Book suggestions for Early 1942 Pacific

[Vassili Zaitzev]

Hey guys,

I've been trying to expand my knowledge regarding the early months of the Pacific Theatre, on of my points of interest. I'm focusing from December 1941, to about May of 1942, finishing up with the Battle of the Coral Sea. Anything from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Burma, Dutch East Indies, to the naval engagements that followed. I needn't worry about Singapore, still have over a dozen sources form when it was my senior thesis. I have a few book right now concerning the period, so I should list them.

"Ship of Ghosts"-James D. Hornfischer
"The Fleet the Gods Forgot"- W.G. Winslow
"The Lonely Ships"- Edwin P. Hoyt
"Desperate Siege"- Ted Ferguson
"Bloody Shambles"- Brian Cull, etc.

That should be it, any suggestions would be great. I'd take higher priority with those books that have a British, Japanese, Australian, etc. point of view to broaden my knowledge. Thanks!

 

[R Leonard]

Hard to get and usually pretty expensive
First South Pacific Campaign: Pacific Fleet Strategy, December 1941-June 1942 by John Lundstrom. This is the work that led him to his First Team and Balckshoe Carrier Admiral works. His The First Team - Pacific Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway also covers your period of interest from the USN carrier operations perspective. This has been re-released now in a trade paperback so the price is not too onerous. You should be able to get one from a library or through an inter-loan program. The South Pacific Campaign might be a little difficult to get through a library as it was somewhat limited in its print run.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

Thank you Mr. Leonard. There is a book store down along the coast I frequent. I've found several rare finds before. I shall keep my eye out.

 

[N4521U]

I read one, many years ago. The Virgin Fleet. About the crew of the USS Virginia, before, during and after Dec. 7, 1942. An interesting read.

 

[Capt. Vick]

"Doomed at the Start", "Dec 8th, McArthurs Pearl Harbour" and "Everyday a Nightmare" all by Bartch IIRC

 

[vikingBerserker]

3 I can think off the top of my mind. The first 2 go from the begining to the end of the war. The last is primarily about the early days of Wake Island.

"Eagle Against the Sun - The American War with Japan" by Ronald Spector
"Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway-The Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes" by Capt Hara
"Pacific Alamo: The Battle for Wake Island" by Wukovits

 

[Jerry W. Loper]

Hey guys,

I've been trying to expand my knowledge regarding the early months of the Pacific Theatre, on of my points of interest. I'm focusing from December 1941, to about May of 1942, finishing up with the Battle of the Coral Sea. Anything from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Burma, Dutch East Indies, to the naval engagements that followed. I needn't worry about Singapore, still have over a dozen sources form when it was my senior thesis. I have a few book right now concerning the period, so I should list them.

"Ship of Ghosts"-James D. Hornfischer
"The Fleet the Gods Forgot"- W.G. Winslow
"The Lonely Ships"- Edwin P. Hoyt
"Desperate Siege"- Ted Ferguson
"Bloody Shambles"- Brian Cull, etc.

That should be it, any suggestions would be great. I'd take higher priority with those books that have a British, Japanese, Australian, etc. point of view to broaden my knowledge. Thanks!

A couple of old books that cover precisely the time period you mentioned. But Not In Shame by John Toland and The Ragged, Rugged Warriors by Martin Caidin. Yeah, I know that lately Caidin's been criticized for embellishing but his book is really about aerial combat during the first 6 months of the Pacific War, starting with Pearl Harbor and ending just before Midway.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

A couple of old books that cover precisely the time period you mentioned. But Not In Shame by John Toland and The Ragged, Rugged Warriors by Martin Caidin. Yeah, I know that lately Caidin's been criticized for embellishing but his book is really about aerial combat during the first 6 months of the Pacific War, starting with Pearl Harbor and ending just before Midway.

Thank you Jerry, but I should have mentioned I do have Tolands work, it was for my Singapore Thesis. I will keep Caidin in mind.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

Update: Has anyone read 'Intelligence Operations at the Battle of Java Sea' by Elliot Coley?

 

[oldcrowcv63]

Hornfischer's Neptune's Inferno and Frank's Guadalcanal

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

Thanks Crow, however I already have those two. I did read Hornfischer, but not Frank yet.

 

[steve51]

You might want to look at the new book, "Islands of Destiny" by John Prados. It's a comprehensive study of the Solomon's campaign from the invasion of Guadalcanal through the isolatation of Rabaul. The author describes all the air, land and sea engagements and covers issues of supply, training and especially intelligence gathering.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

I'll take a look into it, thanks.

 

[buffnut453]

I can also heartily recommend "8 December 1941: MacArthur's Pearl Harbor" by Bill Bartsch. Very readable coverage of first day of the air war in the Philippines. Peter Boer's "The Loss of Java" is THE book to get on the fighting for that NEI island.