My favorite books on World War II in the Pacific

Why am I passionate about this?

William L. McGee is an award-winning World War II Pacific war historian. His writing career has spanned six decades — three of them in marketing and sales in the broadcasting industry. He is a WWII veteran of the Pacific theater and an atomic veteran of Operation Crossroads, the postwar atomic bomb tests at the Bikini Atoll in 1946.


I wrote...

The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point

By William L. McGee,

Book cover of The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point

What is my book about?

Under one cover, William L. McGee provides a definitive account of all the Solomons campaigns — Southern, Central, and Northern. Winner of the Military Writers Society of America Silver Medal Award for History. The Solomons Campaigns, 1942–1943 is the second of three volumes in McGee’s acclaimed series, Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII. “The series will form a definitive account of naval, sea, and land operations in the South Pacific.” – Library Journal

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II

William L. McGee Why did I love this book?

When I began researching and writing for my books this fifteen-volume set by distinguished historian Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, was one of my first purchases for my World War II library. I consider his series a must-have for any WWII researcher or history buff. I did much of my research and writing on freighters and always took selected volumes with me.

By Samuel Eliot Morison,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked History of United States Naval Operations in World War II as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

the Navy's official history of World War Two


Book cover of The Two-Ocean War: A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War

William L. McGee Why did I love this book?

This book was published in 1963 on the heels of the fifteen-volume set by Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison. I served in the U.S. Navy, Pacific theater of war, and found this supplemental work by Morison to complement particular portions of his fifteen-volume series.

By Samuel Eliot Morison,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Two-Ocean War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Originally published in 1963, this classic, single-volume history draws on Morison's definitive 15-volume History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. More than a condensation, The Two-Ocean War highlights the major components of the larger work: the preparation for war, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the long war of attrition between submarines and convoys in the Atlantic, the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, the long grind of Guadalcanal, the leapfrogging campaigns among the Pacific islands, the invasion of continental Europe, the blazes of glory at Leyte and Okinawa, and the final grudging surrender of the…


Book cover of The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II

William L. McGee Why did I love this book?

Published in 2000, this reference book makes previous chronologies of the Navy at war out-of-date. My co-author and wife, Sandra McGee, uses this chronology to create social media posts, such as “On this day…” or “75 Years Ago Today…”.

By Robert J. Cressman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ten years after the close of World War II, the U.S. Navy published achronology of its operations in the war. Long out of print, the work focused onwhat were then defined as critical and decisive events. It ignored a multitudeof combat actions as well as the loss or damage of many types of U.S. shipsand craft-particularly auxiliaries, amphibious ships, and district craft-andentirely omitted the U.S. submarine campaign against Japanese shipping, Thisgreatly expanded and updated study, now available in paperback with anindex, goes far beyond the original work, drawing on information from morethan forty additional years of historical research and writing.…


Book cover of Ships for Victory: A History of Shipbuilding under the U.S. Maritime Commission in World War II

William L. McGee Why did I love this book?

This hefty 881-page book covers in detail the story of the greatest shipbuilding program in America’s history. When America entered WWII in December 1941, I was chomping at the bit to get in the action, but I had to wait a year until I turned seventeen. I applied for a job at the Kaiser Shipyard in Vancouver, Washington, and trained to be a welder on the big ships.

By Frederic Chapin Lane,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ships for Victory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

During World War II, America's shipbuilding industry, mobilized under the U.S. Maritime Commission, set records of production that have never been equaled. Given the daunting task of building ships faster than they were being sunk, shipbuilding firms across the country found new ways to increase their efficiency and scale of production. Huge new shipyards were built, a labor force of 640,000 was employed, and over 55 million deadweight tons of ocean-going ships were delivered, including the famous Liberty and Victory ships. First published in 1951, Ships for Victory chronicles this remarkable wartime program in magisterial detail: the development of revolutionary…


Book cover of Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing

William L. McGee Why did I love this book?

Every military historian and-or editor needs this manual on their bookshelf. My editor’s preference for my books is to use both the Naval style as well as writing out military acronyms or abbreviations for the convenience of the reader.

By Robert Shenk,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the premier Guide to Professional Writing in the naval services and has been the standard guide for writing in the naval services for almost two decades.

Features of the new edition:

* New edition is has been updated and revised.
* Contains a new chapter on"Writing Naval Emails" based on interviews with naval professionals, and also based on the best civilian guidance
* Guides readers on the use of naval emails and the internet in relation to all manner of naval documents.
* Explores"do's" and "don'ts" on writing emails, and on use of computer aids to writing in…


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The Hunt for the Peggy C: A World War II Maritime Thriller

By John Winn Miller,

Book cover of The Hunt for the Peggy C: A World War II Maritime Thriller

John Winn Miller

New book alert!

What is my book about?

The Hunt for the Peggy C is best described as Casablanca meets Das Boot. It is about an American smuggler who struggles to rescue a Jewish family on his rusty cargo ship, outraging his mutinous crew of misfits and provoking a hair-raising chase by a brutal Nazi U-boat captain bent on revenge.

During the nerve-wracking 3,000-mile escape, Rogers falls in love with the family’s eldest daughter, Miriam, a sweet medical student with a militant streak. Everything seems hopeless when Jake is badly wounded, and Miriam must prove she’s as tough as her rhetoric to put down a mutiny by some of Jake’s fed-up crew–just as the U-boat closes in for the kill.

The Hunt for the Peggy C: A World War II Maritime Thriller

By John Winn Miller,

What is this book about?

John Winn Miller's THE HUNT FOR THE PEGGY C, a semifinalist in the Clive Cussler Adventure Writers Competition, captures the breathless suspense of early World War II in the North Atlantic. Captain Jake Rogers, experienced in running his tramp steamer through U-boat-infested waters to transport vital supplies and contraband to the highest bidder, takes on his most dangerous cargo yet after witnessing the oppression of Jews in Amsterdam: a Jewish family fleeing Nazi persecution.

The normally aloof Rogers finds himself drawn in by the family's warmth and faith, but he can't afford to let his guard down when Oberleutnant Viktor…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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