Book review: Miracle at Midway by Gordon W. Prange
I am fascinated by the Battle of Midway. In June 1942 the Japanese were trying to launch a surprise attack at Midway, but the Americans were able to turn the tables and sink four Japanese aircraft carriers. It was a major setback for the Japanese. Many on both sides agree that this was the deciding battle for the Pacific conflict. The Japanese went from being on the offensive to fighting a defensive war.
My interest in Midway was first peaked with Victor Davis Hanson's Carnage and Culture. The book covers several “Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power.” Professor Hanson spends fifty five pages on Midway. One of the main points is that the American culture allowed greater flexibility at the individual level which paid great dividends. For example several times American pilots were directed to certain locations to attack the Japanese fleet. When the pilots arrived, they didn’t see any ships. Rather than wait for instructions, they went looking for the ships. Invariably they made the right decisions and the final result was the complete destruction of all four carriers.
Miracle at Midway by Gordon W. Prange covers the Battle of Midway in great detail. Four hundred sixty pages summarize years of research. To prepare for this book the author waded through dozens of diaries and thousands of pages of government records. This research was on both the American side and the Japanese side. The author interviewed many of the survivors.
The result is an engaging book. It was hard for me to put down. The author did a great job of taking the reader through the events. It is easy to follow what was happening, even with the story taking place simultaneously at several locations.
The book also does a great job of showing the “fog of war.” Often times leaders on both sides were forced to make major decisions with faulty or incomplete information. Because of the exhaustive research the author has the details from both sides. I was surprised by how many times a pilot would claim to hit a ship of a certain time, but the records from the other side would show the ship was a smaller class. Sometimes the author was not able to find any record of any ship being attacked.
If you want to know more about the Battle of Midway this is a great book to read.
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Technorati tags: Miracle, Battle, Midway, Gordon Prange
My interest in Midway was first peaked with Victor Davis Hanson's Carnage and Culture. The book covers several “Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power.” Professor Hanson spends fifty five pages on Midway. One of the main points is that the American culture allowed greater flexibility at the individual level which paid great dividends. For example several times American pilots were directed to certain locations to attack the Japanese fleet. When the pilots arrived, they didn’t see any ships. Rather than wait for instructions, they went looking for the ships. Invariably they made the right decisions and the final result was the complete destruction of all four carriers.
Miracle at Midway by Gordon W. Prange covers the Battle of Midway in great detail. Four hundred sixty pages summarize years of research. To prepare for this book the author waded through dozens of diaries and thousands of pages of government records. This research was on both the American side and the Japanese side. The author interviewed many of the survivors.
The result is an engaging book. It was hard for me to put down. The author did a great job of taking the reader through the events. It is easy to follow what was happening, even with the story taking place simultaneously at several locations.
The book also does a great job of showing the “fog of war.” Often times leaders on both sides were forced to make major decisions with faulty or incomplete information. Because of the exhaustive research the author has the details from both sides. I was surprised by how many times a pilot would claim to hit a ship of a certain time, but the records from the other side would show the ship was a smaller class. Sometimes the author was not able to find any record of any ship being attacked.
If you want to know more about the Battle of Midway this is a great book to read.
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Technorati tags: Miracle, Battle, Midway, Gordon Prange
posted by Henry Cate | 7/20/2009 08:00:00 AM
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