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keelser_33's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
topdragon's review against another edition
4.0
A follow-on volume to Jeff Shaara’s excellent World War II trilogy ([b:The Rising Tide|29917|The Rising Tide (World War II 1939-1945, #1)|Jeff Shaara|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388535171s/29917.jpg|168570], [b:The Steel Wave|2047408|The Steel Wave (World War II 1939-1945, #2)|Jeff Shaara|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441410840s/2047408.jpg|6645517], and [b:No Less Than Victory|6441706|No Less Than Victory (World War II 1939-1945, #3)|Jeff Shaara|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388205842s/6441706.jpg|6631652]), this novel turns the attention to the war in the Pacific. Most of the Pacific War is skimmed over in the prologue so that the novel can focus on the single bloody battle for the island of Okinawa, the final major action before what would have been the invasion of the Japanese home islands had the atomic bombs not been dropped. The author does his usual great job of describing history through the eyes of just a few participants including Admiral Nimitz, President Truman, Japanese General Ushijima (commander in Okinawa) and others. By far the major viewpoint throughout the novel is granted to Marine private Clay Adams whose up close and personal experiences is some of the bloodiest, ground-pounding modern warfare you will ever read. It is absolutely top-notch writing and realistically exposes the reader to what many of us have imagined the true Hell of close combat warfare to really be like.
I really wish that this book had been granted its own trilogy similar to the first three books of the series. Jeff Shaara could have devoted quality time to many aspects of the earlier war in the Pacific with the resulting finale written about in this volume becoming the culmination of the incredible sacrifices on all sides that had come before. I understand that the publisher however, needed Shaara to get back to the Civil War novels for which he is known and for which his devoted readers keep demanding more of. Perhaps, sometime in the future, these other books can be written.
Overall, I was quite pleased with this book. The final portion, devoted to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, seemed sort of tacked on as a way of bringing a conclusion to the entire set of four books (the real “Final Storm”) although travelling along with Paul Tibbets, the pilot who flew the Enola Gay and dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, was far more thrilling than I thought it would be. The logistics of pulling this off in total secrecy was very enlightening. The afterword was very informative as well, letting us know what happened to all of the major players.
I have read quite a number of historical fiction books centering on a particular battle or war and Jeff Shaara always come through. He remains one of my top-tier historical novelists.
I really wish that this book had been granted its own trilogy similar to the first three books of the series. Jeff Shaara could have devoted quality time to many aspects of the earlier war in the Pacific with the resulting finale written about in this volume becoming the culmination of the incredible sacrifices on all sides that had come before. I understand that the publisher however, needed Shaara to get back to the Civil War novels for which he is known and for which his devoted readers keep demanding more of. Perhaps, sometime in the future, these other books can be written.
Overall, I was quite pleased with this book. The final portion, devoted to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, seemed sort of tacked on as a way of bringing a conclusion to the entire set of four books (the real “Final Storm”) although travelling along with Paul Tibbets, the pilot who flew the Enola Gay and dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, was far more thrilling than I thought it would be. The logistics of pulling this off in total secrecy was very enlightening. The afterword was very informative as well, letting us know what happened to all of the major players.
I have read quite a number of historical fiction books centering on a particular battle or war and Jeff Shaara always come through. He remains one of my top-tier historical novelists.
