ACES AGAINST JAPAN: THE AMERICAN ACES SPEAK [Mass Market Paperback]

Eric Hammel (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0671529080 | ISBN-13: 978-0671529086 | Publication Date: September 1, 1995

A collection of personal stories relates the experiences of forty American eagle fighter pilots in World War II, from Ensign Wendell Twelves's first engagement in his Hellcat to 1st Lt. Jim Swett's receiving the Medal of Honor. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

An ace is a combat flyer who has downed at least five enemy planes. There have been many American aces, and there are many books describing their exploits. Hammel, a distinguished military historian, has interviewed 25 aces who fought in the Pacific. None of them are professional writers or historians, and their first-person accounts of their exploits are unaffected and honest. No PR hype or dry-as-dust historian's prose here. Hammel allows his flyers to tell their own stories in their own way--from Lieutenant Frank Holmes's tale of flying an obsolete P36 over Pearl Harbor on December 7th to the desperate battles of Midway and Guadalcanal to final victory over Japan. Exciting stuff aviation and World War II buffs will love. Volume 2, Aces Over Germany will be published in spring 1993. For most public libraries.
- Stanley Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Major Michael W. Libbee U.S. Army, The Friday Review of Defense Literature Engrossing....Aces Against Japan is replete with individual heroism and personal feats that almost defy comprehension....Here the American aces tell their own stories with the clarity of detail and detached emotion that only those who experienced the deadly air battles and the terrifying carrier landings could relate. -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671529080
• ISBN-13: 978-0671529086
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,615,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Hammel's writing career began in the 1960s, when he was a teenager. He has had forty military history books, one novel, and more than sixty-five non-fiction articles published. Eric has worked as West Coast contributing editor for Leatherneck Magazine and as a publishing acquisitions and content editor, but he has spent most of the years since 1983 as a full-time author, editor, and publisher.

Free sample chapters from all of Eric Hammel's in-print books can be viewed at his author site, http://www.EricHammelBooks.com
All of his books are available on Amazon.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, April 21, 2000

By 

Melvin Williams - See all my reviews

This review is from: ACES AGAINST JAPAN: THE AMERICAN ACES SPEAK (Mass Market Paperback)

A truly great book. I recommend it for anyone, not just history enthusiasts. The first hand accounts are well written and bring the stories to life. Equally as good is Hammel's other book, ACES AGAINST GERMANY.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The kind of heroics you don't see anymore, December 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: ACES AGAINST JAPAN: THE AMERICAN ACES SPEAK (Mass Market Paperback)

This book has come in "under the radar" and is one of the best-kept secrets of recent WW2 aviation literature. Eric Hammel has done priceless work in collecting an oral history of the air war in the Pacific. I've read it three times and it's every bit as much fun as informative as it ever was. From the pathetic equipment at Pearl Harbor (a beat-up P-36 with only one loaded .30-caliber) through the immortal battles of the Solomons, New Guinea, the Central Pacific, the Marianas, Iwo and Okinawa, to ultimate victory over Japan, this is an outstanding work that ranks with "Samurai!", "Baa Baa Black Sheep", and "God Is My Co-Pilot". Current military management MUST read this, especially the part about how woefully unprepared we were, and see if anything looks familiar about today's military. Take it from me-- I've studied the Pacific War all my literate life, and I've found some stinker books, but this is a gem.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A telling collection of war heroes' stories, January 8, 2001

By 

Claudio Bompadre - See all my reviews

This review is from: ACES AGAINST JAPAN: THE AMERICAN ACES SPEAK (Mass Market Paperback)

The war in the Pacific was a bloody confrontation for the resolution of opponents and the straining combat environment. Flying under such pressure was undeniably a great feat and sustaining a proper level of operational capability was a superb example of airmanship. In this book all aspects of air combat come alive with the intriguing personal tales of the pilots who served in this theater. Each account reveals the insight of lifestyle, tactics and training that led to amazing results in aerial battles. From their personal experience, it is possible to catch the feelings the pilots had about their machinery, climate and combat methods before actually flying the missions in their harsh frontline.

Beatifully written, this volume is really easy to read, even if some accounts disclose a predilection to be stylish or glorifying from time to time.