Customer Reviews

Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

If one could read two accounts of the Pacific War written from the perspective of Americans this book and Sledges "With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa" would be the best that one can get. There are a lot of very good narrative history books on all aspects of the Pacific War, but the poet-gone-to-war genre is something that really the British usually do much better than the Americans. That is why when I stumbled upon Manchester's memoirs I was immediately sucked into the guts of wartime experience.

Manchester writes with passion borne from desperation and experience of long times in the firing line. He waxes from the lyrical experiences of a fireside chat on the battle-line with a student of philosophy (himself?) regalling the troops with an exposition on the nature of time. One is left with the images of hard worn veterans from small American towns, experiencing the wonder of ideas for the first time on the eve of battle. Their far off, empty stares as the philosopher marine finishes his exposition in sheer silence is something that one can almost feel. That very same night they cut up a large Banzai charge on Guam --- one can cut the atmosphere of the book with a knife.

Manchester can then go on an describe his visceral uncomfortable feelings of being close to the Japanese today. Their inability to admit to former attrocities is something that Manchester admits, planted the seed of dislike deeply inside him. Try as he might he cannot shake it and we are at least amazed with his honesty. This contrasts with the cerebral, fair-minded Manchester we all know from his biographies.

I have read more than 200 narrative histories and memoirs of the Pacific War, British, American, Japanese, Indian and Chinese, Australian, Canadian ... and this is one of the best. Like all good books, it stays with you for a long time....

Not only is William Manchester a first rate writer, but he was there. The title of this book depicts his nightmares as a repository left over from his experiences in the infantry in the South Pacific in WWII. His attempts to dispel them are worked out through visiting each island the marines fought on in the pacific theatre.

His marine outfit was made up of Ivy leaguers like himself and the book is a distillation of his exploits. He takes the reader through the island fighting on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, New Guinea, the Philipines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The scenes in which he describes the fighting are absolutely gripping, This is easily as good as any war novel I've ever read if only for the descriptions of the combat. His description of the apparition in the foxhole with him in the Philipines is some of the best writing I've ever read. True, I'm not a literature buff, but this man can really write. It's too bad that more people aren't aware of it today.

William Manchester is a great historian and an excellent writer. His history is well written and very fair. He goes to great efforts to keep his writing balanced, and he does so successfully. Just read his biography of MacArthur. So, I was quite surprized to read Goodbye Darkness and see and read Manchesters personal reaction to combat in the Pacific. This is some read. Graphic, disturbing, and yet giving you a great appreciation for what our WWII veterans accomplished in the Pacific. This book should be mandatory reading on WWII. The war in the Pacific was a horrible but neccessary war. Manchesters journal of this combat is unforgettable reading. A must read.

In June, 1992, I flew into Guadalcanal to begin research on my great uncle's experience as a Marine during the WWII campaign. My plan was to retrace his steps during the months-long battle fifty years to the day after he took those steps.

My six-month-long stay on Guadalcanal was preceded by more than a year of reading every single thing I could get my hands on about the battle. I read every book I could find in the English language -- accounts from Brits, Kiwis, Aussies -- as well as a few translated from Japanese. I spent two weeks at the Marine Corps Historical Museum in D.C. going through my great uncle's unit's combat reports.

This book was by far the best I read about our Marines in the WWII Pacific Theatre. Manchester is a writer for the ages, a national treasure.

He didn't fight in the battle for the 'Canal -- his struggles came later. But he takes the reader to war like no other book because he takes us inside himself -- his fears, his hauntings and nightmares about what he saw and experienced firsthand. They are deeply personal and he makes them ours.

Manchester was/is a Marine; but God has made him a writer first and foremost. As a sample of this man's soaring prose, consider his tribute to those who fought for Guadalcanal:

"...[T]o me that struggle was more than a strategic victory. It was, and is, eloquent testimony to the fortitude of man. Men generally do what is expected of them; usually that is very little. On the 'Canal they were asked to do what was believed to be impossible, and the shining response of those Marines on the line is historic. I shall never forget them, nor should you.'

Read this book!

"Citizen Soldier" by a real citizen soldier, who also happens to write his own stuff, and even manage to keep his sources straight. A time capsule straight from the atolls of the Pacific. Mr. Manchester wrestles with how he managed to survive some of history's bloodiest conflicts, while many of his brothers in arms gave their full measure. Combat descriptions that rival "Once An Eagle" make this the most gripping memoir of war ever written.

