Seven Stars: The Okinawa Battle Diaries of Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. and Joseph Stilwell (TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY MILITARY HISTORY SERIES)

Rating:
Summary: A welcome addition to military reference shelves
Review: Seven Stars collects the battle diaries of two starkly different generals from the World War II battles fought at Okinawa. Lieutenant General Buckner was a straight laced, clockwork-precision type who preferred to use artillery and tanks to reduce entrenched positions, while General Stilwell was a short-tempered outsider who disdained set-piece battles in favor of maneuver. In addition to presenting disparate views of history in each man's own words, editor Nicholas Sarantakes offers informed and informative explanations of crucial events referred to in the battle diaries, as well as glossaries of main characters and military terms. A welcome addition to military reference shelves and primary reference sources of the Pacific battles of World War II, and utterly involving for scholars of military science and lay readers alike, Seven Stars is very highly recommended reading for students of 20th Century Military History.