Customer Reviews

Hold the Marianas: The Japanese Defense of the Mariana Islands

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This was a well researched account of the fighting in the Marianas during WW2. The author utilised Japanese accounts of the battle to tell the story. He covered the history of the Islands, the Japanese take over, before and during WW2, of the Island chain and the subsequent American effort to re-take the Islands in 1944. Overall the author offered an interesting account into the desperate fighting for these pieces of coral but at times the narrative became dry and repetative. The maps were OK and the authors selection of B&W photos were suitable for the narrative. The author also offered an interesting chapter on relics left from the fighting. Overall this was a decent account of this Pacific campaign.

An interesting account of the battle for the Marianas from the Japanese viewpoint. Better maps and organization would have helped though. At times the book became dry and boring, with endless accounts of Japanese guns and their locations. A good map would have presented this more clearly and quickly. The author obviously knows his stuff but had a hard time presenting it in a readable manner. And the author makes the mistake so many historians make, listing places in the book that the map does not show. If the book mentions it, the map should show it in my opinion. I found the early history of the islands the most interesting part of the book.