, when you can read them for free.


I second that thought; in fact, some libraries will even order new books upon request, depending on town budget and other concerns.

First Team = First Cav? If so, I was posted on Fort Hood in the eary 90's and went to war w/these guys as part of their "round out" brigade; 1st Cav gave us more grief than the Iraqis.

PM me if you want to hear the rest.



VI66_slith -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 3:26:26 PM)

Eric Bergerud's third book dealing with the South Pacific, "Oil on the Water" will be available soon enough as well.  He told me that there will be a delay due to the fact that he is teaching officers at the Navy's Postgraduate School in Monterey. I couldn't nail down a specific date, although according to Amazon and other sources (depending on which you look at) we are talking one to three years. [X(]



Don Bowen -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 4:41:57 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

...I was disappointed with Sunburst...


Me too. My copy became a donation to the local library - which already had already received several copies.

For building bases, save yourself some money and read online:
http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Building_Bases/index.html#contents2

One of the hardest subjects on which to find data are the rear-area bases that never experienced any combat. Especially the Army garrisioned places like Canton Island and Christmas Island (the one south of Hawaii). There is an excellent but long out of print book titled Bogged Down in Bora Bora by Ervan F. Kushner that gives a lot of data on that garrison.







Nikademus -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 7:40:44 PM)

what didn't you like about it?




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