Customer Reviews

Victory at Sea: World War Ii in the Pacific

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

 

 

The authors originally intended to write a user's manual to a computer program, but the project got so big, that they ended up writing a book. This approach actually works very well here. While Victory at Sea contains few new revelations, it is well organized and interesting to read. If you're looking for an alternative to dry descriptions of World War II in the Pacific, look no farther.

This book is very entertaining. I found it for 4 bucks at a discount bookstore in an outlet mall somewhere. And when I first picked it up, it looked very boring. I thought, "who would want to read a 600 page glossary of terms on World War II in the Pacific?" But I thought for 4 bucks, who cares. It turned out to be a treasure trove of info that a World War II geek like myself just relishes. It's easy to read and has some humor in it too. Highly recommended.

For a book that purports to have a lot of factual information, I find that this one breaks the first rule of research: cite your references and sources. A case in point: where did Mr. Nofi and Mr. Dunnigan find out how much aviation gas certain Japanese carriers could carry? I have never come across a source, and I have seen virtually every one produced, that indicates these figures. Where did they get their information on the efficiency and fuel use (and therefore potential range) of the different ships? Some sources, such as 'Jane's Fighting Ships' cite very limited performance characteristics, and certainly not what is said here. The virtual total lack of references and notes to sources diminishes greatly the value of this book. These all could simply be 'guesstimates' on the part of the authors. This may be a habit of theirs as it is sometimes inevitable when creating wargames, for which especially Mr. Dunnigan deserves 5 stars for his past efforts. The rating for this book is very, very unfortunate but deserved. I can only encourage the authors to be much more precise and academic in their approach. A book such as this should be a laudable reference for amateurs AND academics alike. In its present state it is only a 'pop' history book that may generate sales but does not feed intelligent minds.

I have enjoyed some of the material James Dunnigan has given us about warfare. And I enjoyed this book. But I didn't learn a great deal. If you known almost nothing about World War II in the Pacific, and want a broad, lightweight introduction, this book is okay. If you are looking for an in-depth book, or even a book with some new insights on a few detailed areas, this book probably doesn't fit the bill.

This is an excellent book for beginners especially identifications of war machines on both the Allies and the Japanese in the Pacific war. For them who are interested on an advanced learner, I don't recommend to read this as the history facts are brief not realistic but easy to understand especially on important battles and ship classes used by both navy! It may not be a lot of reading but i find it interesting due to Dunnigan's organized writing. It is brief, simple and easy to understood before reading an advance level!

A must have for the serious student of the Naval war in the Pacific who wants details such as the difference between an LSM (Landing Ship Medium) and an LCT (Landing Craft Tank). Is broken down into concise categories ranging from Campaigns to People. Neat chronology of events. Excellent chapter on war production and logistics. Easy read, large type, I love this book.

ENJOYED THE BOOK VERY MUCH. GOOD MATERIAL AND WELL EXPLAINED AND DOCUMENTED

For a book rich in trivia, as other reviewers write, there are some surprising errors. MUTSU blew up in Hiroshima Bay, not in Hong Kong! I buy everything by Dunnigan, even though I acknowledge that his stuff is sometimes flawed.

This book, however, I got rid of. Likely to have reliability problems and errors that I cannot spot as easily as that one.

Also, too much re-hashing of things that were in others of Dunnigan's books.

True to their sensationalistic "Dirty Little Secrets" series, Dunnigan and Nofi once again take the tabloid approach to history. Their eye for trivia is all encompassing and presented with the arrogance of 20/20 hindsight. Every item is presented with cynicism and an overpowering aire of contempt. The message is clear: If Dunnigan and Nofi had been running World War II we wouldn't have needed all those military dolts who blundered their way through it. If their arrogance isn't bad enough, the authors' factual errors complete the damage. The least and most obvious of such errors are misidenfication of ships.The worst errors come from their pop history tabloid approach. When they claim carriers were only developed because senior officers wanted to keep a few more high ranking billets around in an era of limited battleship commands they are showing their truest, most sensational and cynical colors. These gentlemen should work for the Star or the Enquirer.