D-Days in the Pacific

By Donald L. Miller

Book Overview

Although most people associate the term D-Day with the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, it is military code for the beginning of any offensive operation. In the Pacific theater during World War II there were more than one hundred D-Days. The largest--and last--was the invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, which brought together the biggest invasion fleet ever assembled, far larger than that engaged in the Normandy invasion.

D-Days in the Pacific tells the epic story of the campaign waged by American forces to win back the Pacific islands from Japan. Based on eyewitness accounts by the combatants, it covers the entire Pacific struggle from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Pacific war was largely a seaborne offensive fought over immense distances. Many of the amphibious assaults on Japanese-held islands were among the most savagely fought battles in American history: Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, New Guinea, Peleliu, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa.

Generously illustrated with photographs and maps, D-Days in the Pacific is the finest one-volume account of this titanic struggle.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743269292
• ISBN13: 9780743269292
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 2.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

d days in the pacific

seldom heard version of the actual horror of the Pacific campaign. interesting historical picture of the MacArthur "story". did the marines really have to sustain such losses? couldn't some of the islands have been isolated to "wither on the vine" ??

Best account of the human side of the war in the Pacific

D-days in the Pacific is the most accurate account of the war in the Pacific. I particularly enjoyed the personal accounts of the soldiers and the effects of the war that could only be told by the men who fought it. Donald Miller does a wonderful job of blending the human aspect along with the historical facts to make D-Days in the Pacific a great story for anyone who's interested in history.

Best Factual Account of Pacific Actions in WW2

Don Miller has written a factual unvarnished account of war in the Pacific. It tells the story together with the facts behind the pictures. A well written history with the true stories presented in a gripping manner. Michael L. Kuenne

Very good general history of Pacific War

Published to coincide with the History Channel broadcast of the same title, and based on The Story of World War II, which was in turn Miller's revision and update of Henry Steele Commager's book of the same name. Miller is a much-published history professor and PBS host. Although the title refers to the 127 separate over-the-beach operations that occurred in the Pacific theater, he spends most of his effort on a relatively small number of familiar names-Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Saipan, Peleliu, Okinawa. Good section on the B-29 raids, with many quotes from General Curtis LeMay. Miller's discussion of the decision to use the atomic bomb, with the war aims, fears, and political intentions surrounding it, concentrates on the soldiers in the theater who expected a bloody and suicidal struggle on the home islands, and were eager to do anything to avoid it. The author has a remarkable narrative flair and a fine eye for the detail that makes history come alive. Effective use of first-person accounts. Nothing new here, but a fine introduction to the war in the Pacific. Extensive bibliography. Well worth the purchase as a reasonably short and accessible history.