Rating: 
Summary: Bergerud strikes again
Review: Given the other reviews regarding the present book, I think it's important to begin my review of Fire in the Sky by explaining what Eric Bergerud does, and what he doesn't do. This will also serve to explain what this book is, and what it isn't.1. Eric Bergerud doesn't write narrative histories of battles or campaigns. The previous book of his that I read (Red Thunder, Tropic Lightning) was not a narrative history, neither is this, and apparently his other two books aren't either. Saying they're poor narrative histories (several reviewers, notably fellow historian Eric Hammel, do this or imply it) is like saying a Ferrari is bad for carrying lumber to a construction site. It's intended for picking up girls; you buy a pickup to haul lumber. Bergerud's books are all thematic rather than narrative in content; comparable books would include Bell I. Wiley's The Life of Billy Yank and The Life of Johnny Reb, and John J. Elting's Swords around a Throne. 2. Bergerud doesn't do oral histories, either. His books, because of their thematic nature, are attempting to make points rather than just provide a you-are-there realism. The first person accounts that he uses are therefore not sorted chronologically or by battle, but to illustrate points the author is making in the text. If you try and figure out what sort of chronological order the author was using to sort the accounts he recounts, you'll be lost. 3. This leads us to what this book *is*. It's a thematic account of the Air War in the South Pacific during the period from the summer of 1942 to the spring of 1944. This is the crucial period where the Japanese Air Forces started with a seemingly overwhelming advantage, and ended with a catastrophic defeat. How and why this occurred is the meat of this book. Since the author is freed from a narrative form for the bulk of the book, the structure is different from what you would normally encounter when opening such a volume. Instead of getting an account of the individual maneuvers, battles, and campaigns of the conflict, you instead get chapters on the terrain, the weather, the airplanes of the combatants, and the nature of combat over the course of the period covered by the book. Such mundane things as airfield contruction, airplane maintenance, squadron morale, operational accidents, and supply aircraft, normally relegated to a footnote or not mentioned at all in other books, get a fair treatment here. The result is a wonderful book that includes so much information that's not in other works that it would be futile to try and list it all. Suffice to say that the book is one of the best on any campaign ever written in my view. I disagree strongly with most of the criticisms on this site. I will concur in one minor criticism. While I disagree that the book needed an editor in the sense of shortening the text, I will agree that a *copy*editor was needed, perhaps a better proofreader. There are several spots where the text uses "sunk" and clearly should say "sank," and on one occasion uses "cryptographer" when it should say "cartographer." Most of these occur in the last 200 pages of the book: you get the idea that the production staff was in a hurry or got tired. Other than this minor flaw, this is a near-perfect book on the South Pacific Air War, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Best of 1999
Review: Having read dozens of books on the Pacific Theater of WW II in the past few years, I would rate this book as the best. Beautifully researched and written, Bergerud captures the essence of the air war in the South Pacific as he did in his book on the land war in the South Pacific (Touched by Fire...) a few years ago. Gives both the big picture and the details (including interviews with combatants) in a compelling and informative style. I was engrossed from page 1 to 670. Non fiction of this caliber is rare. A must read for anyone interested in the complete story and an in-depth analysis of this long and hard fought campaign. I enjoyed Fire is the Sky more than Touched by Fire.......can't wait for the third volume in this series (if he chooses to write it) a definitive account of the sea war in the South Pacific. I would be his first customer.
Rating: 
Summary: Good anecdotal history undermined by inept editing
Review: I concur absolutely with Chris Farrell on this book: Professor Bergerud has again crafted a rich collection of anecdotes and interviews which vividly capture the scale and scope of the Pacific air war in WWII. However, Bergerud's excellent work in bringing this conflict vividly to life is almost fatally marred by having been published on the editor's day off. The book is disorganised, repetitive and contains more than a few howlers that even the most cursory editing would have removed. It reads as if spell-checked only. I purchased the hardback edition and the lack of any discernible editing would disgrace a 5 dollar paperback. A pity, because the content is worth 4 stars and deserves a better presentation. Bergerud's previous book on the land war (Touched with Fire) contains the same faults, although to a lesser extent, possibly because the topic was more easily organised rather than due to the presence of any discernible editorial input.
Rating: 
Summary: Great thesis, miserable execution
Review: I plowed through this tome from front to back. If you pick it up in the bookstore, it's fascinating. If you you sit down to read it, it's infuriating. It's at least a third longer than it should be, due to incessant repetition, contradiction, lack of editing, & general incoherence. Was this book ever edited? It's stream of consciousness history, & it doesn''t work. Nonetheless, the author's thesis, that the defeat of Japan occurred in the Southwest Pacific air battles between spring 1942 and spring 1944, is worth something. I found his ideas fascinating, to the extent his pathetic writing style allowed me to grasp them. But I can't in good faith recommend this author. His writing & organization is beyond incompetent. I can't understand how a book ever got into print in this condition.
