Pacific War Book Recommenations Needed

[Adam_S]

Hi all

 

I've been doing a fair bit of reading about the war in the Pacific in 1942 recently and was wondering if anybody could give me a couple of book recommendations to fill in some gaps. In particular, I'd be interested in any books that cover:

 

1. The first half or so of 1943, in particular the Tawara invasion and the carrier operations leading up to it. I know that fighting was still going on in the Solomons and New Guinea at the time, but I'm interested in what else was happening at the time. Anything that deals with the Essex and Independence classes coming on stream and how the US Navy rebuilt itself after the losses throughout 1942 would be of particular interest. A good history of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign as a whole would also be of interest.

 

2. I've read a lot about the campaign in the Solomons but there seems to be little written about the parallel campaign up through New Guinea. Again, if somebody can recommend a book that deals with the whole campaign and not just the Kokoda Trail then that would be good.

 

3. Finally, if anybody can recommend a good history of the Marianas campaign, then again, that would be much appreciated.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Adam_S

[Archie Pellagio]

"A Bastard of a place" covers the entirety of the New Guinea campaign, good read.

"Storm Landings" covers the central pacific campaigns well.

"Pacific Blitzkrieg" goes into a lot of detail on the strategic and logistics elements of the campaign in the central pacific, a lot of detail on fleet trains and the like.

"D-Day in the pacific" covers Saipan

 

You shouldn't have any trouble finding stuff specifically on Tarawa, Iwo Jima or Okinawa

[Adam_S]

Those look interesting. Thanks.

[Ken Estes]

Storm Landings remains very USMC-centric. I have found the US Army Green Books [mostly available online] to be the most balanced accounts for the Pacific War. For the carriers, Norman Polmar, Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and its Influence on World Events, Vol. I, 1900-1945 (2006) is essential if a bit proto-Mahanite.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Ken Estes

[Archie Pellagio]

Storm Landings remains very USMC-centric.

 

There were other people fighting the Japanese in the Pacific?

 

[Ken Estes]

Not according to Hollywood!

[Adam_S]

Storm Landings remains very USMC-centric. I have found the US Army Green Books [mostly available online] to be the most balanced accounts for the Pacific War. For the carriers, Norman Polmar, Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and its Influence on World Events, Vol. I, 1900-1945 (2006) is essential if a bit proto-Mahanite.

 

Thank you for the heads up about the Green Books. Look what I found:

 

http://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/collect/usaww2.html

[Ken Estes]

That's the one, so happy reads!

[Calvinb1nav]

I really enjoyed Eric Bergerud's Fire in the Sky (about the South Pacific air war) and Touched with Fire (about the SP land campaign). Far more than a simple history, he includes lots of good analysis as to why things happened. I'd rank them as among the best military history books I've read.

[Brian Kennedy]

Second the Bergerud recommendation quite highly!

[Markus Becker]

Second the Bergerud recommendation quite highly!

 

Me too.

[Adam_S]

Ah the joys of holidays. A few more if I may:

 

Any good books about submarine warfare in the Pacific? US and/or Japan?

 

Also, the strategic bombing campaign over Japan.

 

Finally, anything about the fighting in South East Asia? Particularly the fall of Singapore and the Burma campaign?

[Harold Jones]

Please forgive a minor thread jack, but is there a British equivalent of the US Army green books?

[Richard Lindquist]

Please forgive a minor thread jack, but is there a British equivalent of the US Army green books?

There was for WWI, a very complete set of fiction by Gen Edmonds to whitewash away Haig's screwups.

 

.

[Colin Williams]

Please forgive a minor thread jack, but is there a British equivalent of the US Army green books?

This page has a complete list, unfortunately with only a few digitized on the site - http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/index.html

 

Of course for the whole Commonwealth war effort one needs to read the Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian official histories as well as the semi/unofficial South African and Indian. IIRC everything for both Canada and NZ is available online.

[Harold Jones]

Thanks

[Richard Lindquist]

Pacific War Books

 

MacArthur's New Guinea Campaign: March-August 1944 by Nathan Prefer

 

MacArthur's Jungle War: The 1944 New Guinea Campaign by Stephen Taafe

 

MacArthur's Victory: The War in New Guinea, 1943-1944 by Harry A. Gailey

 

From Down Under to Nippon: The Story of Sixth Army in World War II by General Walter Krueger

 

Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific by Eric M. Bergerud

 

Touched With Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific

 

Islands of Destiny: The Solomons Campaign and the Eclipse of the Rising Sun by John Prados

 

Munda Trail: Turning the Tide Against japan in the South Pacific by Eric Hammel

 

Fortress Rabaul: The Battle for the Southwest Pacific, January 1942-April 1943 by Bruce Gamble

 

Target Rabaul: The Allied Siege of Japan's Most Infamous Stronghold, March 1943-August 1945 by Bruce Gamble