Nimitz

This is a wonderfully done work! The best account of the war in the Pacific I have read. The overblown accounts of MacArthur and Halsey over shadowed the real brains, the true hero of the victory. It depicts Nimitz as a strong, but caring man whose tactical and strategic skills are not widely known. It should be required reading for high school/college literature courses.

I bought this book at the Navy Exchange on a whim. Two pages into this book and I was hooked. After 20 years in the Navy after reading this book, I can see Nimitz's impact everywhere I look. Most biographies are written by hero worshiping sychophants, or worse written by the subject of the biography whose recollection of events are always flattering. Potter tackles the single most important man in U.S. Naval history with appriciation, but not at the expense of his detachment. You begin with the Admiral's family history, how his grand father came to America. You then follow his lack luster school performance that explodes into focused determination to pass the Naval Academy's entrance exams. Because the Admiral's claim to fame was his leadership during WW II, the lion's share of the book covers his assumption of command U.S. Forces Pacific and follows it through his presence at the signing of the Japanese surrender at Tokyo bay. However; the last few chapters covering his dedicated work to maintain the U.S. Navy as a seperate and powerful force is eye opening and gives the reader (especialy if your a sailor) a scare at how close the U.S. Navy came to being dismantled like it had been after every war. The thing I took away from the book was as you look around the Navy, many officers are detail minded. The higher the rank, the more of a bean counter they become. I used to be disappointed that we no longer had officers like Perry or John Paul Jones, that they had all become accountant politicians. However; reading this book, I now see that men like Jones, Perry, and Halsey might win battles. It was the detail minded officers like Nimitz that win wars. It is very obvious that in today's Navy officers are trained in the shadow of Nimitz. Many of our ceremonies are now patterned after the way that Nimitz conducted ceremonies. The way we refuel, the submarine, the way we detail sailors, so much of the Navy was forged by Nimitz. This book covers not only his triumphs but his defeats, his short commings. It deals honestly with the subject, with out elevating him to super human. You see a man. This book should be mandatory reading for every sailor on earth. I highly recommend this book!

Some WWII commanders. such as Patton, Ike or MacArthur, seem to have a new book written about them every year or so. For no particular reason, others, no less important, seem to be virtually ignored. Nimitz is one of these men, and it is fortunate that the one biography (as far as I can tell) written about him is quite excellent. Potter writes very well, did some outstanding research, and has an enormous love for his subject, letting Nimitz's natural charm, humor, professionalism, and common sense come through on every page. My only real complaint is that the author's near worship of his subject precludes any real discussion of the admiral's strategy, decisions, and mistakes. Some nice maps, footnotes, an excellent bibliography. Definitely one of those books worth purchasing and reading over and over.

This book is a well written biography that also presents many lessons of leadership. Starting with how Nimitz "conceived the image of an ideal officer and consciously molded himself to conform to that image;" to his introduction of the circular formation to the fleet; to the way he ran planning sessions for World War II Pacific Theater operations. Nimitz was a master storyteller who used stories to convey knowledge and share humor. His political acumen in handling disputes between the Army and the Marine Corps on Saipan and, later, as Chief of Naval Operations testifying before congressional committees over unification of the services provide case studies in executive leadership. Although Nimitz's service in World War II is widely known, I was surprised to learn of his efforts in the late 1940's to mediate the dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir---an area that remains a hot spot today!

As student of WWII Pacific Theater, found this to be the best of available, factual reviews of same and the man - The Admiral - who so often put his country before his personal life and was able to make a major difference in a world at war. A true gentelman, this leader set standards for all who would follow, both in his professional and private lives.