Rating:
Summary: Fire in the Sky is . . . unusual.
Review: I write and edit military history for a living, and my area of special interest and expertise is the South Pacific. This is a topic I have been following since I was 12. The description of Bergerud's book here, and the reader reviews, grabbed my interest. Bergerud makes wonderful connections, very elegant, very smart. But the writing is a mess. He seems to have set down his often profound thoughts as they occurred to him. He's all over the place, his style is pedantic and inconsistent, he repeats himself throughout the book. It's like watching a movie sideways. I couldn't find a topic he handled in a coherent, consistent manner, just random data embedded in a strange conglomeration of prose styles. The really amazing thing you can do with this book is open to any page, read any paragraph on that page, open to any other page, read any paragraph, and so forth. It makes as much sense that way as reading straight through. I haven't returned a book to a bookseller in decades. This one is going back in the morning along with Bergerud's Touched by Fire. I don't need to be dizzy and disoriented twice in a row. I hate doing this to a fellow historian, but Fire in the Sky costs a lot and delivers a lot the same way a breached dam delivers a lot.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling, Detailed, Comprehensive But Easily Read Histor
Review: I've always been fascinated by the Pacific War, especially the time frame covered in this book (Pearl Harbor to 1943). And in particularly, I've always had a keen interest in the air war waged over the lands and seas that make up the South and South West Pacific regions. The visions of Warhawks and Hayabusas, Wildcats and Zeros waging a frantic and terrible battle for dominion of this area has always come to my mind first when thinking of the Second World War. Eric Bergerud has done such a spendid job of describing in such a manner the beauty and terror of the island jungles, the seas and skies that viewing photographs of the areas never before seen yields little suprise. His chronicles of the men that were deployed to these areas make the reader feel if they had witnessed the trials and tribulations of these servicemen firsthand. The strategies, and ultimate execution, of air combat waged in such an area are complex. The casual reader will quickly come to understand the manner in which the Japanese, Americans, Australians and New Zealanders waged their air war. But Bergerud gives the more learned student of WWII compelling issues to contemplate as well. Few people realize that Malaria was as big an ally as was any other countries armed forces. I have studied WWII since I was a child. I read books expecting to find little I did not already know. However, Bergerud raises the awareness that there was much more to this war than even a student might have expected. The book is easily read. It is elegant simplicity that allows one to understand a very complex issue, and to do so with unending interest. I was quite disappointed that this book had an ending.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful - yet again - bring on the third book
Review: It is said that the victors write the history books. But history books examine personalities not hardware like Bergerud. It is nice to see (once again) an unbiased view of the South pacific and its' war. For a lover of detail I love to see an American that is prepared to critisize yet praise his nation. No rambling monolgue of the Clancy biography series, just facts and history.
Rating:
Summary: A tremendous book!
Review: Like its predecessor "Touched With Fire : The Land War in the South Pacific", "Fire in the Sky" brings to light a wealth of little-known information concerning warfare in the South Pacific. This is truly a groundbreaking book on the subject. Unlike many other books that I have read on the airwar in the Pacific, Eric Bergerud's book goes beyond the romanticism of descriptions of famous Aces and the vaunted Japanese Zero. This book studies in great detail the (sometimes surprising) strengths and weaknesses of the opposing sides aircraft, doctrine, training and maintenance programs, etc... By covering details often omitted by other Authors, Mr. Bergerud shows us how in the space of a half year the outnumbered and poorly equipped Allied air-forces are able to achieve parity with the Japanese, and eventually turn the tide of the air battle. In addition to interviews with pilots and descriptions of tactics and combat, his attention to the war-winning effects of such neglected topics such as aircraft maintenance bring new understanding to this topic. I cannot recommend this book too highly. It is without a doubt the most interesting book that I have read on the airwar on the Pacific and indeed one of the better Military History books available.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: Once again Eric Bergerud has produced an outstanding book, this one covering the air war in the Pacific. This is a great companion volume to his last book covering the land campaign, 'Touched with Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific'. This new book offers the reader a great story about air combat in the Pacific and the author's research and passion for the subject shows. It is hard to find a decent one-volume account of this period that covers all combatants, their weapons, tactics and strategy. I enjoyed reading about the pilots and how they coped in one of the toughest theatres of the Second World War and it was a pleasant change to see that the Australian and New Zealand efforts were not forgotten or lost in within the larger American commitment. I found some the of pilots stories quite funny although I am not too sure what the Aussie pilot would had thought about an Australian flag being painted on an American fuselage after the Yank mistook a Australian Wirraway for a Jap aircraft and shot him down! This book provided a deeper understanding of what it was like for those young men during the darker days of the war whilst fighting in the Pacific. The story of their efforts and that of their enemies in the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy has been presented in a excellent and non-biased account. The narrative flowed along effortlessly but on occasion I felt that the author had diverged off track slightly. Regardless of that it was still an enjoyable book to read and I a now eagerly awaiting his third book. This book and 'Touched with Fire' should be sitting in every serious library about WW2. One point for both the editor and author, A.I.F. stands for Australian Imperial Forces not Australian Independent Force.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of Aviation History
Review: Pros: Incredible narrative and detail, expert analysis, well documented.