bennought's review against another edition
4.0
As per usual, a generally well-written, well-thought out book about an American war from Mr. Shaara. While I disagree with his assertion at the beginning of the book that he is not trying to promote any point of view or political position, one would be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn't see his book as promoting the view that the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Japan was an abhorrent necessity that avoided hundreds of thousands of American casualties, and millions of Japanese (a viewpoint that I personally agree with). Otherwise, I greatly enjoyed the final installment in the author's quadrilogy of World War II (though, while I understand his reasons for not doing so, I am disappointed that he did not complete a full separate trilogy chronicling the war in the Pacific). From my memories of the previous novels, I believe that he focuses in on fewer view points than before, though there are no complaints here. I greatly enjoyed the increased intimacy this created with the few men Shaara did follow. And though I greatly enjoyed the detail that Shaara lavished on the Battle of Okinawa (though, at times, the sequencing felt a bit jumpy), I was disappointed that it was focus of almost the entirety of the novel (as I said before, very sad that there wasn't a full trilogy of the Pacific). I also wish he'd spent more time detailing the experiences at Hiroshima, and that he had maybe done a little on Nagasaki--as in most every other history, it becomes relegated to "When the Japanese didn't surrender after Hiroshima, they also dropped a bomb on Nagasaki." In the same regard, I think some portrayal of the massive bombing campaign of the Japanese mainland was also in order--it was one of the most important parts of the American role in the Pacific theatre in 1945, and it gets only cursory mentions in the text (through the very appropriate visage of Curtis LeMay). Viewpoints of both bomber pilots and Japanese civilians would have been nice (though I don't know if maybe Shaara was restricted by his sources in this case).
Everything aside, I was still very pleased with this book, though I don't think it quite lives up to most of his other novels.
Everything aside, I was still very pleased with this book, though I don't think it quite lives up to most of his other novels.
beingshort's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
john_raine's review against another edition
3.0
This was fine. Decent story but the characters were not as compelling as some of his other books and I didn’t feel that you got as much of the strategy of the battle as in others.
jsburt's review against another edition
4.0
Another good one from Jeff Shaara. It is amazing how brutal and awful the fighting in the Pacific was during WWII and this book gives a good feel for it. I found the last part of the book interesting as well as I haven't heard much about the story of the atomic bomb.
shamrock96's review against another edition
5.0
Love this author and this was a great version of the Pacific. Some of the stuff those guys went through is un-real. The way Shaara writes gets you personally involved with the characters some are real and some he creates. Great read.
duchessofreadin's review against another edition
5.0
LOVED this book! I am a huge World War II buff anyway, and I found myself learning something new as I was reading through the book.The view from the soldiers perspective and those involved was riveting. I couldnt put the book down once I started reading! I am looking forward to reading this again, as well as recommending it to my students! His use of history and narrative is amazing! This puts the Okinawa thrust into an entirely different picture, and actually gives you the feeling as though you are right there with the troops!
Thank you to Jeff Shaara for sharing with Goodreads the advance copies, and for allowing me to be among the first to read it. I am very excited to be encouraging friends to get their own copy and read it as well.
Thank you to Jeff Shaara for sharing with Goodreads the advance copies, and for allowing me to be among the first to read it. I am very excited to be encouraging friends to get their own copy and read it as well.
samizimecki's review against another edition
5.0
Shaara has a way with writing something as awful and hard to read as war, and capturing your attention and investing the reader into his characters. Perhaps it's because most of his characters are/were real people, and if not, the character is based off a collection of real people, fused off of the stories of actual USMC members that he interviewed.
There's a great deal of research that Shaara does, and yet, the book reads so much better than some dry text book. Apparently this is part of a series, of which I picked up the last one, the story of how the USMC and the Army took Okinawa and dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are a few main "characters" that you follow, both American and Japanese, and Shaara has a way of writing both sides, without show bias. He makes both sides human, captures flaws and strengths, and I'll admit, I cried a few times.
If you enjoy reading about history, this is a good one to pick up. I don't say this often, but I'm definitely going back to pick up the earlier books and look into other ones that Shaara's written.
There's a great deal of research that Shaara does, and yet, the book reads so much better than some dry text book. Apparently this is part of a series, of which I picked up the last one, the story of how the USMC and the Army took Okinawa and dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are a few main "characters" that you follow, both American and Japanese, and Shaara has a way of writing both sides, without show bias. He makes both sides human, captures flaws and strengths, and I'll admit, I cried a few times.
If you enjoy reading about history, this is a good one to pick up. I don't say this often, but I'm definitely going back to pick up the earlier books and look into other ones that Shaara's written.
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