The Pacific War - by John Costello (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"John Costello's The Pacific War is regarded as a classic. ... Unearths new and fascinating material." --The Times (London)

The definitive one-volume account of World War II in the Pacific theater--the first book to weave together the separate stories of the fighting in China, Malaya, Burma, the East Indies, the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Aleutians.

The Pacific War provides a brilliantly clear account of one of the most massive movements of men and arms in history--and meticulously analyzes the complex social, political, and economic causes that underlay the war, enabling the reader to better understand the conflict as the inevitable result of a series of historical events.

Captured in breathtaking detail are the bloody battles--Midway, Guadalcanal, Okinawa, Iwo Jima--that ultimately shaped the modern world. These fiery clashes of great navies and armies still resonate loudly to this day. The Pacific War is the complete story of possibly the most cataclysmic chapter in the annals of human conflict--from its explosive opening salvo at Pearl Harbor to its ominous conclusion in the mushroom clouds of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From the Back Cover

John Costello's The Pacific War has now established itself as the standard one-volume account of World War II in the Pacific. Never before have the separate stories of fighting in China, Malaya, Burma, the East Indies, the Phillipines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Aleutians been so brilliantly woven together to provide a clear account of one of the most massive movements of men and arms in history. The complex social, political, and economic causes that underlay the war are here carefully analyzed, impelling the reader to see it as the inevitable conclusion to a series of historical events. And the bloody fighting that indelibly recorded names like Midway and Iwo Jima in the annals of human conflict is described in detail, through its ominous conclusion in the mushroom clouds of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Review Quotes

"Clearly the best one-volume treatment of the subject now in print." -- Library Journal

"There is no other general history that's a thorough." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Vivid . . . well done" -- New York Times Book Review

"John Costello's The Pacific War is regarded as a classic. . . . unearths new and fascinating material" -- The Times (London)

"Panoramic . . . a detailed account of the strategies, battles, and negotiations between the U.S. and Japan." -- Washington Post