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Title: Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific by Eric M. Bergerud ISBN: 0-8133-3869-7 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: May, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.38 (29 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Facinating book, but where the heck was the editor?
Comment: A lot of the content in Fire in the Sky is great, in many ways a worthy successor to Bergerud's first-rate Touched by Fire and Red Thunder, Tropic Lightning. Even pretty knowledgeable readers will learn a lot from reading this book, and Bergerud presents the air war in a clear, dispassionate, and intelligent manner that really allowed me to understand the conflict in the Pacific at a level that I never had before.
All that having been said, this book is an incredible case study for a near-total editorial failure. The narration veers into meandering pointlessness for pages upon pages on many occasions. Huge sections are almost completely unfoucussed. Where Bergerud retains his focus and has a point, the effect is excellent, and produces a result that falls just short of Keegan. But brevity is the soul of wit, and where he doesn't, the whole thing becomes a morass.
It's interesting to watch the progression: Red Thunder, Tropic Lighting had tight, crisp prose and a focussed narrative, and was easily Bergerud's best book. Touched with Fire was detailed and insightful, and was absolutely first-rate despite it's tendancy to go on a bit and repeat himself a bit too often. Fire in the Sky, though, has really gone over the edge. To get the most of this book (and there really is quite a lot in there to come away with), you really have to be willing to either wade through a lot of pointless rambling or be willing to skip over large sections.
Don't get me wrong, I'm giving this book 4 stars, because there is a lot of awesome content and when it's controlled, the writing is very good. This book clearly had the potential to be a definitive work with a strong editorial hand, which is how highly I think of a lot of the content. Unfortunately, the hand was clearly missing.
Rating: 5
Summary: Eric Bergerud's Fire in the Sky is a triumph
Comment: With the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at PearlHarbor, a series of stinging military disasters would punish Americanand Allied forces, and push them back across the whole of the Pacific for the next six months. The strategic victory in the Battle of the Coral Sea, followed by the staggering beating suffered by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the waters northwest of Midway island finally halted the relentless military juggernaut of Japan.
For the next two years one of the hardest fought battles raged in the South Pacific. Places like Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Bougainville and Rabaul would fill the headlines in American newspapers across the country. A great many books have been written about various aspects of this especially difficult theater of operations. However, few of these have addressed in depth the complex campaign waged by both sides for control the air. Eric Bergerud's newly released Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific, does exactly that.
This is no small work of history. There was no doubt in my mind that this was going to take a great deal of time to wade through. In all likelihood, it probably would take weeks to finish.
I finished the book within five days. Then, I read it again, cover to cover. I devoured Fire in the Sky in huge chunks, pouring over chapter after chapter for hours at a sitting.
So, you may wonder; what is the attraction of this book?
First and foremost, it is excellent history. Yet, there is no hint of the dry, colorless narration that hallmarks much of the work that attempts to encompass the breadth and scope that Mr. Bergerud has so ably captured in this remarkable volume. Nearly every page provides a revelation.
Fire in the Sky is possibly the very best analysis of a major air campaign ever placed in print. Bergerud's consummate writing style is very entertaining, his skillful use of personal anecdote combined with the detachment of a historian, blend into compelling reading and a truly enjoyable experience.
Warts? A few. I cannot imagine a 700 page monster such as this without any. Still, these are generally related to technical subject matter and in no way take away from the completeness of Bergerud's triumph, and a triumph it is. Having also read his wonderful Touched by Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific, I can say without hesitation that this new work not only complements Touched by Fire, it surpasses it.
Destined to be the definitive history of the air war in the South Pacific, no serious student of World War Two or aviation can afford not to have this book in their personal library.
Corey C. Jordan, Editor
The Planes and Pilots of WWII Internet Magazine
Rating: 5
Summary: A great book about the Air War in the South Pacific
Comment: This is a must for anyone who studies the Pacific War. I loved the way this book was written. It flows with history and he has the Airman who were there tell their story.
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Title: Touched With Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific by Eric Bergerud ISBN: 0140246967 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: July, 1997 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Siege of Rabaul by Henry Sakaida ISBN: 1883809096 Publisher: Specialty Pr Pub. Date: January, 1997 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Eagle Against the Sun : The American War With Japan by Ronald Spector ISBN: 0394741013 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 October, 1985 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway by John B. Lundstrom ISBN: 0870211897 Publisher: United States Naval Inst. Pub. Date: July, 1984 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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Title: Zero by Masatake Okumiya, Jiro Horikoshi ISBN: 0743444914 Publisher: I Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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