Double-Edged Secrets: U.S. Naval Intelligence Operations in the Pacific During World War II (Bluejacket Books): Holmes, W. J.: 9781557503244: Amazon.com: Books

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Double-Edged Secrets: U.S. Naval Intelligence Operations in the Pacific During World War II (Bluejacket Books) Paperback – January 15, 2013

by W. J. Holmes (Author)

74

Part of: Bluejacket Books (51 books)

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In the foreword to this book, first published in 1978, Sen. Daniel Inouye describes the story as "the raw material of adventure fiction--but this is all true and told in a manner that is at the same time fascinating and professional." Despite the passage of twenty years and the appearance of several studies of code breaking, this inside look at naval intelligence in the Pacific is as powerful as ever. This book provides a compassionate and unique understanding of the war and the business of intelligence gathering.

Assigned to the combat intelligence unit in Honolulu from June 1941 to the end of the war, W. J. Holmes shares his history-making experiences as part of an organization that collected, analyzed, and disseminated naval intelligence throughout World War II. His book not only captures the mood of the period but gives rare insight into the problems and personalities involved, allowing the reader to fully appreciate the painful moral dilemma faced daily by commanders in the Pacific once the Japanese naval codes were broken. Every time the Americans made use of the enemy messages they had decoded, they increased the probability of the Japanese realizing what had happened and changing their codes. And such a change would cause the U.S. Pacific Fleet to lose a vital edge. On the other hand, withholding the information could--and sometimes did--result in the loss of U.S. lives and ships. This revealing study illuminates the difficulties in both collecting intelligence and deciding when to use it.

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Part of series

Bluejacket Books
Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Naval Institute Press
Publication date

January 15, 2013
Dimensions

6.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

1557503249
ISBN-13

978-1557503244
See all details

Michael Smith
106
Paperback
$16.99
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Naval Institute Press; Revised edition (January 15, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1557503249
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1557503244
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,145,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,351 in Ship History (Books)
- #4,801 in Naval Military History
- #20,009 in World War II History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
74

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4.6 out of 5

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Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2024

Verified Purchase

A great read on how, and who, did the intelligence gathering in the Pacific Theater during WWII. Along with the pitfalls of too little and too much distribution of the information, including several examples of both.

Andrew S. Rogers

An interesting and entertaining memoir

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2000

Jasper Holmes could have chosen as his title the phrase his colleague Edwin T. Layton used for his memoirs: And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midway - Breaking the Secrets . As a USN reservist returned to active duty at Pearl Harbor just months before the attack, Holmes was there at the start of the war. And he remained near the center of naval intelligence activities in the Pacific until the end.

My bigggest criticism of this book has nothing to do (directly) with Holmes himself. Like many memoirs written in the decades immediately after the war, this book is limited by the fact that much of the information Holmes would otherwise have been able to share was still officially secret. It would be for later researchers to say what Holmes couldn't.

The other complaint I have is that, based on what I've read elsewhere, Holmes modestly understates the important role he played in the events he describes. It's to his credit that he's eager to praise talented and dedicated cryptologists and analysts. But Holmes frequently makes himself sound like someone standing on the sidelines watching the varsity team play. In fact, he was one of the team's key players.

What could be a highly technical memoir is leavened by a light tone and entertaining asides, like his tales of trying to drive through Honolulu with darkened headlights (a feat he describes as probably a greater danger to the citizens of Honolulu than the Japanese attack was).

Any student of the war in the Pacific, and particularly of Naval Intelligence operations or the attack on Pearl Harbor, will find this an interesting and entertaining memoir.

27 people found this helpful

News from the bowels of Naval South Pacific intellgence

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

Holmes does an great job at filling in holes in understanding of what we knew about Japanese strategic intentions from a NAVAL standpoint but does so with much less bombast than several other authors have done. By the time you have finished half the book you have a much greater understanding of encoding and decoding messages used by both nations. Submarine warfare gets a good inclusion. Having gone from Lt jg when recalled to active duty at the start of the war to Capt at the end of the war reveals a lot about Holmes. This book is an easy read which I found hard to put down. Only criticism is that I would have preferred some maps interspersed with the text versus all being flyleaf or at the back of the book, it still gets 5 stars..

