Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942

This review is for the entire three volume series, not just this book. I am very interested in the Pacific theater of WWII. I have read all of the S.E. Morison volumes and everything newer that I can get my hands on. Some offerings are dull and dry and really offer nothing new. Some have newer, recently uncovered information. Some are simply a compilation of all the known facts, presented in an interesting manner and a new approach. Known information presented through different eyes - or a different pen - is always interesting as it fills out your understanding and experience of the event. This series falls into the latter category. The "story" unfolds in a logical and easy to follow progression and includes interesting information on subjects external to the actual battles, such as the American government's (both the President and the Navy Dept) interaction with the press and also how the Japanese government dealt with presenting (or not) information to the public. I am currently in the last quarter of the 3rd book in the series, "Twilight of the Gods" and have enjoyed every page. The ONE negative I have for the series is that there are very few - and those not very worthwhile - maps. I was spoiled by Morison's work in that area. That one negative notwithstanding, the series is a recommended read.

Tolls writing is easy to read, moves fast and flows together well! Perfect blend of personal accounts and history. Good view from both combatants! You don't need to be a historian to read these. Can't recommend this series enough!

"Pacific Crucible" is an account of the first six months of World War II in the Pacific -- sort of. It's not really about the major battles of the period; the air raid on Pearl Harbor gets only 6 pages. This is hardly more than what was given to a description of Admiral Nimitz's cross-country train trip on his way from Washington to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. And this, in a nutshell, is an indication of what this book is really about: not the battles, but the personalities of the men who commanded the forces who fought them, and the social and political milieu in which they were fought.This book is for those who already know a good deal about Pearl Harbor and Midway (or who aren't interested in knowing much about them) and who want to learn about the "small" background details of the war's first six months. If you want to know how it feels to swim in an oil-encrusted harbor; what the training regimen for Japanese naval aviators was like; how the seemingly unimportant hit-and-run raids in early 1942 helped the codebreakers do their vital work; or, yes, what Admiral Nimitz did on his train trip; then this is the book for you.And so, here we have the interesting balance between detail and overview; several pages on (for example) how a carrier plane makes a landing, followed by a sentence or two stating that a raid took place. This is not intended as a criticism; far from it. I thought that the author got the detail-overview balance just right. I already knew a good deal about the battles; I wanted to know the background to them. And this book was perfect for that.To be sure, there are a few glitches. In the rush to tell the familiar story of the Battle of Midway, there were a few things that didn't gel. For instance, when the Akagi is abandoned, we are told that Captain Aoki refused to leave her. What we are not told is that he was eventually ordered off -- so we are left to assume that he went down with his ship. Reading other Midway accounts, I've gotten used to seeing several pages about the Hiryu survivors who bobbed about in a boat for over two weeks before being rescued by an American vessel. But here, they get exactly one sentence.But these are minor quibbles. "Pacific Crucible" is a highly engaging book, tremendously well written and very informative about the matters it's intended to cover. If you are interested in the early days of the Pacific War -- and especially if you already know a lot about the major battles, and want to delve deeper into the background -- this book is indispensible.

