Victory at Sea: World War II in the Pacific

Rating:
Summary: Where are the References?
Review: For a book rich in trivia, as other reviewers write, there are some surprising errors. MUTSU blew up in Hiroshima Bay, not in Hong Kong! I buy everything by Dunnigan, even though I acknowledge that his stuff is sometimes flawed.

This book, however, I got rid of. Likely to have reliability problems and errors that I cannot spot as easily as that one.

Also, too much re-hashing of things that were in others of Dunnigan's books.

Rating:
Summary: Readable but flawed
Review: For a book rich in trivia, as other reviewers write, there are some surprising errors. MUTSU blew up in Hiroshima Bay, not in Hong Kong! I buy everything by Dunnigan, even though I acknowledge that his stuff is sometimes flawed.

This book, however, I got rid of. Likely to have reliability problems and errors that I cannot spot as easily as that one.

Also, too much re-hashing of things that were in others of Dunnigan's books.

Rating:
Summary: Where are the References?
Review: For a book that purports to have a lot of factual information, I find that this one breaks the first rule of research: cite your references and sources. A case in point: where did Mr. Nofi and Mr. Dunnigan find out how much aviation gas certain Japanese carriers could carry? I have never come across a source, and I have seen virtually every one produced, that indicates these figures. Where did they get their information on the efficiency and fuel use (and therefore potential range) of the different ships? Some sources, such as 'Jane's Fighting Ships' cite very limited performance characteristics, and certainly not what is said here. The virtual total lack of references and notes to sources diminishes greatly the value of this book. These all could simply be 'guesstimates' on the part of the authors. This may be a habit of theirs as it is sometimes inevitable when creating wargames, for which especially Mr. Dunnigan deserves 5 stars for his past efforts. The rating for this book is very, very unfortunate but deserved. I can only encourage the authors to be much more precise and academic in their approach. A book such as this should be a laudable reference for amateurs AND academics alike. In its present state it is only a 'pop' history book that may generate sales but does not feed intelligent minds.

Rating:
Summary: Broad, readable, lightweight, and non-groundbreaking
Review: I have enjoyed some of the material James Dunnigan has given us about warfare. And I enjoyed this book. But I didn't learn a great deal. If you known almost nothing about World War II in the Pacific, and want a broad, lightweight introduction, this book is okay. If you are looking for an in-depth book, or even a book with some new insights on a few detailed areas, this book probably doesn't fit the bill.

Rating:
Summary: Introduction of the Pacific War!
Review: This is an excellent book for beginners especially identifications of war machines on both the Allies and the Japanese in the Pacific war. For them who are interested on an advanced learner, I don't recommend to read this as the history facts are brief not realistic but easy to understand especially on important battles and ship classes used by both navy! It may not be a lot of reading but i find it interesting due to Dunnigan's organized writing. It is brief, simple and easy to understood before reading an advance level!