Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of six books on World War II, including my book that's listed below and Escape from Java: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the USS Marblehead. My fascination with history began at a young age when I built model ships and read books about World War II. My interest eventually grew into research and writing. I have interviewed scores of veterans from the Pacific War. My articles have appeared in World War II History, Naval History, and World War II Quarterly Magazines.


I wrote

Forgotten Island: The WWII Story of One Sailor's Survival on Japanese-Occupied Guam

By John J. Domagalski,

Book cover of Forgotten Island: The WWII Story of One Sailor's Survival on Japanese-Occupied Guam

What is my book about?

The opening days of World War II in the Pacific found Guam in the Mariana Islands to be an isolated…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice

John J. Domagalski Why did I love this book?

A gripping story of a group of soldiers from Bedford, VA, who participated in the D-Day invasion of France on June 6, 1944. Like all his books, Kershaw seamlessly weaves together the personal side of the war—people stories—with the actual battle—a must-read for anyone interested in World War II.

By Alex Kershaw,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Bedford Boys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

June 6, 1944: Nineteen boys from Bedford, Virginia- population just 3,000 in 1944- died in the first bloody minutes of D-Day. They were part of Company A of the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division, and the first wave of American soldiers to hit the beaches in Normandy. Later in the campaign, three more boys from this small Virginia town died of gunshot wounds. Twenty-two sons of Bedford lost- it is a story one cannot easily forget and one that the families of Bedford will never forget. The Bedford Boys is the true and intimate story of these men and…


Book cover of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway

John J. Domagalski Why did I love this book?

The book provides a fresh look at the pivotal World War II sea battle, generally considered the turning point of the Pacific War. The authors conducted extensive research on both the American and Japanese sides to provide a comprehensive account of the battle. This book is highly readable and enjoyable.

By Anthony Tully, Jonathan Parshall,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Shattered Sword as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange's bestselling Miracle at Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement.

Unlike previous accounts, Shattered Sword makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida's Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan, an uncritical reliance upon which has tainted every previous Western account. It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation…


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Book cover of Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)

Me and The Times By Robert W. Stock,

Me and The Times offers a fresh perspective on those pre-internet days when the Sunday sections of The New York Times shaped the country’s political and cultural conversation. Starting in 1967, Robert Stock edited seven of those sections over 30 years, innovating and troublemaking all the way.

His memoir is…

Book cover of No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II

John J. Domagalski Why did I love this book?

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin provides a brilliant account of the American home front just before and during World War II, with Franklin and Elenor Roosevelt as the central characters. Based on extensive historical research, the book tells the story of a pre-war isolationist America transforming into a world power by the end of the conflict. The book was the 1995 Pulitzer Prize Winner in History.

By Doris Kearns Goodwin,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked No Ordinary Time as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A chronicle of the US and its leaders during the period when modern America was created. It narrates the interrelationships between the inner workings of the Roosevelt White House and the destiny of the US, painting a portrait that fills in a historical gap in the story of America under Roosevelt.


Book cover of Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II

John J. Domagalski Why did I love this book?

The book tells the story of tanker Clarence Smoyer, who served with the Third Armored Division during the last months of World War II in Europe. Makos expertly tells the personal story of the soldier and his tank as the unit thrust into Germany in early 1945. Smoyer’s tank is involved in a famous one-on-one duel with a German tank in Cologne. It's a thrilling read!

By Adam Makos,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Spearhead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER 

“A band of brothers in an American tank . . . Makos drops the reader back into the Pershing’s turret and dials up a battle scene to rival the peak moments of Fury.”
—The Wall Street Journal

From the author of the international bestseller A Higher Call comes the riveting World War II story of an American tank gunner’s journey into the heart of the Third Reich, where he will meet destiny in an iconic armor duel—and forge an enduring bond with his enemy.

When Clarence…


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Book cover of The Deviant Prison: Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary and the Origins of America's Modern Penal System, 1829-1913

The Deviant Prison By Ashley Rubin,

What were America's first prisons like? How did penal reformers, prison administrators, and politicians deal with the challenges of confining human beings in long-term captivity as punishment--what they saw as a humane intervention?

The Deviant Prison centers on one early prison: Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in Philadelphia, one of the…

Book cover of Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire

John J. Domagalski Why did I love this book?

A well-known historian brilliantly tells the last months of World War II in the Pacific. 

Frank immerses readers in the details of strategy, planning, and thinking on both sides, culminating with the dropping of the atomic bombs and the Japanese surrender. The book provides a clear record of the often misunderstood end of the Pacific War.

By Richard B. Frank,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Downfall as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In a riveting narrative that includes information from newly declassified documents, acclaimed historian Richard B. Frank gives a scrupulously detailed explanation of the critical months leading up to the dropping of the atomic bomb. Frank explains how American leaders learned in the summer of 1945 that their alternate strategy to end the war by invasion had been shattered by the massive Japanese buildup on Kyushu, and that intercepted diplomatic documents also revealed the dismal prospects of negotiation. Here also, for the first time, is a comprehensive account of how Japan's leaders were willing to risk complete annihilation to preserve the…


Explore my book 😀

Forgotten Island: The WWII Story of One Sailor's Survival on Japanese-Occupied Guam

By John J. Domagalski,

Book cover of Forgotten Island: The WWII Story of One Sailor's Survival on Japanese-Occupied Guam

What is my book about?

The opening days of World War II in the Pacific found Guam in the Mariana Islands to be an isolated American possession nearly surrounded by Japanese territory. When the largely undefended island surrendered to Japanese invaders in the opening days of the conflict, Navy Radioman George Tweed headed into the jungle.

The narrow escape began a two-and-a-half-year odyssey of life on the run. Japanese soldiers relentlessly hunted for the fugitive sailor and brutalized the civilian population during the oppressive occupation of the island. At the same time, American military forces were fighting their way across the Pacific. Forgotten Island tells the parallel stories of George Tweed’s determination to survive and the American liberation of the island.

Book cover of The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice
Book cover of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Book cover of No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II

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Interested in Virginia, Japan, and the Battle of Midway?

Virginia 118 books
Japan 517 books