Here are 100 books that The Burning Sea of Iron Bottom Bay fans have personally recommended if you like
The Burning Sea of Iron Bottom Bay.
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Since childhood, I have been fascinated by accounts of the Second World War, particularly the war in the Pacific Theater. Perhaps because I had an uncle and a step-father (Bronze Star awarded for bravery) who fought in that theater. I joined the U.S. Navy in 1958 and traveled in the USS Bennington, CVS 20, too many of the islands captured by the Japanese in blood-soaked battles–Pearl Harbor, Guam, Okinawa, Midway, and the Philippines. Further, I was stationed at Atsugi Naval Air Station in Japan for twenty months, which allowed me to look into World War II history from the other side.
I have read several books about the special units of soldiers, Marines, and sailors in the Second World War, and this book is at the top of those accounts.
I particularly liked the way author Bruce E. Meyers, an experienced Marine officer, tells the story of the Recon Marines from their beginnings in World War II to today’s silent warriors. I had a hard time putting this book down.
An experienced reconnaissance Marine officer, Bruce Meyers paints a colorful and accurate picture of the special recon landings that preceded every major amphibious operation in the Pacific War. Credited with saving countless lives, these Marine scouts went in stealthily at night from submarines, PT boats, Catalinas, and high-speed transports. Swift, silent, and deadly, they landed on more than two hundred enemy beaches, from Tarawa to Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa to collect intelligence on potential landing sites. They measured water depths, charted coral heads, gathered soil samples, sought out enemy locations, and took photographs. In short, they obtained information vital…
Since childhood, I have been fascinated by accounts of the Second World War, particularly the war in the Pacific Theater. Perhaps because I had an uncle and a step-father (Bronze Star awarded for bravery) who fought in that theater. I joined the U.S. Navy in 1958 and traveled in the USS Bennington, CVS 20, too many of the islands captured by the Japanese in blood-soaked battles–Pearl Harbor, Guam, Okinawa, Midway, and the Philippines. Further, I was stationed at Atsugi Naval Air Station in Japan for twenty months, which allowed me to look into World War II history from the other side.
I was and am fascinated by accounts of the Battle of Tarawa. As James Dwyer’s book relates, the battle was a brutal series of Navy and Marine mistakes by the attack leaders from day one.
I particularly like the way he uses the fictional voices of Marines and Japanese Rikosentia (basically Japanese Marines) to tell the story of the terrible battle with its ‘horrific’ casualty rates on both sides.
Before the historic battle for Iwo Jima was fought...there was Tarawa!!! Experience the incredible horrors and the distinguished heroism of the battle for Tarawa with a platoon of marines who must fight their way ashore and then battle the Japanese defenders in their hidden bunkers and foxholes! The hellacious fighting for this tiny island took place in November of 1943 and the legendary battle went on for three and a half days between the elite Japanese Rikosentai who refused to give up...and the marines of the Second Division...who refused to stop. When this bare-knuckled brawl was finally over, four Medals…
Since childhood, I have been fascinated by accounts of the Second World War, particularly the war in the Pacific Theater. Perhaps because I had an uncle and a step-father (Bronze Star awarded for bravery) who fought in that theater. I joined the U.S. Navy in 1958 and traveled in the USS Bennington, CVS 20, too many of the islands captured by the Japanese in blood-soaked battles–Pearl Harbor, Guam, Okinawa, Midway, and the Philippines. Further, I was stationed at Atsugi Naval Air Station in Japan for twenty months, which allowed me to look into World War II history from the other side.
I really liked the unique way that author George Feifer approached this final land battle of World War II. I was very interested in how he began the book by using individual American and Japanese recruits as the focal point, even detailing the training they went through.
Not only has he written a complete story of the battle, but he also has included a detailed account of the sinking of the mighty Japanese battleship–Yamato. I doubt if there is a better account of the sinking of Japan’s last hope for a naval victory in print.
Plus, Feifer includes in his work the tragedy of the native non-combatant Okinawans–over one hundred thousand of them perished in the battle. The author gives a wide overview of the entire contest, which is the best I’ve seen.
