Customer Reviews

Bull Halsey

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

 

 

This work, overall, is a good biography of Admiral William "Bull" Halsey. He is most renowned for his work in the Pacific Theater during World War II, with distinguished service from Gaudalcanal to Okinawa. This volume does a sound job in laying out his career in the Pacific.

A couple cavils: (1) The jumping back and forth between his early life and World War II makes for a sometimes jarring narrative; (2) Some of the more controversial aspects of his leadership in World War II, such as his decision-making in the Philippines, seem a bit underplayed.

I'm not sure of the background of the John Wayne movie, In Harm's Way, but the description of Halsey taking over from his predecessor here sure has some analogues with John Wayne's Rock Torrey taking over from an ineffectaul admiral to win a battle that has some clear parallels with Guadalcanal.

Halsey was a "take no prisoners," "full steam ahead" fighting admiral. It is interesting to compare this biography with, for example, a nice biography of his colleague Raymond Spruance, The Quiet Warrior. These admirals of the Pacific had very different personalities and tactics. Nonetheless, they were both effective in their distinct ways.

This volume certainly informs readers of those facets of Halsey's leadership that served the United States well in the Pacific. All in all, despite some questions one might have about the book, this is worth reading by those interested in the naval war in the Pacific during World War II.

E.B. Potter's biography on Admiral William "Bull" Halsey proves to be pretty well written, researched and very readable book. Like some of the other reviewers, I didn't like the way the author skipped around Halsey's life at the beginning but I thought it didn't distract from the overall book.

I regards this as an introductionary biography on Halsey simply because as one previous reviewer stated, it really doesn't say too much about Bull Halsey the man. This book read like the military biography of Halsey and thus feel incomplete as a full biography.

The book proves to be "Halsey friendly" most of the time. However the author couldn't hide the fact that Halsey was a very overt racist and that he made a serious error in judgment at Leyte Gulf where only the timidness of the Japanese Admiral Kurita saved Halsey's reputation. The book did make it clear that Halsey's racial hatred toward the Japanese came about long before Pearl Harbor. Author never explain how or why Halsey developed such an attitude toward people he had little or no interaction with.

But overall, as a military biography of Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, this book meet all the points of interest. Its clearly written and gives a good understanding of Halsey as a navy man and as a fleet commander.

I purchased this book expecting it to be on a par with the biographies of Douglas MacArthur, Chester Nimitz, George S. Patton Jr. and Dwight D. Eisenhower that have been written by such authors as William Manchester, Carlos D'Este, Stephen Ambrose and yes, E.B. Potter. Needless to say, I was disappointed after reading this book.

The organization of the book was spotty in the beginning, alternating between the events surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and afterwards and Halsey's early years. I would have preferred it had Potter begun with Halsey's geneaological background and progressed through to his years at Annapolis, his years commanding destroyers, the time he learned how to fly (even though his eyesight did not meet Navy standards), and his leadership during World War II. Or the book could have opened with Halsey issuing his first battle order before the attack on Pearl Harbor and then going to a straight narrative (without shifting back and forth between Pearl Harbor and his early years). The organization of the book, as it is, distracts from the portrait that Potter is trying to paint of his subject, which is colorful enough.

But Potter doesn't let the person of Admiral Halsey truly step forth. There is much that I would have liked to have learned, which this book does not answer. For example, what was his family ancestry? What was his family life like? Why did he develop his prejudices against the Japanese, and did he have any others?

The author has merely scratched the surface of his subject with this work. As this book demonstrates, Halsey was popular with the sailors and naval officers, and did much to guarantee the Allied victory in the Pacific, yet more than once he was reckless with the lives of his sailors and naval officers. A full biography of Halsey,in the style of AMERICAN CAESAR or PATTON: A GENIUS FOR WAR has yet to be written.

I really enjoyed this book and looked forward to it each evening. If you are a student of history this is one you just need to read to open up your knowledge of the WW II in the south pacific. It will also may you want to know more about many of the characters of the era...

It tells the story of a true maverick in the navy. E.P. Potter added a new piece of the puzzle for World War II navy. It is right up there with his book at Nimitz. Must read for any World War Ii history buffs.

Longtime United States Naval Academy professor E. B. Potter presents us here with a biography of William F. "Bull" Halsey, the famed USN admiral of the Pacific War. This book covers Halsey's military life and exploits in thorough detail. Halsey's participation in the Great White Fleet of Teddy Roosevelt, his time spent in destroyers and his introduction into aviation late in life all make for great reading in describing the growth of the pre-WWII Halsey as a naval commander.

Where we get the most fully developed picture of Halsey is in his leadership during WWII. From the early raids on the outlying Japanese possessions, his bitter disappointment in missing Midway, to his dramatic replacement of Ghormley during the Guadalcanal campaign and perseverance throughout Operation Cartwheel we see him come into his own as the eventual commander of the Big Blue Fleet. It is only at this highest level that we see Halsey's actions called into question, most prominently the decision to abandon the San Bernardino Strait to confront Ozawa's Northern Force at Leyte Gulf. Halsey spent much of his post-WWII years in defending himself, often ineptly, against the charge that he had "taken the bait" and left the strait wide open for Kurita's Central Force.

As another reviewer stated, where Potter fails to give us a full picture is of Halsey the man, the way Manchester did with MacArthur, D'este with Patton, or even Potter himself with his earlier biography of Nimitz. We know Halsey smoked a lot, and liked to drink, but what other interests or hobbies did he have? What books did he read? How disappointed was he that his son's poor eyesight would keep him from significant posts in the navy? These types of details are what help give such a complete picture of the subjects mentioned above in their excellent biographies. Even Nimitz, admittedly much less colorful than Patton or MacArthur, was still fully developed by Potter in the earlier biography. Despite this shortcoming, the book still merits four stars due to its thorough coverage of Halsey's many achievements and few, though highly publicized, mistakes as a naval commander.

One last note: The disjointed chronology, which seems to have bothered other reviewers, was not a problem. If you can grasp the movie Pulp Fiction, or the Seinfeld episode where they go to the wedding in India, Potter's timeline should provide little challenge.

Bull Halsey is an inspiration for all who have ever worn a uniform in any service. E.B. Potter I think does him justice in this biography, which I expect will become a standard as has his life of Nimitz.

I read all three of EBPotter's naval biographies and found the Halsey biography to be on par with Nimitz and Burke. While not as lengthy as other Halsey biographies, I could not put the book down because I found it so interesting and compelling.

Kept me interested from cover to cover. E.B. Potter does an excellent job of bringing history to life with this biography of Halsey.

In keeping with Professor Potter's work about Admiral Nimitz, this, IMHO, is the definitive work about one of the most controversial admirals in naval history. I consider this book as a THE reference work about Halsey.