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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Glorious Journey Through Time, August 24, 2004
This review is from: Let the Sea Make a Noise...: A History of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur (Paperback)
The best books are those so rich in character and content that you can revisit them time and again, certain that you will discover new layers of enjoyment and insight with each reading. Walter A. McDougall's "Let the Sea Make a Noise... : A History of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur" is just such a book. How fortunate we are that Perennial has newly released this volume in paperback!
McDougall takes the reader on a glorious (though sometimes harrowing) journey through time. He has succeeded in combining painstaking research and carefully considered commentary with a wonderfully woven and witty narrative. This gripping tale of the North Pacific is a genuine page-turner: a rare treat on the menu of today's history books!
Contrary to the lone opinion of a Washington State Amazon reader, rest assured that "Let the Sea Make a Noise..." is a balanced and scholarly presentation of the complexities of international relations. Written in the early 1990s (when Japan's economic prominence in the midst of Soviet collapse was the source of widespread international concern), McDougall's insights in "Let the Sea Make a Noise..." are often profoundly visionary and always poignant and honest. He has done an outstanding job of crafting an entertaining, yet intricate examination of the motivating forces that have shaped a wondrous region of our planet.
Once you have enjoyed this book, be sure to seek out McDougall's just-published "Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History: 1585-1828".
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing addition to the storied history of the Pacific., April 11, 1999
By A Customer
As a former student of Professor McDougall, I am fully aware of his many talents as a teacher and a writer. In Let the Sea Make a Noise, Professor McDougall shares all of his talents in a most enjoyable fashion. The running conversation between several of the siginficant personalities who shaped the history of the Pacific explains why events unfolded as they did. Although lighthearted at times, these conversations clearly set forth the policies and morals possessed by the nations who constantly struggled in this vast expanse. Similarly, Professor McDougall's descriptions of the significant events of this era are outstanding. It often feels like you are there. Most noteworthy, Professor McDougall cuts to the heart of the issues, shares only the essential facts, and demonstrates their significance. Thus, the reader can appreciate the complex multitiude of attitudes, personalities, and morals that caused nations to act the way they did. Always entertaining and certainly insightful, this book is a must read for any person interested in the history of this region.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A world-class adventure yarn., December 12, 1997
By A Customer
With the subtitle "A history of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur" and a thickness of 2.5 inches, this Pulitzer Prize-winning author's book might seem awfully heavy reading. It's not. Let the Sea Make a Noise has all the elements of a world-class adventure yarn, made more exciting because the tale is actually true. McDougall begins by exploring different ways of enticing casual readers to plunge into his story. Thanks to this device and his flowing style, you're well into the book before coming up for air. By then, however, you'll be enmeshed in the ebbs and flows among Spanish California, Imperial Russia, Japan, Alaska, the kingdom of Hawaii and the United States. Any story, no matter how gifted the writer, lives or dies by the elements of the tale. McDougall has chosen well -- during the last four centuries the Pacific has been washed by successive waves of expansion, conquering, defeat, retreat, retrenchment and return. McDougall carefully shows how two countries' interactions have affected other countries -- sometimes in surprising and unexpected ways. He intersperses his narrative with conversations among historical figures that a reader might initially find artificial but eventually will anticipate. McDougall correctly realizes that tales of momentous times read best when they're seen through the eyes of the people experiencing them. After all, people make history. c1997, Camie Foster
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