Eyewitness Pacific Theater: Firsthand Accounts of the War in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to the Atomic Bombs [Hardcover]

John T. Kuehn (Author), D.M. Giangreco (Author), Eric M. Bergerud (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 2008

Eyewitness Pacific Theater tells the remarkable story of U.S. operations in the Pacific during World War II by documenting the experiences of the men and women who were stationed there. Written by award-winning author D.M. Giangreco and venerable Commander John T. Kuehn, this volume is illustrated with hundreds of contemporary photos, including wartime pictures of the veterans themselves. Bringing the full force of personal recollections home to the reader, Eyewitness Pacific Theater is accompanied by a full-length compact disc of interviews produced by Emmy Award-winning historical documentarians Rob Lihani and Rob Kirk in collaboration with First Person Productions. Listen to dramatic tales in the voices of the Allied soldiers, sailors, airmen, and medical personnel as they recount the tragedies and triumphs of life during wartime in the Pacific Theater.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; Har/Com edition (October 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402762151
• ISBN-13: 978-1402762154
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Photo Album, October 28, 2009

By 

Dave Schranck "Dave" (Anaheim Ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Eyewitness Pacific Theater: Firsthand Accounts of the War in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to the Atomic Bombs (Hardcover)

This is a relatively large book at 11 in by 9 in with 272 pages. Along with the photos is a running dialog giving a brief summary of the key engagements. Nestled in the dialog are many firsthand accounts of the sailors, soldiers or marines that were there. Though this album is predominately American oriented, a few Japanese give testimony as well. The coverage starts with Pearl Harbor and ends with the bombing of Hiroshima and the Indianapolis incident. A few paragraphs discuss Operation Downfall. After extensive coverage of Pearl harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, Bataan, Guadalcanal, island hopping in the Central Pacific, Mariana Turkey Shoot, the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa and more is presented. Most of the key engagements and key people like Nimitz, Halsey, MacArthur, King, Spruance etc are included so the book would be a good training aid for a new student. Most pages have photos; they're good photos, some even spectacular but many can be seen in other albums. And the dialog is similar to those other photo albums.

While Mr Kuehn claims to be critical even reversionary in his dialog, I saw only modest evidence of it. I would have been more critical for the intelligence and communication gaffs before December 7th, obstinately choosing to invade Peleliu and Luzon, or Halsey's poor judgment at Leyte, the conflicts between King, Nimitz, FDR and MacArthur, the conflicts between Army and Marines or a dozen other situations.

A CD is included if you would like to listen to other first hand experiences which is a nice extra. A Bibliography and Index completes the book.
If you're looking for your first album or are still eager to add to your collection, this one is worth your consideration.