A wonderful and well-deserved tribute to those who gave the last full measure during the Pacific War. Certainly does not sugar-coat the realities and horrors of combat. Reads well--incredible imagery as only Manchester could write it. However, Manchester the biographer and Manchester the autobiographer are two different authors, meaning that this book is not nearly as objective as his other works. He spends no small amount of time pontificating about the moral and social decay of America's younger generation, as he basically "vents" thirty years' worth of frustration and emotion. Provides an outstanding broad overview of the entire Pacific War, not just Okinawa. Once again, he uses incredible imagery to paint vibrant word pictures of all the places he visits or re-visits, including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, New Guinea, Leyte, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, etc. He also introduces the reader to the local inhabitants of some of these places. You read this book in full color.

This book chronicles the personal experiences of William Manchester, one of the best authors of histories and biographies of the last twenty years. Manchester describes his experiences as a young adult fighting with the U.S. Marines in the Pacific theater of World War II.

I believe that this book is particularly valuable for young men in a society that is ambivalent about its armed forces. Manchester's chronicle follows him from the excitement and unbrideld patriotism of the early war years through the progressively deeper understanding he gains of himself as the war drags on and the battles become ever more fierce. By the end of the book Manchester is in a battle to survive and is, in fact, nearly killed in one of the war's final battlefields on the road to Japan.

I received this book fifteen years ago as a high school graduation gift. I found it a very moving story and it had a profound impact on me. This many years later I never miss an opportunity to recommend this author, and especially this book. You will be well served to give this book as a gift to any young man facing the challenges of growing up in a society that needs its soldiers but doesn't really know how it feels about their craft. Enjoy.

Ted Wham
May 17, 1996

Most Americans have been exposed to "Saving Private Ryan" and HBO's exceptional series "Band of Brothers," and many of us have read "Ghost Soldiers." All are excellent ways for us to learn of the sacrifices our fathers made on behalf of our own, personal freedoms during WWII. To say one enjoys those films and that book is somewhat of a mis-statement. It is difficult to enjoy recollections of personal suffering and sacrifice. We do, however, appreciate the personal courage of the men's experiences and stand in awe of them to the nth degree.

As much as I appreciated the likes of "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers" among other books and films on WWII, no book on the subject has touched my soul like William Manchester's "Goodbye Darkness." Through the book, Manchester returns to the Pacific and visits the islands that were the sites of the greatest carnage of WWII. He comments on what he sees during his visit in 1978 or so, but is continually drawn back in time to the events that occurred there that ultimately led to the defeat of the Japanese Empire. Noticeably, Manchester rarely uses the word "Japenese," rather he refers to "Japs" and "Nips." In today's politically correct environment, Manchester's references would be considered totally unacceptable. However, as you read his recollections of the engagements he and thousands of other Marines participated in, and you tally up the tremendous loss of human life in the process, you will excuse him for his political incorrectness. Manchester makes the most convincing case to justify the deployment of the atom bomb to bring an end to the conflict. Neutral on the topic prior to reading this book, I am now convinced that the use of nuclear arms to end the war with Japan was justified in a way that can only be appreciated after reading this book.

"Goodbye Darkness" should be required reading for all high school students. I watched O'Reilley the other night and heard the segment on UNC making a book on the Quaran mandatory reading for incoming freshmen. Poppycock! Make them read "Goodbye Darkness" so that each can truly appreciate the sacrifices his forefathers made. This is a must read for every American today and in future generations.

This book reminds me of the movie Full Metal Jacket somewhat - not that it was that dark, just that it gives the reader of view of what it was like in boot camp and then into the battle. The author does a very good job with this work. He is known for telling other peoples tails, but he does a great job with his own story. The battle information is top of the class and the details on a Marine beach assault, teaches the reader everything you need to know. This is more then an old solder telling you about the letters he received, it passes for a very good start to the pacific theater with background as to why a battle was taking place. He also does a great job of describing the battles from a solders point of view, in the class of Black Hawk Down. I would recommend this book before a larger comprehensive history, it will get you excited to take them on.

As one who reads many WWII stories, I had heard about this book and decided to buy it when I saw it at a library sale. I had understood that this book was about Manchester's war time experiences while battling in the Pacific theater. However, I didn't realize that it would be written in a Salinger-Vonnegut style.

Before you read this book, you need to know that this book is not a month by month account of the authors' fighting in the Pacific. Rather, it appears to be an exorcism of his memories of entering boot camp, becoming a Marine, and then being shipped off to fight the Japs. The book switches from his narration of the past to his current (1978) trip back to the Pacific islands and then describes the comparison between the two. Initially, this writing style took me by surprise. But, once I understood how he was writing, the book became quite interesting as Manchester juxtaposes his past with the present.

Manchester also does not disguise his anger and dislike of the Nips. He tells it the way it is without modern day political correctness. His writing allows the reader to feel as the Marines were feeling back in 1944/45 while battling on those hot, god-forsaken islands.