Rating: 
Summary: Fire in the Sky: A Major Contribution to Military History
Review: The reviews that have been written prior to mind I am in total argreement of there accessessment.This book written by Professor Eric Bergerud is excellent in every respect.The organization, technical accuracy and readability is the best I have read in over 30 years of aviation history study, teaching and writing. Compared to the air war in the European Theater of Operation there are relatively few books that cover the Pacific Air War and none that are so encompassing as this book. I especially like the many detail comparisons of the military organization stuctures,the land air bases, the men and the machines (aircraft) as well as the importance logistics played in the overall out comes. The only fault I have with the book is that it is to hard to put down.The 690 + pages provide the reader not only with the subject matter being address but also the technical and aviation history leading up to those events. Therefore, in addition to the Pacific Air War the reader will learn many interesting,important and intergrated aviation facts that give the reader a clear understanding of events that shaped not only the Pacific War but World War II in total. In my opinion the book without a doudt will become a classic in it's field.
Rating:
Summary: A Major Accomplishment in Aviation History
Review: There is only one word to describe Eric Bergerud's book about the South Pacific air campaign: MAGNIFICENT!! I've read dozens of books on the Pacific theater of operations, and this book ranks as one of the best. Bergerud covers every miniscule aspect of the air war right down to the types of diseases faced by the men. Each chapter is brilliantly written, and, with the inclusion of excellent personal narratives by both American and Japanese veterans, Bergerud brings the action in the South Pacific to life in a compelling and edge-of-your-seat narrative.I learned many new things by reading this book. For example, Bergerud points out the difference between a radial and an in-line engine and explains the pros and cons of each in an easy to understand format. Also, all of the intricicies of both the Japanese and American aircraft are explained in amazing detail. Although outclassed at the beginning of the war by the Japanese Zero, Bergerud describes, with the help of the excellent narratives, how American fliers were able to compensate for their inferior aircraft by using superior tactics to even the playing field. Overall, Bergerud points out that although Japanese aircraft ran wild at the beginning of the war, it was only a matter of time, due to superior training, tactics, and, ultimatley, greatly superior aircraft, until the Americans gained the upper hand and strangled the Japanese to death. The most interesting part of this book in my view are the excellent narratives given by the Japanese and American pilots. These first hand accounts give the reader a sense of actually being in the battle, and they greatly enhance the book in terms of understanding the author's points. They are hauntingly vivid and give a sense of what it was really like to fly a fighter or bomber over the Solomons. All aviation and World War II readers will definitely enjoy this fine work of aviation literature. I highly recommend it. Read it and watch the air war in the South Pacific come to life.
Rating:
Summary: Great History in a Great Book
Review: This book does what a anyalitical history book is supposed to do but rarely does. Prove something that was not known to be true. I like most people viewed the air war in the south pacific to be a waiting game till more and better hardware and vast numbers of crewman arived from the states. This book clearly shows that a warn-out, ad-hoc, and whatever was available 5th airforce achived a strategic defeat of Japan before the calvary arivied in the form of the vast fleets of Essex's class cariers. The book also destroys the fighter centric view of most pacific historys. Fighers without bombers are shown to be basically useless. It also neatly skewers the endless my figher is better than yours arguments that run through most air war history by of all things lots of analysis of figher capablities with the conclusion that most modern fighers are pretty much the same and give the will the side with the technically inferior force can win. This work is also another chip in the wall of the book "Brute Force" but Ellis. Just because the allies had more resources does not mean they could not have lost or did not win by other means. Finally the book is a masterfully written and integrates a lot of purely quantitative data withouer bogging down the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good
Review: This book is a history of the air war in the Pacific. It is however not a chronicle of the events but more of an analysis of the nature of the war. Previous narrative histories have generally explained the war in the following way. Initially the Japanese had a fighter the Zero which was superior to the allied machines. Their pilots initially were very well trained. As the war went on the allies experimented with a range of aircraft design which led to the Zero being surpassed as a fighting aircraft. It lacked armoured protection and it was not possible to increase engine power to improve performance or to allow for the carrying of armour or more weapons. In addition the Japanese system of training pilots did not produce enough people with sufficient skills to replace losses. This led to the Japanese becoming completely outclassed by the allies and they were forced to use desperate tactics such as Kamikaze raids. This book looks in more detail about the air war including losses of machines and what prevented Japan being able to compete in the air war. The author makes a strong case for suggesting that combat losses were in reality not the be and end all of the air war. By 1944 the Japanese had developed new aircraft designs which had the potential to meet the allies on near equal terms. The problems that they faced was the maintenance of aircraft and the supply of fuel and repairs. These factors in turn impacted on the ability to give pilots requisite flying time to develop skills. From this point of view the book is interesting as it goes beyond the sorts of assumptions which most have accepted. It also gives an immense amount of material on the technical background. Some might find the book a little disappointing as it is not a blow by blow account of the war but a discussion of the mechanics of it.
