D-Days in the Pacific

seldom heard version of the actual horror of the Pacific campaign. interesting historical picture of the MacArthur "story". did the marines really have to sustain such losses? couldn't some of the islands have been isolated to "wither on the vine" ??

D-days in the Pacific is the most accurate account of the war in the Pacific. I particularly enjoyed the personal accounts of the soldiers and the effects of the war that could only be told by the men who fought it. Donald Miller does a wonderful job of blending the human aspect along with the historical facts to make D-Days in the Pacific a great story for anyone who's interested in history.

Don Miller has written a factual unvarnished account of war in the Pacific. It tells the story together with the facts behind the pictures. A well written history with the true stories presented in a gripping manner. Michael L. Kuenne

Published to coincide with the History Channel broadcast of the same title, and based on The Story of World War II, which was in turn Miller's revision and update of Henry Steele Commager's book of the same name. Miller is a much-published history professor and PBS host. Although the title refers to the 127 separate over-the-beach operations that occurred in the Pacific theater, he spends most of his effort on a relatively small number of familiar names-Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Saipan, Peleliu, Okinawa. Good section on the B-29 raids, with many quotes from General Curtis LeMay. Miller's discussion of the decision to use the atomic bomb, with the war aims, fears, and political intentions surrounding it, concentrates on the soldiers in the theater who expected a bloody and suicidal struggle on the home islands, and were eager to do anything to avoid it. The author has a remarkable narrative flair and a fine eye for the detail that makes history come alive. Effective use of first-person accounts. Nothing new here, but a fine introduction to the war in the Pacific. Extensive bibliography. Well worth the purchase as a reasonably short and accessible history.