More people perished during the battle of Okinawa than in the ensuing bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. The Battle of Okinawa offers a stunning account of the last major campaign of World War II and the largest land-sea-air engagement in history. Superbly researched and extraordinarily detailed, this masterpiece of military history is told at the level of the participants themselves, soldiers and civilians alike. In examining the disastrous collision of three disparate cultures-American, Japanese, and Okinawan-this book provides an unforgettable picture of men at war and also the context for understanding one of the most ominous events of this…
Since childhood, I have been fascinated by accounts of the Second World War, particularly the war in the Pacific Theater. Perhaps because I had an uncle and a step-father (Bronze Star awarded for bravery) who fought in that theater. I joined the U.S. Navy in 1958 and traveled in the USS Bennington, CVS 20, too many of the islands captured by the Japanese in blood-soaked battles–Pearl Harbor, Guam, Okinawa, Midway, and the Philippines. Further, I was stationed at Atsugi Naval Air Station in Japan for twenty months, which allowed me to look into World War II history from the other side.
I am very pleased with the way author Andrew Rawson begins this book by describing the commanding officers on both sides, and then the weapons the Marines and Japanese soldiers used in the battle. This makes the later descriptions of actual combat more realistic.
Another aspect of this book that I liked was Rawson’s account of the tactics planned and used on both sides. His accounts of individual Marines' exploits and decorations are excellent and detailed.
The author ends his book with a short synopsis of the Battle of Okinawa and the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. This is a book I will read again.
Operation Detachment, the US invasion of Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945, was the first campaign on Japanese soil and resulted in some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific. If you truly want to understand what happened and why - read Battle Story. Detailed profiles explore the leaders, tactics and equipment of the US and Japanese armies. Nine specially commissioned maps track the progress of the battle and the shifting frontlines. Rare photographs place you in the centre of the unfolding action. Diary extracts and quotes give you a soldier's eye-view of the battle. Orders of Battle reveal the…
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.
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…”.
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.…
Every time I see a wonderful episode of life, I want to capture it in writing or tell a compelling story about it. Too often, we let the good memories go, and remember the difficult ones. So, I keep writing books that have a real—yet positive outlook that can ignite a smile out of someone—or a hearty laugh. In 2020, I published Profiles in Kindness—an award-winning CIPA/Reader's Choice Award for motivation & inspirational leadership. In 2018, I first released the CIPA Award-winning Something Happened Today, addressing seeing the goodness in everyday life even in the face of difficulties.
It is the captivating story of the five Wilson brothers from Iowa. Leora was their mother—Joy’s delightful grandmother. All five of these brave young men enlisted. Only two came home. All served their country during WWII, two in the Navy, and three in the Army Air Corps.Kidney provides her readers with a genuine and heartfelt glimpse into the life of an American family during one of our nation's most difficult times. It is so well-crafted, combining letters, photographs, and narratives that touch your heart. Joy Neal Kidney makes you feel like a member of her family. I hoped that all men would make it back safely. Unfortunately, war is never that compassionate and affects many lives in the process. It is an absorbing read and well worth the endeavor.
The day the second atomic bomb was dropped, Clabe and Leora Wilson’s postman brought a telegram to their acreage near Perry, Iowa. One son was already in the U.S. Navy before Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Four more sons worked with their father, tenant farmers near Minburn until, one by one, all five sons were serving their country in the military. The oldest son re-enlisted in the Navy. The younger three became U.S. Army Air Force pilots. As the family optimist, Leora wrote hundreds of letters, among all her regular chores, dispensing news and keeping up the morale of the…
Like all Boomers, I grew up in the shadow of “The War.” My parents, relatives, and others participated in World War II to various extents; all were affected by it. Therefore, I absorbed the Pacific Theater early on. My father trained as a naval aviator, and among my early TV memories is the 1950s series Victory at Sea. My mother coaxed me early on, and an aunt was an English teacher, so I began learning to read before kindergarten. In retrospect, that gave me extra time to start absorbing the emerging literature. Much later I helped restore and flew WW II aircraft, leading to my first book.
President Franklin Roosevelt commissioned Harvard historian Samuel Eliot Morison to write the definitive history of the U.S. Navy in WW II, and Morison produced an epic 15-volume series between 1947 and 1962.
Despite more recent research it is richly detailed, elegantly written, and remains a standard source. The Two-Ocean War, Morison’s 1963 one-volume condensation covering all theaters of operations, was among the books that piqued my interest in the subject. It is particularly valuable in describing the Pacific island campaigns as well as the war at sea.
