Customer Reviews

Bloody Tarawa: The 2d Marine Division, November 20-23, 1943

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading John Wukovits' One Square Mile of Hell I just had to find another book about Tarawa, and was fortunate to come across Bloody Tarawa. While I have not read the earlier edition of this book, I can only believe that the addition of the photos and maps just increase the realism in its portrayal of the battle. I found myself constantly flipping back to the maps and to the photos while reading the text, which made it as close to a multimedia experience one can get in a book.

Bloody Tarawa doesn't delve into the personal pre and post war lives of specific soldiers as does Wukovits One Square Mile. While that worked in One Square Mile, Hammel's Bloody Tarawa gives you the minute by minute detail as it is experienced by individual soldiers and small squads. Its as if you are watching 10-30 minute segments of the battle from different perspectives on the beach head. Very effective!

This book isn't about strategy, tactics, or weapons. Its about discrete scenes lived by these marines during the battle which are weaved together to give you the entire picture. It's as if Eric Hammel were a journalist reporting just what he witnessed as it happened. He must have interviewed dozens of marines who were there.

The photos are very impactful. Some are very clear, while others are somewhat muddled, giving you a gut feel for the experience lived by these soldiers. I just wish there were more WWII history books written like this with the number and quality of photos like Bloody Tarawa.

The pictures in this book is what makes the book amazing. I would almost say that every picture taken at Tarawa is in this book, simply amazing. The pictures make the book awesome but the book itself is not the best there is. The book focuses on each individual's perspective of Tarawa and loses focus on the overall battle. I found it very difficult to keep up with the big picture because of all the first hand accounts. The book focuses mostly on how bloody and destructive Tarawa was but not so much on what was learned or accomplished at Tarawa. Tarawa truly redefined the amphibious assault and I do not believe that this book does that justice. I would give it four stars because of the pictures incorporated with the first hand accounts. There are deffinitely better books on Tarawa but this is still one of the good ones out there.

I have read many books on Tarawa and this is the best. It has many photos I have not seen before and yet had room to describe the battle in detail

this is an excellent book, well researched and written. I highly recommend any other books by this author.

The story covers numerous events and individuals but is still presented chronologically so it is easy to understand how the situation developed. But I only give this 4 stars because there were no maps to illustrate American vs Japanese positions vs time. Instead you have to take a text description of positions and attempt to figure out what was going on by looking at a single set of maps. Ideally this book would also have included the invasion map that includes coordinates used to call in for air and artillery support (I have seen such a map for Iwo Jima and they provide an excellent way to explain where something was happening).

Disclaimer: This is the first book I have read re: Tarawa, and I wasnt there, so I cant vouch for historical accuracy.

After reading the author's fine books on Guadalcanal, I went out and bought the books on Iwo Jima and Tarawa. They're all great though the last two have different formats than the first.

The book starts with a brief history of the US and Japan in the Pacific in general and then more specifically about the Gilbert Islands.
This book is about the men on the ground that fought the battle; it describes the many experiences of actual combat the men endured to capture the island. Its very moving. The book also contains a large selection of great photos that help give greater meaning to the narrative. These photos show the effective defenses the Japanese built that made conquering the island 100 times worse.
If you have an interest in this battle, I urge you to read it. If you already have other books on the battle, you should still get this book; the photos are that good.

The book is well written and the pictures are an added bonus. High quality all the way through.

I have never read a book that was so describative about a battle. When you can have first hand interview with veterans of the action that was engauged, it gives you more of a feeling of what it was like. tom