Rating:
Summary: Fire in the Sky: A Major Contribution to Aviation History
Review: This book written by Professor Eric Bergerud is excellent in every respect. The organization, technical accuracy and readability is the best I have read in over 30 years of aviation history study, teaching and writing. Compared to the air war in the European Theater of Operation there are relatively few books that cover the Pacific Air War and none that are so encompassing as this book. I especially like the many detail comparisons of the military organization structures the land air bases, the men and the machines (aircraft) as well as the importance logistics played in the overall out comes. The only fault I have with the book is that it is to hard to put down. The 690 + pages provide the reader not only with the subject matter being address but also the technical and aviation history leading up to those events. Therefore, in addition to the Pacific Air War the reader will learn many interesting, important and integrated aviation facts that give the reader a clear understanding of events that shaped not only the Pacific War but World War II in total. In my opinion the book without a doubt will become a classic in it's field.
Rating:
Summary: A great book about the Air War in the South Pacific
Review: This is a must for anyone who studies the Pacific War. I loved the way this book was written. It flows with history and he has the Airman who were there tell their story.
Rating:
Summary: A great book about the Air War in the South Pacific
Review: This is a must for anyone who studies the Pacific War. I loved the way this book was written. It flows with history and he has the Airman who were there tell their story.
Rating:
Summary: Unique, insightful, essential and difficult.
Review: This is a unique work of history, with a new, unusual and sometimes difficult to follow style. However, if you're interested in air warfare it's one you should read. Why? Because unlike the majority of aviation history, this volume covers the missing, essential, middle ground. Most aviation history is either an in-the-cockpit "there I was and I won the war singlehandedly" memoir at the tactical level, or a strategic overview not unlike the surface of the earth seen by the naked eye from 40,000 feet--expansive but lacking in detail. What Bergerud gives us is a glimpse into the vitally important operational level in the art of air warfare, that middle ground between the tactical and the strategic where some of the most important activities in air warfare take place. Bergerud examines the geography, climate and infrastructure of the South Pacific theatre in a fashion that is pertinent to the operations undertaken. He also makes a hard-hitting critical examination of the aircraft on both sides reaching some astute conclusions that will be sure to infuriate the superficial but click with the perceptive. He examines the airmen of both sides, their preparations for war and their morale in the theatre. Finally he gives a penetrating look into the nuts and bolts of fighter and bomber operations in the theatre. One vehicle for this detailed analysis is testimonial interview material and this impacts the style of the work and its readability. Many of the quotes are reused for the valid purpose of bringing out different elements of the quote that pertain to other elements of the dicussion. However, the sheer profusion of these illuminating remarks can derail the reader's train of thought and the repetition is noted. Another thing that will derail many readers is the unusual organization of the book, particularly the emphasis on factors that many military history readers have probably not been exposed to before in such detail. The discussion about the weather is sure to throw some readers for their having probably only seen it discussed in WWII histories respecting the Battle of the Bulge and Halsey's typhoon encounters. The fact that weather very severely impacts military operations is probably only realized as an abstraction for most readers and students of history. But Bergerud digs into it and makes sure it's "in your face" in a way that helps you understand what the flyers in the theatre had to deal with. This is one of the reasons this work is so valuable. Similarly, the seemingly tedious testimonials reveal interesting facts lost to most air histories: the rationale of the tactics of positioning to repel fighter attacks on bombers; the phenomenon in a dog fight of a "sky full of airplanes" being suddenly replaced by one's own aircraft flying "alone in the sky;" and the contribution of the reconnaissance aircraft. A number of these gems are polished all that much brighter for their emerging from the repeated words of many of the men who flew the missions. If you're a serious student of air warfare, you really should read this book and pay attention. It might not be the easiest read in the world, but there's a good reason for it being the way it is and I must disagree with those reviewers who claim Bergerud has randomly disgorged his thoughts. Why? Because I've been there and done that and this book IS air operations. In reading it I found myself nodding and recognizing what I had been through and observed flying military aircraft operationally. There's a lot to learn and learn from in this volume. It deserves a place on the shelf next to Michel's "Clashes" and Barrett & Tillman's "On Yankee Station." Which is, not coincidentally where it resides in my bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This is the best book I have read on the overall air war in the South Pacific. It describes the men and machines that fought the war and the tactics and strategies used to fight. It will give the reader new respect for the men who fought in that terrible theatre.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This is the best book I have read on the overall air war in the South Pacific. It describes the men and machines that fought the war and the tactics and strategies used to fight. It will give the reader new respect for the men who fought in that terrible theatre.
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