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Summary: Quick reply to Pearl Harbor
Review: After the devestation of the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, conventional wisdom held that it would take months, maybe years, for the Americans to recover and be of sufficient strength to mount a defense and ultimate counter-attack. But several key issues proved this wrong: America had already been making war material for Lend/Lease and the aircraft carriers the Japanese were hoping would be at Pearl Harbor were not at Pearl Harbor. Midway would be the turning point in the war and this book gives a chronology to the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself. This battle, more than any before it, would affirm the place of aviation in battle. The battleships in this battle never saw each other, much less fight each other. In the battle, America sustained damaged to its carrier fleet, while Japan took a huge hit upon its carrier forces. This would set the tone for the rest of the Pacific Theater, as the author succintly points out. The Japanese had to have islands to fly and refuel aircraft; the Americans still had their mobile, floating aircraft islands. A must read for anyone who wants to know the turning point in the Pacific Theatre in WWII.
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Summary: Will stand the test of time
Review: Even when dealing with historical events that are, by their very nature, action-packed, it can be hard to balance storytelling with in-depth research and historical precision. While Prange's 'Miracle at Midway' may not be the taut thriller 'Incredible Victory,' say, is, it more than makes up for this alleged deficiency with the quality of its research and presentation.Gordon W. Prange and his literary assistants/successors Goldstein and Dillon are best known for their multi-volume exploration of the before-during-and-after of the attack on Pearl Harbor, arguably the most-written (and argued) about event in American history. Impressive and valuable as their work on Pearl Harbor is, few would argue it's the final word on what happened and why. Fortunately, Midway isn't enshrouded in political agendas and conspiracy theories like Pearl Harbor has become. It's still a fairly straightforward clash of military and naval forces. Consequently, it's much easier to argue that Prange has painted a fairly definitive portrait of what Fuchida Mitsuo later called 'the battle that doomed Japan.' One of the beautiful (and trying) things about history is that 'final judgment' is never rendered on any event -- new evidence and interpretations can always change the way we view things. Serious historians and casual readers alike will find Prange's work a valuable set of lenses through which to view this critical moment in world history.
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Summary: A Great Book about the Turning Point Against Japan
Review: For a guy who has been dead a while, the author keeps turning out some good books. At Dawn We Slept and Miracle at Midway are two of them. Midway was the battle that turned the tide against Japan. Midway is a Battle so exciting that fiction could never top it, and yet this was history. And this book captures the battle brilliantly. Walter Lord also did a great job in Incredible Victory. This battle showed the determination of American sailors and airman, the leadership of Nimitz, the importance of aircraft carriers,some luck and intelliegence. I enjoyed this book very much.
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Summary: Gordon Prange-the Master Researcher
Review: Gordon Prange, the late author of At Dawn We Slept, Miracle at Midway, Pearl Harbor, the Verdict of History and The Pearl Harbor Papers does an unmatched job of researching the beginnings of the Pacific War from the Japanese perspective, interviewing many of the participants of the Nihon Kaigun (Imperial Japanese Navy) especially the Kido Butai (First Striking Force). Midway was an extremely close call and victory for the Japanese might have meant conquest of Hawaii and therefore a war lasting some two years longer for America (my opinion). Prange excellently presents the intelligence dilemma and the precise interpretation which presented Admiral Nimitz with his opportunity to ambush Nagumo Chuichi and his four carriers. The author gives credit to the American commanders, Spruance and Fletcher for their flexibility and all the Americans for their courage and stamina. Midway was won by American naval airmen and Prange makes that clear.
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Summary: Best story of Battle of Midway I have read so far
Review: I bought this book being fascinated with Pacific War and Battle at Midway for last 10 years. I have read "At Dawn We Slept" from the same authors, and I find "Miracle At Midway" far more vivid and interesting. The story is very detailed, but on the other side rather easy to follow and keeps you on, so you feel you are reading some interesting novel, rather than documentary.
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Summary: Best story of Battle of Midway I have read so far
Review: I bought this book being fascinated with Pacific War and Battle at Midway for last 10 years. I have read "At Dawn We Slept" from the same authors, and I find "Miracle At Midway" far more vivid and interesting. The story is very detailed, but on the other side rather easy to follow and keeps you on, so you feel you are reading some interesting novel, rather than documentary.
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Summary: Interesting, but is it accurate?
Review: In Chapter 31, the authors make a big deal about the use of the singular "enemy carrier" instead of the plural "enemy carriers" by the Japanese admirals as proof of the confusion the Japanese were in. But the Japanese language does not distinguish between singluar and plural forms so this is just an artifact of the English translation. This makes you wonder just how many conclusions the authors jumped to based on some poor English translation of the Japanese material.
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Summary: Prange does it again!
