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RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers

 
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RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/6/2019 1:35:58 AM   
BBfanboy


Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline 		Other than that, did Nimitz and King work well together? I've never heard about any conflict or amity between them.

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RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/6/2019 3:02:28 AM   
dr.hal


Posts: 3335
Joined: 6/3/2006
From: Covington LA via Montreal!
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Other than that, did Nimitz and King work well together? I've never heard about any conflict or amity between them.

I'm not sure ANYONE worked well with King, everything I've read about the man suggests he was very "difficult" to get along with and certainly didn't make "friends"! But I don't recall any open hostility between the two. I can't remember where it was (thus no reference) but I remember reading that Nimitz didn't like King at all...however there was respect... that's about it.

< Message edited by dr.hal -- 12/6/2019 3:03:05 AM >

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Post #: 32
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/6/2019 3:18:27 AM   
Lokasenna


Posts: 9297
Joined: 3/3/2012
From: Iowan in MD/DC
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy


quote:

ORIGINAL: philabos

Ian W Toll trilogy starts with Pacific Crucible, final book due out next year.


What's Pacific Crucible about?



The first 6 months of the war for the US Navy, specifically the Pacific.

It was very good.

I'm only a little ways into the Conquering Tide, which is part 2. Which is a shame, but I've just been reading less.



On topic, I always bring up the Campaign for Guadalcanal, but Jack Coggins, as a good one to read. Lots of bonus technical illustrations and maps, too - I think done by Mr. Coggins, who was an ace illustrator. I got a used copy on eBay a long time ago, and a while back I saw one floating around in a local used book store but it's been gone from there for a year or so maybe.

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Post #: 33
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/6/2019 3:44:30 AM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: rustysi


quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I'm proud (in a weirdly masochistic way) to say that I haven't read a single book on Warspite's list. :)


What's wrong with his list? I read a few of them.

warspite1

I'm sure you have rustysi. Each to their own but its strange (to me) for one to have a keen interest in the game/Pacific War and not to have read any of those books, but as I say, each to their own.

I've been picked up on producing a collection and not a single book as per the OP's direction. Fair enough.

I think if I had to pick a single book for newcomers to read alongside starting out on this game then it would need to be a book that covers the entire war so that the reader/player has at least a high level understanding of what happened when, why, and how things panned out the way it did. On that basis I would have to go with Rising Sun.

Tolland's work is not the 'best' book on the list I provided (Shattered Sword and Guadalcanal take those prizes (in that order) and there are other books that could easily have made the list but I left them off as they are individual battle-centred and so too specific - Road of Bones (Keane) about Kohima and Shame of Savo (Loxton) about the Savo naval battle being two more excellent and recommended tomes. Shattered Sword gets around that single battle limitation and makes my list due to the additional insight the authors give about Japanese (and American) operating procedure.

However if I am about to embark on the game (and the title of the thread is "Good book recommendations for newcomers"), then my recommendation would have to be a book that gives the overall picture of the Pacific War. Having an in-depth knowledge of Japanese carrier doctrine or the RN contribution to the war would seem of limited value if I don't know the bigger picture and basics such as what happened when.

But I guess that reflects the way I've always read about subjects in history. Start with a high level work, an overview so I have some context of what was happening when and then, if I like the subject, I start to drill down further.


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RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/6/2019 9:13:59 AM   
fcooke

 

Posts: 1156
Joined: 6/18/2002
From: Boston, London, Hoboken, now Warwick, NY
Status: offline 		I now have a hankering to re-read Shattered Sword.....

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Post #: 35
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/6/2019 10:16:06 AM   
obvert


Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: philabos

Ian W Toll trilogy starts with Pacific Crucible, final book due out next year.


+1

Very good and detailed examination.

I'd add Fortress Against the Sun: The B-17 Flying Fortress in the Pacific; Gene Eric Salacker and Rising Sun, Falling Skies by Jeffrey Cox which both detail the beginning of the war from the Allied perspective. It's a good primer to the start of any grand campaign to remember why the beginning wen the way it did, and what you can do )perhaps) to improve that , for either side.

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Post #: 36
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/6/2019 1:14:09 PM   
spence

 

Posts: 5400
Joined: 4/20/2003
From: Vancouver, Washington
Status: offline 		A great book dealing with surface (nighttime) combat: Guadalcanal Decision at Sea by Eric Hammel

Since it's now 0609 6 December here but it's already 7 December in Japan an interesting book would be : A Long Days Journey Into War which examines the day that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor from the first moment it was Dec 7th 1941 (near Midway) until the last moment it was Dec 7th 1941 (also near Midway) all over the world.