3 people found this helpful

"You Are There" in Pearl Harbor, 1941

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2014

Verified Purchase

Captain Holmes takes the reader all the way from what he was doing on the morning of the Pearl Harbor attack -- (and how he thought it was a drill) -- to the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay and the end of the war in the Pacific, with fascinating details about the intelligence work all along the way that contributed to the winning. His account has a real "you are there" feel, with details from his personal life and accounts of the many interactions he had with other people in the war effort.

The real-life drama is incredible and the behind-the-scenes constant struggle to break the Japanese codes is gripping. Fascinating, too, is Captain Holmes background information, throughout, on what was going on with the U.S. submarine forces in the Pacific theater, and their troubles with torpedoes and minefields.

Highly recommended.

5 people found this helpful

duodecimo tuono

Outsider Becomes Insider

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2014

Verified Purchase

An insider's view of the tension-filled months in the early 1940s in the U.S. intelligence community, written by Jasper Holmes, who rose from middle ranks to become involved in high levels in the function of Station Hypo in Honolulu. Holmes' perspective, starting as an outsider, gives dimension to the story not found in other accounts. Of particular interest is the account he provides of the unappreciative, shameful politically-driven treatment of Joseph Rochefort by higher ups, after he ably led his crew of cryptanalysts to uncover the critical information that made the battle of Midway a potentially winning situation for the vastly outnumbered U.S. naval force. A plethora of other intriguing details revealed about the action by Allied forces in the Pacific and amusing personal anecdotes keeps this account interesting from beginning to end.

2 people found this helpful

David E. Meadows

Great insight into the Radio Intelligence Units of World War II & the fall of Joe Rochefort.

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2016

Verified Purchase

Holmes is the real thing when it comes to Radio Intelligence Unit insight during World War II. Working alongside Joe Rochefort, Edwin Layton, and the others who made up the Combat Intelligence Unit in Pearl Harbor his revealing insight about how Navy politics sidelined Rochefort for the remainder of World War II after his successful leadership revealed the imminent attack planned by the Imperial Japanese Navy against Midway. A phenomenal writer with an impressive portfolio during this time. Names he provide become historic cryptologists as the Navy changing tides and uses of this group of code breakers. Read it.

One person found this helpful

Russell A. Fleischman

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2021

Verified Purchase

Interesting topic, but I didn’t like the writing style. It’s obviously not written by a professional author, the style was very “folksy”. I didn’t finish reading the book. I believe there are much better books on the topic.

One person found this helpful

The Magic at Pearl Harbor

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2014

Verified Purchase

This is an excellent book, written firsthand, about the breaking of important parts of the Japanese Naval code during WWII. The really interesting part, to me, was about Traffic Analysis; the determination of what ships were moving where by the volumne of radio traffic from certain known locations, a harbor master, for example, in Rabaul. The traffic from his location would yield tremendous insights into ship deployment and locations.
It's books such as these that give us a really good look into the command decisions of the Pacific theater during the war. I highly recommend this book.

2 people found this helpful

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Brian36

A good book to pass around

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

Well written from the USN point-of-view about WW2 in the Pacific. It was mentioned a Tom Clancy book so I searched around for it. A good book to pass around.

Aristide

Molto interessante

Reviewed in Italy on May 12, 2016

Verified Purchase

Questo libro mette in evidenza il lavoro dell'intelligence nel teatro del Pacifico, dopo Pearl Harbour. L'autore espone con chiarezza il modo di lavorare e gli schermi messi in atto per non far capire al nemico che si aveva la capacità di decrittare i codici giapponesi.

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Al Dupuis

Enlightened Resder

Reviewed in Canada on June 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

While the story was drawn out at times, it was a very good explanation of how Intelligence was acquired and how it affected the outcome of the War in the Pacific. My many thanks to all the people who worked so hard for Peace.

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