Cons: Not for the casual reader due to technical detail and length.
The Bottom Line: Original analysis of factors not often addressed by other writers, engaging first person narratives.
Recommended: Yes I recently attended a lecture by Dr. Robert Ballard touring for his new book "Graveyards of the Pacific War". He told us that the generation that fought World War 2 are disappearing fast. The veterans will soon all be gone. Along with the same concerns voiced by Stephen Ambrose, it's important to get the oral history recorded before these men and women are no longer with us. Eric M. Bergerud has achieved a readable approach to writing history by including such personal narratives collected from his countless interviews with veterans, and personal research. I find all of his books totally engaging. Unlike other writers, Bergerud examines all aspects of the subject: the technological development of the aircraft and design theory, the men and their training, the terrain and its effects on the men and machines, the evolution of combat in the war over the south Pacific. A good example of his narrative story telling comes from his chapter on the terrain of the battlefield. (I will add the exact quote in an update.) The south Pacific boasts some of the world's deepest jungles and most deadly shark infested waters. Pilots taking off from New Guinea could look down and see schools of sharks below them in the clear blue water. Yet if they were forced down and had a choice between landing in the water or the jungle, they always chose the water. The jungles were so impenetrable, if they landed there they were as good as dead. At least in the water, they might be spotted and picked up be a rescue plane. How would one assume this might affect battle? In Europe a downed aviator could at least expect a chance to escape with help from the resistance, find people (of his own race) who spoke English and possibly could help him, in a terrain that he was at least familiar with. At worst he could expect capture and internment, more or less by the rules of war. Not so in the Pacific. The terrain was (and remains) among the most hostile to human life in the world, distances were vast, some of the natives on New Guinea and in the Solomons still practiced head hunting, while others were allies with the Japanese. Those unlucky enough to fall into Japanese hands alive, were usually tortured for information, executed, or shipped off to slave labor camps in Japan and elsewhere. Thus, pilots were understandably very cautious about accepting battle unless circumstances gave them the advantage. As a student of the Pacific War and aviation history I can say this is the best historical work on the air war I have ever read. This is not simply a history of force x engaging force z on such and such a day. This is a story of two cultures, with different philosophies of training and technological design that came to be embraced in mortal combat. Thus the aircraft manufactured by each side reflected those cultures as much as the men who flew them. What this book most accurately depicts is the evolution of two industrial nations at war over the most remote battlefield of World War 2. Japan, lacking an industry in depth, produced variants of aircraft trying to compete with the United States. By the first months of 1943 the US was flying second generation fighters: the F4U Corsair, the P38 Lightning, the F6F Hellcat. At the same time the ranks of elite Japanese pilots were rapidly disappearing. So too did their technological advantages as the Americans arrived in battle flying aircraft that, with proper tactics, could outfly, outgun, and destroy their Japanese counterparts. Without the ability to achieve air superiority, it spelled doom for the Imperial Japanese Navy beginning from Guadalcanal. As each island garrison was isolated or overtaken, the Allies crept close to Rabaul, the main Japanese anchorage in New Britain. The aeriel siege of Rabaul was among the final blows that brought down the Japanese empire, and an example of some of the bravest flying of World War 2. I recommend this book if you are interested in the history of World War 2, combat aviation or technological histories. The level of detail may but off the casual reader. Anyone interested in the ground war should read "Touched With Fire, the Land War in the South Pacific", also by Bergerud ISBN: 0140246967 . (I am currently reading his second book, "Red Thunder, Tropic Lightning: The World of a Combat Division in Vietnam" ISBN: 0140235450 another great read.) He is currently working on a third volume covering the naval carrier operations.
| 