Pacific Crucible, the War at Sea 1941-1942 is the first volume of a three-book series by Ian W. Toll. This review covers Pacific Crucible and The Conquering Tide, the second volume in the series. I have not read the third volume, The Fleet at Flood Tide.Ian W. Toll is a gifted writer. He manages to plug in interesting details, gluing the reader to the page. While most of these tidbits are not of immense importance, they are exactly what makes reading history fascinating. Mr. Toll moves a story along at speed, avoiding wording and phrasing leading to boredom. Pacific Crucible and The Conquering Tide are appealing as fact based books and as compelling stories.Pacific Crucible begins at Pearl Harbor and explains Japanese decision making behind the raid. The author points out how the attack impacted the Japanese command structure, a detail often omitted in other histories. Ian Toll carefully points out that the main targets of Yamamoto’s attack were the American aircraft carriers, none of which were in port. He also describes the main Japanese offensive moves into Southeast Asia, which secured the oil and other military necessities for Japan. All this is done in a fast moving style that leaves the reader anticipating the next sentence.The author is even handed in his evaluation of the leaders on both sides. Yamamoto’s attack plan was good, but far from perfect. The American military leaders General Short and Admiral Kimmel were unjustly charged with dereliction of duty in the defense of Pearl Harbor, even though they certainly made mistakes. Admiral King is evaluated well and his faults are disclosed along with his ability to lead the Navy in a tough time. All the leaders Mr. Toll discusses, Japanese and American, are approached with respect as well as an opened eyed realism.The Conquering Tide tells the story of the Pacific War after Guadalcanal and details how the Japanese were defeated by American ingenuity, bravery, and industrial power. It is clear that the Japanese were hampered by pre-set conclusions concerning how the war would be fought and how the Americans would fail in the face of the spiritual superiority of their enemies. The Japanese leadership was stunned by the speed of the American advance across the Pacific, and the power of the Pacific Fleet by the end of 1943. Ian Toll tells us of the many false assumptions made by Japan and the helplessness felt by the population as their leaders became oppressive and outright stupid in their handling of the people during the war.Like any author telling any story Ian Toll has his failings. All major battles are covered, most not in deep detail; however, some events, such as the first few voyages of the Wahoo, are reported in extreme detail. In other cases, Mr. Toll fails to adequately discuss items that were important to the Pacific theater of war. The horrible failure of Admiral King to adopt the convoy system at the outset of war, and its costs, are not well explained and lost to the reader. The story of American torpedo failures is split up and difficult to follow.In this old warrior’s opinion, the author is too soft on some of the personalities he reviews. MacArthur is one example. He changed War Plan Orange and adopted junk in its place, and his superiors in Washington allowed it. Why? After the outright debacle following Pearl Harbor and the complete destruction of US air power in the Philippines, with consequences at least as bad as Pearl Harbor, he stayed in command. Why? Mr. Toll does complain about MacArthur, but he does not tell us he was incompetent. In fact, he more or less defends MacArthur’s leadership. It is the same with several other leaders. Mr. Toll gives them the benefit of the doubt too often.I enjoyed both books and highly recommend them for anyone interested in World War II in the Pacific

Well researched, well written. Easy to see so many of the complications of war and the behind the action activity.

I bought this book and the other two in the series, very well written, highly enjoyable to read, hard to put down, can't wait to read the next two

5 Sterne für 5 tolle Qualitäten des Buches:1. Kompakt gegliedert, straff geschrieben, keine Längen.2. Ein toller Sprachgebrauch begünstigt ein flüssiges Lesen, ohne flapsig zu werden.3. Es wurde so viel zu dem Thema geschrieben und trotzdem erfährt man interessante Neuigkeiten.4. Menschen entscheiden Kriege. Er schaut auf die Menschen hinter den Epauletten.5. Obwohl ich das Ende aller Schlachten kenne, hatte ich einen Lesedrang, wie bei einem guten Thriller.

This is the first in a three volume set. And quite simply is the best telling of the Pacific theatre of war II.Sublimely written. It goes into detail about the start of the conflict through to 1942.The major thing is that it's not dry in it's writing. Some WWII books are hard to follow, due to the laborious way they're presented. This book is not in that category. And flows effortlessly, while describing in detail every event.I had to wait a week for these three volumes to arrive from the u.s. and can honestly say that I was glad I did.Extremely reccomended.

Profundo análisis de las causas y desarrollo de la guerra del Pacífico, magníficamente escrito y documentado. Es de lo mejor que he leido en literatura histórica.

Je n'ai commencé à le que récemment mais je ne peux pas laisser tomber!

Ian Toll has written a first-class history of the first stage of America's war in the Pacific, from 1941-42. War in the Pacific during World War 2 was incredibly complex, even though for the Western Allies it began nearly 2.5 years later than war with Germany. Toll has wisely decided to divide his history of America's Pacific War into 3 separate volumes, of which "Pacific Crucible" is but the first. It is well written and includes many of the smaller, but significant, human details of individual lives and experiences that makes for an attractive page-turner. Even though many books on this subject have previously appeared, I still learned interesting new things that I had not seen in at least a dozen other books by well known and lauded writers. Ian Toll's second volume in this series, "The Conquering Tide", covering the war from 1942-44, is now available and I am about half way through reading it. It too is an absolutely splendid read! One must keep in mind, however, that given the complexity of the subject, even Toll's use of three volumes to cover 3.5 years of war experience only results in a "relative synopsis" of the Pacific War. Entire volumes as long and longer than Toll's have been written on each of the major battles he covers in his books, and Toll has provided a good bibliography of many of the best of these works for the reader who wishes further details. Toll's books are an excellent place to start for the budding student of America's Pacific War, and a great read for the more experienced historian as well!