World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study [Hardcover]

Gordon L. Rottman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313313954 | ISBN-13: 978-0313313950 | Publication Date: December 30, 2001

Covering all Pacific islands involved in World War II military operations, this book is a detailed, single source of information on virtually every geo-military aspect of the Pacific Theater. Arranged regionally and, to the extent possible, chronologically according to when islands entered the war, entries provide complete background information. Along with island names, nicknames, Allied code names, location, and wartime time zones, the entries include such topics as the island's physical characteristics, weather, health hazards, historical background, native population, natural resources, and military value. Japanese and Allied strategies and operations, military problems caused by terrain, military installations, Japanese units and key commanders, Allied units and key commanders, and brief battle descriptions are also covered along with the island's postwar status. A valuable resource for researchers, historians, military history enthusiasts, and war gamers, the book provides complete background information on the geo-military aspects of the Pacific Ocean region, its islands, and the roles they played in the war. 108 maps provide specific information. Until now, geo-military information could only be found by searching four to ten publications on each island.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Rottman has prepared an excellent research tool that will be invaluable to any serious student of WW II in the Pacific....Thanks to Rottman, it is now much easier to decipher the vast store of historical data on WW II still languishing in archives, and to integrate that information with previous scholarship. Highly recommended for all university libraries serving programs in history or anthropology. All levels.”–Choice

“A source of value for researchers, historians, military history enthusiasts, and wargamers, this work provides complete information on the geo-strategic aspects of numerous Pacific islands, and their role during the war.”–39/45 Magazine

“This is a unique book in the literature of the Pacific War, providing in one place basic information about each island caught up in that conflagration, including geographic characteristics, prewar and postwar history, and World War II events as exerienced by Allied and Japanese sides alike. As such, the volume is a valuable reference work for Pacific war historians and buffs, including wargamers, as was intended by the author, who in encyclopedic fashion has compiled all the relevant data and information he could find from the wide range of works consulted.”–The Journal of Military History

About the Author

GORDON L. ROTTMAN has served 26 years in the U.S. Army in Special Forces, airborne infantry, long-range reconnaissance patrol, and military intelligence assignments in the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve. He began writing military history books in 1984. He is employed by TRW System and Information Technology Group as a special operations forces scenario writer at the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 504 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (December 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313313954
• ISBN-13: 978-0313313950
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Excellent!, February 20, 2005

By 

Alexander Bielakowski (Leavenworth, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study (Hardcover)

World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study is a detailed survey of the Pacific islands which served as battlegrounds during the war. The author, Gordon L. Rottman, a retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant and Vietnam veteran, served with elite units, such as the Airborne, Rangers, and Special Forces. Rottman is also the author of more than two dozen other books, including most recently: U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle: Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939-1945 (Greenwood Press, 2001) and Korean War Order of Battle: United States, United Nations, and Communist Ground, Naval, and Air Forces, 1950-1953 (Praeger Press, 2002).

The 477 pages of the World War II Pacific Island Guide are divided into three parts. In Part I, "Geo-Military Aspects of the Pacific Theater", Rottman briefly discusses the Pacific Ocean, physical categories of islands, health hazards, island populations and political dynamics, distances and dimensions, times and dates, military organization, and military ranks. In Part II, he provides a chronology of World War II in the Pacific. In Part III, which occupies the vast majority of the book, Rottman discusses (in detail) the islands themselves and the battles fought on or near them. This last portion of the book is itself divided into six sections - Central and Southern Pacific U.S. Possessions, South Pacific Area, Southwest Pacific Area, Central Pacific Area, Western Pacific, and North Pacific Area.

I can think of absolutely nothing that has been omitted from the World War II Pacific Island Guide and the only criticism that I can make regarding this superb volume is its prohibitive cost. I certainly do not blame the author and I realize that this is a specialty book, but $104.95 is an utterly ridiculous price. Unfortunately, the price will probably prevent many people from purchasing this volume, which is regrettable, because I believe that it should be on the shelf of anyone seriously interested in the Pacific Theater during World War II. I highly recommend this book and I am convinced that it will be a generation or two (if ever) before it is supplanted.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Work of Military Geography, January 17, 2002

By 

Stuart M. Kohn (Maplewood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study (Hardcover)

This is a superb work of research and a must have for those interested in the WWII Pacific Campaign and military geography. This is indeed one of the best works of military geography that I have seen in many years. Rottman's book provides a detailed summary of each island in the pacific that was either fought over or used as a military base. Along with a geographical and historical background of the islands are summaries of the battles and/or operations that took place on each one. This book is a perfect compliment to Rottman's recent WWII USMC OB book.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive work flawed by myriad errors, September 16, 2009

By 

A. Saunders - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study (Hardcover)

As the previous reviewers have stated, this is a wide-ranging review of the geography of the Pacific Islands of importance during World War II. It is very impressive in its scope and level of detail. Sadly, it is flawed by being riddled with basic errors. A few examples: the book states that the battle of the Coral Sea occurred in March, 1942 (not a mere typo; the battle is placed _before_ the Doolittle Raid on a time line of the Pacific War). The book seems to randomly confuse east and west when stating directions: it states that Wake Island is _west_ of Tokyo and that Midway is _east northeast_ of Oahu, among many many examples of east and west being reversed. A final example: the text description and the map of Johnston Island disagree in scale by a large factor, so it is impossible to tell from the book what the dimensions of the island were at the time of the war. Finally, the book suffers by lacking reference notes for the facts stated in the text. It does include a "selected" bibliography, but without reference notes in the text, it is effectively impossible for the reader to trace the statements in the text back to their primary sources. I consider this a crippling shortcoming in what aspires to become a standard reference work.

I believe that this book has great potential as reference, and a later edition, thoroughly edited and revised, and with references included in the text, would be much closer to fulfilling that potential than the present version.