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…
I am a retired U.S. Navy carrier pilot, having flown the A-7 Corsair II and F/A-18 Hornet operationally, and formerly the Executive Vice President of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. Over 20 years I have spoken about the battle to diverse audiences, and my historical fiction novel The Silver Waterfall was written without changing any facts of the battle and features the real men who fought it. I am also the author of the Raven One trilogy of aircraft carrier techno-thrillers.
The story of the ill-fated Torpedo Squadron Eight of USS Hornet – all planes lost and only one survivor out of 30 men - is the stuff of legend.
In this essential non-fiction tome, Mrazek introduces the reader to these men and explores what made them tick. It is not always pleasant, and Mrazek pulls no punches as he delves into the human side of these flawed men, who in some cases did not like each other, which increases the empathy for the sacrifice of the squadron at Midway.
The reader can imagine him or herself in a tight-knit squadron arguing and irritating one another as humans can do at times – before having to fly into combat in planes they knew were obsolete. While the human cost and poignant stories of loss are part of all Midway books, A Dawn Like Thunder lays it out the best.
One of the great untold stories of World War II finally comes to light in this thrilling account of Torpedo Squadron Eight and their heroic efforts in helping an outmatched U.S. fleet win critical victories at Midway and Guadalcanal.
Thirty-five American men -- many flying outmoded aircraft -- changed the course of the war, going on to become the war's most decorated naval air squadron, while suffering the heaviest losses in U.S. naval aviation history.
Mrazek paints moving portraits of the men in the squadron, and exposes a shocking cover-up that cost many lives. Filled with thrilling scenes of battle,…
I am a retired U.S. Navy carrier pilot, having flown the A-7 Corsair II and F/A-18 Hornet operationally, and formerly the Executive Vice President of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. Over 20 years I have spoken about the battle to diverse audiences, and my historical fiction novel The Silver Waterfall was written without changing any facts of the battle and features the real men who fought it. I am also the author of the Raven One trilogy of aircraft carrier techno-thrillers.
It was the carrier-based dive-bombers that carried the day at Midway, and Moore’s narrative non-fiction account of the battle through the eyes of the actual men who fought at Midway in these dive-bombers is an entertaining and gripping page turner.
You learn of their fears, the uncertainty, and of their humble courage. Moore brings you with them in their SBD Dauntless cockpits. These men were what the United States had at the onset of the Pacific War, and Moore’s tribute to them is moving.
“Deeply researched and well written....By far the most detailed account of USS Enterprise’s dive-bombers and their decisive role at the Battle of Midway.”*
Sunday, December 7, 1941, dawned clear and bright over the Pacific....
But for the Dauntless dive-bomber crews of the USS Enterprise returning to their home base on Oahu, it was a morning from hell. Flying directly into the Japanese ambush at Pearl Harbor, they lost a third of their squadron and witnessed the heart of America’s Navy broken and smoldering on the oil-slicked waters below.
The next six months, from Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midway—a…
I'm a retired 4-star Admiral who spent over forty years at sea, rising from Midshipman at the Naval Academy to Supreme Allied Commander at NATO. I studied literature and published eleven books, many dealing with the oceans. My PhD from Tufts University, where I served as Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, centered on the Law of the Sea Treaty. My father was a seagoing US Marine, my wife grew up in the Navy with a father who was a Navy pilot, and my daughter was a Navy nurse. Finally, my basset hound is named Penelope, after the wife of Ulysses who waited for her husband to return from ten years at sea.
When I was a first-year student at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1972, every “plebe,” as we were called, was required to take a full-year course called simply Sea Power. It is in a sense four books in one: a history of the United States Navy and of American naval power; a history of the world’s navies; a study of the evolution of naval warfare; and a study of the part that sea power has played in the exercise of national power. It is also full of dozens of maps, charts, and, above all, detailed tactical depictions of individual battles, the latter ranging from the Bay of Salamis, where the Greeks and Persians fought 2,500 years ago, through Trafalgar at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, to the pivotal battles of Midway and Leyte Gulf in World War II.
A classic work widely acknowledged as the definitive text on its subject. All aspects of over 2,000 years of naval history are covered, from Greek and Roman galley warfare to Vietnam and beyond, with emphasis on the evolution of strategy, tactics, and weapons development.