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Post #: 37
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/6/2019 5:59:55 PM   
rsallen64


Posts: 172
Joined: 6/15/2009
From: Olympia, WA
Status: offline 		I have read and/or own most of the books in Warspite's list, and agree with his recommendations. Toland's Rising Sun is a great overall view of the entire war, as is John Costello's Pacific War, which I would heartily recommend. I did read Cox's book but honestly, I had some issues with it. I thought he did a great job of covering a topic that is largely passed over in the history books, and he does so in great detail, but I thought his constant berating of the Allied commanders and their decision-making, while somewhat justified, overlooked the fact they were operating with very limited resources and in a very constrained political environment. He made his point and that's fine, but he hammered it in over and over again to the point I decided to forego purchasing his Guadalcanal book, even though that's my favorite campaign. H.P. Wilmott's first two books cover the first months of the war very well, from both sides, and Lundstrom's First South Pacific Campaign is great as well.

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Post #: 38
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/7/2019 12:32:45 AM   
AW1Steve


Posts: 14507
Joined: 3/10/2007
From: Mordor Illlinois
Status: offline 		I own pretty much all the books that have been mentioned here , and I agree that they are all great. But before you go specialized , a good general history is called for , to put each of them in their respective places. I love Wilmott , but would recommend for your very 1st book , The Eagle and the Sun by Spector. A truly great , easy to read general overall history.

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Post #: 39
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/7/2019 1:52:09 AM   
Chickenboy


Posts: 24520
Joined: 6/29/2002
From: San Antonio, TX
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

I own pretty much all the books that have been mentioned here , and I agree that they are all great. But before you go specialized , a good general history is called for , to put each of them in their respective places. I love Wilmott , but would recommend for your very 1st book , The Eagle and the Sun by Spector. A truly great , easy to read general overall history.


Coming from you, Steve, that's a powerful recommendation. I [sheepishly] confess that I haven't read that book, but will be putting it on my Amazon list for Christmas.

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Post #: 40
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/7/2019 1:59:42 AM   
AW1Steve


Posts: 14507
Joined: 3/10/2007
From: Mordor Illlinois
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy


quote:

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

I own pretty much all the books that have been mentioned here , and I agree that they are all great. But before you go specialized , a good general history is called for , to put each of them in their respective places. I love Wilmott , but would recommend for your very 1st book , The Eagle and the Sun by Spector. A truly great , easy to read general overall history.


Coming from you, Steve, that's a powerful recommendation. I [sheepishly] confess that I haven't read that book, but will be putting it on my Amazon list for Christmas.


Tell you what , if you can hold off till mid February I'll bring down a spare copy that I have. (I just found a leather bound edition that's one of my new pride and joy's).

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Post #: 41
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/9/2019 12:28:41 AM   
Edorf

 

Posts: 121
Joined: 5/14/2013
Status: offline 		Just bought the game myself and wanted a good single volume history of the Pacific war. Many good recommendations in this thread but I went on my own an searched for
a balanced account presenting a view from both sides of the conflict. What I found was a book called “War in the Pacific: From Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay” by Harry Gailey
https://www.amazon.com/War-Pacific-Pearl-Harbor-Tokyo/dp/0891416161

It looked interesting so I went ahead and ordered it.

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Post #: 42
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/9/2019 3:03:09 AM   
Rob322

 

Posts: 578
Joined: 8/16/2004
Status: offline 		I recommend "Hell to Pay" by D.M. Giangreco. This is all about Downfall, the Invasion of Japan that wasn't. Really fascinating stuff.

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Post #: 43
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/9/2019 10:43:31 PM   
philabos

 

Posts: 143
Joined: 7/3/2004
Status: offline 		For the Burma campaign, Defeat into Victory, by William Slim who commanded the British 14th Army.
On many senior officer reading lists, including General Mattis.
An admirable style of leadership as well as description of the campaign.

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Post #: 44
RE: OT: Good book recommendations for newcomers - 12/9/2019 11:15:15 PM   
John 3rd


Posts: 17178
Joined: 9/8/2005
From: La Salle, Colorado
Status: offline 		Am officially recommending Scratch One Flattop. Finished it last night and the book is a very good re-telling of the Coral Sea Campaign. It is well done, has some pictures I have never seen, and pulls together all the recent scholarship.

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