Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (The Pacific War Trilogy, 3)

Incredible comprehensive overview of the end of the Pacific War. Gripping and engaging. A must read for the history enthusiasts

As a student of military history, I’m always looking interested in exploring alternatives to content. To that end I’ve turned to Pod casting and to a large degree I’m a Dan Carlin/Mike Duncan snob. Dan, had started, his “Supernova in the East” and got my juices flowing on revisiting the Pacific War. The challenge is Dan putsout great content, but usually with 3-5 month gaps. I rummaged around looking for Samuel Eliot Morrison’s single volume 2 Ocean war, but could not find it. I did not want to buy it again and I was interested in more depth specific to the Pacific. I stumbled on Ian’s trilogy and found it riveting.As part of my investigation, I got on to YouTube and found Ian speaking to the NY Library Society(?). He answered the question, “what’s new”. His answer was that many of the Japanese government documents as well as personal diaries have been translated to English and he was able to tell the story from both sides with tremendous clarity.Narrative style:Ian’s narrative style is wonderful. His command of the English language coupled with his sentence structure and cadence makes the books very easy to consume and understand. I find it in line with Manchester’s “American Caesar” (definitive MacArthur biography) and Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy. Thus, if you’re new to the Pacific war this trilogy is wonderful. While it does address MacArthur’s role this book is more focused on Nimitz and the Navy.Scholarship:The shear number of references (diaries, books, archives) Ian uses is astounding. I can’t even fathom reading, let alone comprehending all of that material. Truly incredible. I’m sorry that the trilogy is over. So for you aficionado’s I think you’d find this a fantastic review with new material. Similar to Clavell’s Sho Gun, you start out hating the Japanese, then Ian does a great job of painting the Japanese view point such that a level of empathy leaches into your ethos.

The entire trilogy of Ian Toll’s history of the United States in the Pacific in World War 2 is outstanding. His story of the Pacific war is told with an eye to the human side of the conflict, and he successfully includes the leaders and the Leathernecks. It’s a masterful telling of a brutal, racially charged conflict in all its dirt and gold. Excellent books and they leave you with a terrific understanding of what this part of the war was like. Highly recommended reading to students of the era as well as those who are getting their first taste of this epic conflict.

This book is a phenomenal achievement of an outstanding author whose research dwarfs all previous books on the subject. Even the autobiographies of some of the main characters.I STRONGLY recommend this or any other Ian Toll book to anyone even remotely interested in the history of the Navy.

It should be no surprise that this third volume of Toll's Pacific Theater story meets the already high level of excellence set in volumes 1 and 2. Maybe the best story of the US Navy since Samuel Morrison 's historic series on naval actions in WW2.

Writing a book such as this has got to be a huge enterprise, immersing yourself in researching so many different sources. Yet there is a difference between researching and understanding what you are researching. I read the first two volumes this past spring, and was dismayed at the errors I noticed. While not a flood of them, they were never the less there and easily caught.. unfortunately the same thing occurs in this volume as well.A couple examples.. ship names.. in the prologue he identifies the Ryujo as the Japanese CV sunk at Coral Sea, it was in fact the Shoho. He misidentifies DEs as DDs in Chapter 6. He also confuses the Fuso as the Yamagumo when discussing it disappearing from radar in the same chapter. He also praises the A7M Reppu like it saw service, it never got past the prototype stage. Funny though, he ignores the JAAF completely. He does little service to the USAAF fighters as well. He completely ignores IFF on one occasion, but mentions it elsewhere. I could go on.. he was poorly served by his reviewers and editors. Piddly stuff in the overall scheme? Ok, but this is stuff easily done correctly. It makes me wonder what else is wrong that I am not smart enough or learned enough to recognize.Overall the book is a good read, I did enjoy it. It covers all aspects of the war. I enjoyed learning more about FDR's issues with the press and government. Logistics of the Naval campaign and landings is fascinating. Also it was interesting to read about the Japanese leadership, press and civilians.So yes, buy it enjoy it and read the entire set, you will be better off than you were beforehand.His book dedication is praiseworthy, well said.

Arrived in timely manner in perfectly readable condition.

I am familiar with the history of WW II in the Pacific, but this book and the entire series was both informative and entertaining for any history buff. Lots of behind the scenes stories which really are crucial to understanding the buildup and prosecution to the war. Most Americans really don't know what led to the Japanese to attack, the general idea was Pearl Harbor just came from nowhere. Read this and find out why the Japanese did what they did.

We win. They lose. What a struggle. Most interesting was the effect the kamikaze pilots had . They really played a part and were not just the sideshow we think of today

Barely any sign of use. Good as new one.

Le livre est mal édité. Il manque une trentaine de pages. Très frustrant!

This is just too good to put down. In Ian W Tolls third and final book of his Pacific War Trilogy it really does end with a bang. The first 100 pages are political, until we get right into the action, with the landings in Pelieu, lauded by the 2010 tv show The Pacific.Next there are over 100 pages alone on the Battles of Leyte Gulf, plus the US landings on Leyte. It's incredibly detailed, as was the aftermath, and it's importance overall on the outcome of the war in the Pacific. There was more political stuff afterwards, until the reconquest of the Philippines, with the emphasis on Luzon and retaking the capital Manilla.I really liked the next part about the sinking of the Yamato, then just one chapter on the landings and battle for Iwa Jima. There was a lot on the battle for Okinawa and subsequent landings, the bombing of Tokyo and most of Japan's cities, then the book goes out with a bang with the chapter on the dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Overall a great end to one of the greatest trilogies on World War 2 in the Pacific ever written.

Probably the greatest ww2 trilogy ever written