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Rating: 
Summary: The Rising Sun Sets in the Pacific
Review: By the early spring of 1945, the United States forces had pushed the Japanese back across the Pacific and were now in position to directly threaten the Japanese home islands. This final volume of Samuel Eliot Morison's fine series covers the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa along with the formal Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.The main purpose for securing the island of Iwo Jima was to provide a rescue station for crippled B-29 bombers returning from Japan as well as an advanced fighter escort base for P-51 Mustang escort fighters. The invasion took place in February 1945, and it was originally thought that securing the island would only take about four days. How wrong we were. This battle lasted four weeks and cost many thousands of American casualties. The enduring act of the war for the Americans occurred during this battle when the flag was raised on Mt. Suribachi and was forever captured on film. I was disappointed with this section of the book. Only 70 pages of the book deal with the Iwo Jima campaign, so I felt that many important aspects of the battle were left out completely. In April, 1945, the Americans turned their attention to Okinawa. Located only 350 miles from the Japanese mainland, Okinawa was to serve as a prime staging area for the invasion of Japan, which was scheduled for November 1945. This battle covers the great majority of this book. Every aspect of the battle is covered, from the landings to the kamikaze attacks against the American ships. Perhaps the best part of the book deals with the description of the kamikaze attacks against the radar picket destroyers which were stationed around Okinawa. These ships faced the wrath of the kamikaze forces and many were sunk, but these heroic sailors and ships put up a tremendous fight against the Japanese and provided an invaluable service by vectoring out C.A.P. aircraft as well as warning the fleet to incoming kamikaze attacks. They were the true heroes of Okinawa. Other important events, such as the suicide mission of the Japanese superbattleship Yamato and the tragic and unnecessary sinking of the USS Indianapolis are also described in this volume. As with other books in this set, this one contains excellent photographs and maps to assist the reader. With the surrender of Japan in September 1945, one war ended and another war dawned; the cold war, which lasted for forty three years.
Rating:
Summary: The Rising Sun Sets in the Pacific
Review: By the early spring of 1945, the United States forces had pushed the Japanese back across the Pacific and were now in position to directly threaten the Japanese home islands. This final volume of Samuel Eliot Morison's fine series covers the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa along with the formal Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. The main purpose for securing the island of Iwo Jima was to provide a rescue station for crippled B-29 bombers returning from Japan as well as an advanced fighter escort base for P-51 Mustang escort fighters. The invasion took place in February 1945, and it was originally thought that securing the island would only take about four days. How wrong we were. This battle lasted four weeks and cost many thousands of American casualties. The enduring act of the war for the Americans occurred during this battle when the flag was raised on Mt. Suribachi and was forever captured on film. I was disappointed with this section of the book. Only 70 pages of the book deal with the Iwo Jima campaign, so I felt that many important aspects of the battle were left out completely. In April, 1945, the Americans turned their attention to Okinawa. Located only 350 miles from the Japanese mainland, Okinawa was to serve as a prime staging area for the invasion of Japan, which was scheduled for November 1945. This battle covers the great majority of this book. Every aspect of the battle is covered, from the landings to the kamikaze attacks against the American ships. Perhaps the best part of the book deals with the description of the kamikaze attacks against the radar picket destroyers which were stationed around Okinawa. These ships faced the wrath of the kamikaze forces and many were sunk, but these heroic sailors and ships put up a tremendous fight against the Japanese and provided an invaluable service by vectoring out C.A.P. aircraft as well as warning the fleet to incoming kamikaze attacks. They were the true heroes of Okinawa. Other important events, such as the suicide mission of the Japanese superbattleship Yamato and the tragic and unnecessary sinking of the USS Indianapolis are also described in this volume. As with other books in this set, this one contains excellent photographs and maps to assist the reader. With the surrender of Japan in September 1945, one war ended and another war dawned; the cold war, which lasted for forty three years.
Rating:
Summary: Good accounts of the war
Review: I was impressed by the level of detail this book had. It focused on even the smallest of engagements in the war. Deffinately recomend it
Rating:
Summary: Good accounts of the war
Review: I was impressed by the level of detail this book had. It focused on even the smallest of engagements in the war. Deffinately recomend it
Rating: 
Summary: A remarkable ending to a remarkable series
Review: This fourteenth and final entry in Morison's epic series concludes the voluminous narrative with a look at the war's final days, including an account of the delivery of the first atomic bomb by the USS Indianapolis and that vessel's tragic return voyage, and the triumphant visit of the USS Missouri to Tokyo Bay. As with the other entries in this series, Morison brings excitement and immediacy to an incredibly well-researched and detailed narrative. Not to be missed.
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