Review: In the same tradition as At Dawn We Slept, Miracle At Midway engulfs and captivates the reader. This book describes in great detail both American and Japanese plans for battle. The apprehensions of the Japanese staff to approve the Midway mission are described, as well as Washington's uncertainty of the Japanese intentions. Many believed that Japan would try to attack Hawaii or the West Coast. Thanks to the codebreakers, Midway was found to be the true objective. Prange describes in great detail how the brave torpedo bomber pilots flew undaunted against the Japanese carriers, clearing the way for the deadly attacks by the Dauntless dive bomber pilots. Also, the Japanese blunders in rearming their aircraft after the Midway strike are described. This book is a must read for any fan of naval warfare.
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Summary: The definitive account of the Battle of Midway
Review: In this book, Prangue recounts the many converging destinies of the Battle of Midway. For the Japanese, Midway was the focus of the war in 1942. Jimmy Doolitle had bombed Tokyo in April and even though the damage was slight, the thinking in the Japanese military shifted from one of offense to defense. Midway was the crux. Only 1200 mi. from Pearl Harbor, the capture of Midway would allow the Japanese to wage war at will against the US's last Pacific outpost and in turn, secure the homeland from aggression. Admiral Nimitz had but 3 carriers to commit to battle, one of which, the Yorktown, had been heavily damaged in the battle of the Coral Sea but at his urging , had been repaired in a slam bang fashion and commited to the battle. Prangue pays respect to the contribution of luck, cunning and selflessness that so characterises many battles. Nimitz knew that the Japanese were itching for the 'mother of all battles' which would eliminate the US Pacific Fleet. The question was 'where'. That question was answered by the fledgling Naval Intelligence Service which conjured up a way to get the Japanese to show their hand and allow Nimitz to ignore bogus attacks in Alaska and concentrate on the real target, Midway. This book has it all: the arrogance of the Japanese command, the shrewd gambles of the American commanders, the triumph of luck and ingeniuty, the heartbreak of failure that cost the US a carrier, the actual reliqunishing of authority of one American commander to another in the heat of battle because 'it was the right thing to do'. Even the side stories have real meanings. Prangue tells of the loss of a single Zero fighter plane in the faux attack of Alaska. The plane was recovered, analyzed and the result was the Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter, which, after many previous failed attempts, was the plane that finally outclassed the Zero and achieved superiority in the Pacific war. Buy the book.
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Summary: Terrific & Entertaining Narrative of The Midway 'Miracle'!
Review: Just how fortunate the United States was in winning the closely contested navy engagement at Midway in the central Pacific in mid 1942 is evident to any reader of this very well documented and quite balanced account of one of the largest and most famous exchanges between the US navy and their Japanese counterparts during the course of World War Two. By using extensive inputs from both Japanese and American participants and observers of the sea battle, the authors thread together a memorable and engaging narrative of the events leading up to and involving both sides during the summer months of that fateful year. It was one for the record books, and one that demonstrated conclusively that the rules of war at sea had changed forever from one dominated by capital ships like battleships and cruisers to one dominated by aircraft carriers and attack airplanes. In the devastating aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the American Navy was looking for an opportunity to engage the Japanese in a "mano-a-mano" confrontation, hoping to even the odds and shorten the war by using what we felt would be surprise and tactics to overcome the numerical advantage the Japanese enjoyed in numbers of both ships (especially in terms of aircraft carriers) and launchable aircraft. Even though the Japanese had blundered badly at the battle of the Coral Sea, they left the scene believing the fracas had been won, and that they had further damaged the American fleet by sinking three carriers. And though the U.S. Navy did in fact limp away having lost some of its few carriers either through sinking or damage, in actuality they had inflicted more damage than they had incurred. Furthermore, soon one of the badly damaged U. S. Navy carriers (the Yorktown) would be repaired and ready to sail in support of the Midway engagement. Also, by cracking certain aspects of the Japanese Navy's wireless communication codes, the Americans were able to determine not only what the Japanese were ostensibly planning in terms of a strategy to take Midway, but also what the specific positioning and disposition of the various aspects of the Japanese naval force would be. Obviously, this information added to the element of surprise gave the Americans a huge tactical advantage, and made victory much more possible. Yet it did not guarantee anything. It was the tactical brilliance and contemporaneous innovation of the on-site commanders in the American force that won the day. In a series of engagements that did not change the course of the battle until the last few remaining waves of American aircraft suddenly sank or damaged the majority of the Japanese carriers, the Americans succeeded both through their own daring and a few fatal tactical errors on the part of the Japanese commanders. The results were devastating for the Japanese, who never again could muster the kind of raw carrier power, or just as importantly, ever replace the huge number of experienced carrier-based aircraft pilots needed to successfully engage and threaten the expanding American task forces that within another 12 to 18 months would virtually transform the character of the war in the Pacific, leading the Japanese into waging an almost suicidal war of attrition which they had no chance to win. This is a well-written, well-documented, and entertaining book that helps the reader to understand just how critical to both the Americans and the Japanese the fateful naval engagement at Midway was, and how the results determined the course of the rest of the war in the Pacific. Enjoy!
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